Robert Horton and Ward Bond in the original classic show
People like to ask writers–especially fantasy writers–“Where do your ideas come from?” Well, a lot of my ideas come from dreams. Like this one:
Heck, the whole Bell Mountain series started off as a dream. I still haven’t gotten around to using that Wagon Train dream, but I’ll know the right time when I see it.
And now stay tuned for a special treat in the next post…
On more than one occasion, I’ve written songs in dreams. In the most recent case, it woke me up, and I quickly recorded the verse, then I got up in the morning and finished the song.
You still liked it when you got up?
I’ve written a number of songs, over the years, and IMHO, two of them have been quite special. One is a Bossa Nova, which is aomewhat unique. The other is this song, which I would say sounds comparable to a Leroy Anderson composition. Neither of these are ditties, but both contain complex harmonies, parallel tone centers, etc. There is virtually no commercial market for such music, so I’ve never attempted to publish either work.
That’s too bad. But what posses for popular music today would choke a jackal.
A few weeks ago, I heard an analysis of current Top 10 material. This was an analysis from more of a technical standpoint, than artistic, but the material was so awful I could only last a few minutes before I quit listening.
On occasion, I play with a band. We do material from mostly the ‘60s and ‘70s. Pop, Country, some lighter Rock n’ Roll. I shoot for material that is fun, and hopefully upbeat. It’s a different mentality from the music of today. I recently watched a video of a current event at the Grand Ole Opry. It was better than modern Pop, etc. but it was a far cry from what that name used to stand for.
A generation ago, I could have made a decent, middle class, income from music. I love to play old Standards, and use them as the basis for Jazz improv’. Nowadays, if you want to play such music, you’ll be doing good to have an audience, and very few people even know what a Standard is, not to mention recognizing one when they hear it. If you want an audience for postwar era Jazz, you’d better be willing to pay people to attend. 🙂
As a musical survival measure, I decided to learn other styles, and have made peace with the sorts of music I play with the band. It, at least, draws an audience. I don’t go in for the heavily distorted sound of most modern music, and I love the nice, clear, clean sounds of Country, from the ‘60s and ‘70s.
Surprisingly, Classic Rock seems to still be thriving, and some of that music was actually very good. The biggest problem, these days, is that younger musicians can’t really perform music that wasn’t created on a synth and sequenced, which describes almost everything of the last 40 years. I would like to register copyright on a few songs, not with any expectation of making money from them, but just to preserve them. As I understand it, J. S. Bach was an obscure, virtually unknown performer, until someone stumbled upon his compositions, committed to manuscript paper. I’m no Bach, but I wouldn’t mind having a few things written down.
My mother played a lot of 1940s music on the radio and record player. I can’t say I enjoyed it. But I certainly never got up for 1950s rock ‘n’ roll.
The “music” being played on the supermarket PA system today was just a lot of hormads screeching and yelling.
I’m a big believer in an aphorism sometimes credited to Duke Ellington, but I’ve also heard credited to Louie Armstrong. “There are two kinds of music; the good and the bad.”
There are types of music which I believe are bad, as in this music is harmful. I’ve heard music which I feel borders on dehumanizing. I recall hearing some Rap in a record store that was among the most offensive things I’ve ever heard. I don’t like music that is harsh, or unpleasant to the ear. While many guitarists cultivate heavily distorted sounds, I avoid these, preferring to cultivate a natural sound. Rock n’ Roll and I had a parting of the ways, about the time that Jimi Hendrix came along, and made heavy distortion, all the rage.
Most of the music I was exposed to growing up was either the Big Band music my parents liked, or the late ‘50s to mid ‘60s music my sister liked, and some of the Country of the ‘60s. I really loved the Surf music of the early ‘60s, and play that, to this day. Then I heard Chet Atkins, and that changed my life. From there, I went to Jazz. These days, I play a lot of different types of music, and my tastes are quite consistent with the tastes I’ve had throughout my life. I try to keep it upbuilding.
While I feel very strongly about my faith, I have never been particularly drawn to hymns, P&W (Praise and Worship), etc. I have no idea why. Apparently that is not my calling. Maybe God knows that I’ll try to sneak a Dom 13 b9 chord into a worship song, and wants me to keep my distance. 🙂
Louis Armstrong, yes; rap, no.