On Thursday I’m off to see LS Collective’s ‘Shadoworks’ at the Queen Elizabeth Hall. Really looking forward to it – and will post a review up here afterwards.

A couple of days ago, I posted a link on Twitter to this article on the BBC, discussing links between the creative mind and the schizophrenic mind. It makes complete sense to me that creative people see the world in a different sense to non-creatives – I know I’ve been mesmerised by the sounds of the washing up and clattering of pans before, and equally by the soundscape sitting by the river in Greenwich. I’ve mentioned before about the birds who reside near our back patio, and the multitude of different songs they sing.

Over the weekend, I came down pretty heavily with some fluey-cold type bug. It’s beginning to recede now, but I found it very interesting (and infuriating!) that my mind went onto a go slow for the majority of the time. I heard a lot less of my internal soundtrack, and couldn’t concentrate on anything for more than a few minutes. Interestingly though, although whilst awake I felt as the Aes Sedai must feel when stilled (Wheel of Time link there!), I still had creative dreams – well, when I could sleep. This ties in interestingly with my research project – looking at how composers utilise auralisation (mental musical imagery) within the compositional process. Having carried out the research, surveying 100 UK composers, I should complete the analysis by the end of this month. I’ll be posting a summary of the research results here.

Speaking of the mind, and auralisation: while my brain was still working, and now it’s slowly returning to full functionality, I’ve had a new piece spinning in my head. This is a work for oboe and gendér (a soft elaborating instrument for the gamelan), and will be premiered in July. I am also in the process of acquiring a Zoom H4n, which should enable me to make good quality recordings when not in a rigged environment – such as this event in July. Having heard the amazing sound quality on the Zoom H3, I’m excited about just how good this one will sound!

Categories: BlogMusings

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