A New Song

It’s mid morning, and I’m sipping Ravensbrew organic coffee – so far, one of my favorites. My guitar, which usually lives leaning quietly against the wall has been out and about since I started taking lessons with my friend, Dan. The last time I took lessons was in 1972 and my teacher was drafted to Vietnam.

I’m a pretty good guitarist … I can sight-read classical music as long as there aren’t too many sharps or flats, I know all the chords and can easily play most music that you’d put in front of me. But … I don’t know how to create – how to improvise. I never learned/understood the theory beneath the music.

At my first lesson we spent a bit of time evaluating my skills (I would say I’m a good mechanic but not (yet?) an artist) and then talking about some of the basic theory. I got it! By the end of the first lesson, I was improvising just a little bit. I saw ‘the light’ … once you know and understand the theory, you don’t have to wait for an inspirational miracle … you don’t have to wait to channel it from the beyond … you just take the basic knowledge and play with it.

My first longer-range goal is to put together a set of folk and classical to play at an open mic.

That’s just one of the new songs that are playing in my life right now. Last week I made the difficult and necessary decision to step off the board of the arts foundation. There are some deep problems in the organization that are currently expressed through a financial crisis. The longer term vision is a beautiful one .. but I’m not sure if it’s one that can be achieved. My own vision for the foundation found some support, but not enough to shift its momentum.

The arts foundation was one of the first true personal connections that I made in Butte. Dan was my first real friend here – we chatted together every Saturday and Sunday through that first winter when I traveled from Dillon to Butte as he served me lattes and introduced me to the other customers who drifted in and out through the days. The people of and involved with the foundation are the basis of a greater part of my personal community now. It’s a difficult decision to walk away from something you love, still, because you know that your involvement is no longer a benefit to them or to you.

My time and energy have been freed up in expected and unexpected ways. I knew that part of the decision was to make more time for my thesis (which I am loving!). But, it’s also freed up time and energy to play – hanging out with friends, playing my guitar, visiting new places.

Some of the ‘new’ songs are old ones – like playing the guitar – it’s a visit to the past to bring that pleasure into the present. I’ve returned to a yoga practice and find that the movements and meditations are deeper and more free than ever before.

My life is settling into a summer rhythm – work at the watershed committee, research for my thesis, time and space to relax, to play, to enjoy. Friends that I’ve made over the past year are eager to share their Montana with me – so I’ll visit Yellowstone, I’ll be going floating on the Jefferson River soon, gentle hikes in new places, visits to other places around the state – or bbq’s in neighbor’s yards. Life is pretty darn good.