Fri, May 23
... Save me from the nothing I've become
And I was doing so well the past couple of days at updating more than once a day.
The Undivided (the musical touring group from Rocky) sendoff concert was tonight. It's funny how much music does to me, and how much I miss it when I don't have it. It's been far too long since I actually played printed music. Most of what I've been doing lately has been worship stuff from lead sheets, which is fine, but it's a completely different set of skills from just playing actual notes that someone has set out. There's a level of skill to that that's totally different from ad libbing.
Logan is playing the piano for the tour, and I actually spent most of the concert watching him. There's just something artistic about playing, and I miss it. There's some sort of a fluidity to the body that makes it seem so connected to the piano, and I love to watch that just as much as I love to listen to it. The process of making music like that is an art form--it's a dance, just as much as any other choreographed movement is. Because isn't that what it is? The only difference is that the fingers are the main attraction, and the overall aesthetic value is aural, not visual.
It all fits together, though. The pieces fit. There are days when I get frustrated with music ministry, because it seems like music and theatre are always in competition with each other, and since music is more established, it wins out. On a political level, I get irritated and frustrated, and I (selfishly) want it to go away so that I can benefit from whatever it is that's in competition at that moment. Stage space, rehearsal slots, publicity, ticket sales... whatever. When it comes right down to it, though, I need the music to draw me closer to God in a way that theatre doesn't. There are different ways of worshipping God, and music is definitely one of them. I need to be reminded that the big picture is much bigger than me and my petty irritations.
One year ago today: There was one kid who, yesterday, came by and was looking at all the watches. He told his dad, "I'm going to count all these!" and then proceeded to "count" one rack of watches. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, a-leven, a-twelve, fourteen, fifteen, seventeen, eighteen, a-leven, a-twelve, fourteen, fifteen, seventeen, eighteen, a-leven..." He was so cute, and he made me laugh a lot.
infinite || abyss
posted at 1:46 a.m.
