Gritty

Since I last wrote, it was not the best of times.  Things were wonderful last week, up and through Thursday's Retiree's Cigar Group.  But, after that concluded, things went into the proverbial toilet.  The very little I can report is that there was an extended period of discussion with the person I no longer write about here who purposefully wanted the visit to be about “discussing” things.  I was able to (calmly and with precise wording and considerable tears on my part) explain about 85% of my thoughts over the course of the three day visit.  These thoughts were able to be received by the individual's auditory collecting equipment, but whether these thoughts will be examined, thought about or considered in any real sense, remains to be seen.

This may not be the appropriate venue to discuss this, but I will do so briefly.....

When I am under a significant amount of emotional stress..... I become extremely constipated.  This is not something new.  I can remember this occurring as early as junior high school.  I have done as many things as I can think of to remedy this situation..... a) I further increased my already very, VERY high fiber diet, b) I increased my already very, VERY high fluid intake, c) I increased my running miles today, and d) since the immediate stresses of the weekend have now dissipated back into a more distant, nebulous state, I have tried to enact relaxing thoughts through my body while praying the rosary today during my run, and also since then.  

I am HOPING and anticipating potential relief hopefully by sometime this evening.

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I forgot if I mentioned that I was able to take my bass clarinet and my contra alto clarinet in to each get a bit of a tune-up for Fall.  I did that prior to going to the Retiree's Cigar Group.  I will look forward to their return and their respective “tune up” which this technician does a great job of after a year of intensive playing.  This is the second time I have taken the bass clarinet in and the first for the contra alto.  I look forward to their being “up to snuff”.  I also found a place that makes FDA food grade 3-D printed replicas of the standard issue contra alto mouthpiece (used ones are HARD to find, and new ones of a different manufacturer can cost ~$500.00 which is too rich for me for a used, “junked” cast-off contra alto that I bought for considerably less than $500 that I fixed up myself (BTW, new contra alto clarinets hover around a starting price of ~20 - 25 thousand dollars….. something I would never spend.  I very much like my rejuvenated “junker” that I searched for over 5 years to find.  The same was/is true of my (former “junkyard”) bass clarinet that I refurbished and have played for ~30 years now.  

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It is a long shot, I know..... but might anyone here be able to give advice to the following question I have:

Do you know of a good book (or potentially some other media, but as an old guy, I truly tend to learn more easily from books) that would help me to:

Better understand how to creatively use chord notations that are typically written above lead sheets of music?  

"Lead Sheets" is a term given to music that focuses on (if for example, playing the piano) the song's melody (using the right hand on the piano).... but it gives chord symbols above the staff.  Sometimes these forms are music are compiled into what are called "Fake Books" as well.  

Even though I know I should try to just play more regular piano music (with both treble clef and bass clef staffs), lead sheets are by far easier for me to simply sight read.  

BUT... I am extremely CLUNKY with chords.  I do not know how to do much with chords beyond very dull full chords.  When I do my typical "whole note or half note" full chords to a lead sheet..... it sounds extremely amateurish and not really particularly enjoyable.  But.... have have HEARD folks using Lead Sheets with only chords atop, who can magically make their chords SING in ways that fit in perfectly as creative harmony for the actual melody.  

At one time, I thought ARPEGIOS were the answer on how to use the chord symbols have some musicality...... but.... either a) I do not understand enough how to use or understand arpegios..... or b) they do not actually work well to improve that improvised left hand playing. 

So, that is the question I pose today.  I wish I could figure it out.  I think it would make playing accompaniment so much more positive. 

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After the stressful dialogues finished Sunday afternoon, my wife and I went to an evening concert in the park.  It was delightful, and I had hoped that it would help with my gastro-intestinal malaise... but it did not.  And, after not having any dreams I could recall in the last several days, I had a beautiful pipe dream last night.  It is interesting to me, how I so frequently have beautiful, longing-inducing dreams and/or memory dreams about my pipes and pipe tobaccos.... but I do NOT have any similar cigar related dreams.  I did, if I recall correctly, have at least one dream about going to meet the guys of the Retiree's Cigar Group, but the cigar itself, has never been a focal player in the dream.  

PipeTobacco