The Songbook is beginning to happen.
As I predicted, technical aspects are posing challenges.
I do not own a copy of Microsoft Word. Procuring a copy so far has proven costly, and since I'm not working just now, well, I need these sorts of things to be free. I'm still working it, but there it is.
I'm using something called TextEdit, which came with my computer. Since I don't know how to format, it seems okay for now. But at some point, I'd like to add a few photos to what I'm writing, and that is where I get hung up. I know that somehow, Word would make this easier. Maybe.
(I don't know how to format in Word, either.)
All you digital natives can stop laughing now.
I've gathered up my lead sheets, for most of the songs I've written. Some songs on my two later albums never got lead sheets written up, though I do have chord and lyric sheets.
Unmasked ADHD is a pain. Focus is very hard to maintain, even on some things I care about.
As Sweetie says when she's on too many deadlines at once: I don't want to write today, I want to have written.
And that's where I find myself this week. I have all this material, but getting it formatted and organized is proving to be really, really hard for my braibn, and for my hands, which still hurt when I write for more than about ten minutes. That is another reason I am thinking of including chord sheets for those last songs, rather than trying to write out manuscript for each one.
Manuscript is beautiful. But it takes a lot of time and care, which are difficult for my hands to exercise just now.
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Last Sunday, I went to Revival Drum Shop's 15th birthday celebration, featuring a slate of famous drummers performing and hundreds of people wandering around eating pizza. It was actually a pretty nice time. I DID have one moment of exclusion-by-femaleness moment, something that happens when you're a woman who's a drummer; but it was one tiny thing in an otherwise fun evening. And I got to hear some amazing, inspiring drumming.
Last night, I went to the Shady Pines open mic at the High Water Mark Lounge, in my neighborhood so I could walk there and back. I couldn't play guitar, but I did get up and sing Count To Four with a LapTop snare and it went well. I think open mics are going to pose some challenges unless I can play guitar again at some point. But it was nice to go.
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It has been challenging not working. I need things to do to stay happy and engaged with the world. My counselor has told me that for now, I'm in a time of transition and perhaps taking time to sit and practice being (nstead of doing) could be good for me. But my brain just isn't wired that way. So I do things, take breaks, take naps and do a few more things. Little things, like sorting out the songbook and gathering my tax materials and stuff. Riding a bike remains challenging because I still have balance issues left over from Long Covid. So mostly I walk and take buses, which helps me slow down and notice things more.
I thought I'd be sad at the open mic, not being able to play guitar. But I wasn't. I met some really nice folks and we talked awhile, and perhaps that's a new goal for attending open mics, just to connect with other musicians and get the lay of the local music scene a little more. That's not a bad thing, and could help me in my atempts to shift to more localized music making.
Have a lovely weekend, and happy Leap Year Day to all who celebrate.
(Video: "Count To Four" from 2019, when I was skinnier and still wore glasses)
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