About music and motivation

A key to this little book is the music that will go with it. I'm making arrangements to register the song, but to do so I need a copy of the music. Talk about a comedy of errors. I haven't had any musical training since I was maybe 10 or 11, and I was not a good student. In addition, I have no musical instrument to try to make the song on, so I was on a site with a partial electronic key board. I'd plunk around until I found the sequence that sounded right, and then I wrote the letters down. The only problem was that the keyboard didn't span the octave and a half that I needed, but the song did. I'd have to switch from A below middle C to A below high C to play the complete phrase, or movement, or moment or whatever it is called...to get all my notes in the right order. Next, I printed out a blank set of lines, and using my "FACE" and "Every Good Boy Does Fine" mnemonics, I drew little circles where the notes would go. Then I sat there singing and tapping and tapping and singing, trying to get the length of the notes right. Lucky for me, the song only uses notes I already knew how to draw! I scanned in the hand drawn music, and used a word-processor to add the lyrics over the top. This is what I took to my friend Jan. She played it for me, and said she liked it. She asked if I'd be willing to let her students perform it in the December concert. I'd be delighted. I said as much. In any case, she's going to get a printout for me from a friend of hers- so I'll have the hard copy to send in for the registration. She also is going to arrange it for harp and strings. I am really looking forward to hearing it again, with others involved. Note to self- this networking thing is cool!

I called today to see if she had the hard copy, but she was not available. I do hope to take care of that before I go to Las Vegas for a wedding late next week. I'm not a musician of any sort, but this part has been fun for me. The reading of web-site after web site, slogging through the Writer's Market articles...that is depressing after a while. Also, revisiting the pain of some of the novel draft is wearing. After a very little scrap of time spent typing, I feel a strong need to just put the manuscript away for a while. If it bothers me this much to re-read it and type it, why on earth would anyone else want to read it at all. I'm sure glad I have the children's book to help me along and keep me motivated.

Oh, a positive note, my artist gave me an agent's name, and when I called, he said he'd like to talk to me further, but he was not feeling well at the time I called. I e-mailed him today. I do hope I hear back soon.