A Music Garden

just subtitute your creative passion for 'harp' or 'music' in this article!

by Jane Valencia
copyright (c) 2001
 

Feb. 2: Imbolc/Candlemas/St. Brigit's Day

In this quiet time of the year, the days have begun to subtly lengthen,
and spring quickens below the surface. Buds swell on the trees, and
the first seeds are awakening. Light is returning to earth, and this
is a good time to plan this year's garden--both literally and musically.
Farmers and gardeners order their seeds about now. They may plot out
the shape and color of their garden, which crops and flowers will
they sow first? What will be the succession of the planting, so that
bloom, fruit, and vegetable carry across the growing season?

This is the time to plant the seeds of the new year, both figuratively
and literally. When farmers and gardeners start seeds, they press
them into the soil and provide water, warmth, and light. In the darkness
of the soil, the seeds germinate. The process, at first, is unseen,
but below the surface, the ideas contained within those seeds express
themselves into being.

Musically we can make time to ``gather the seeds'' of our own goals
for the coming year, and to press them into the soil of our selves.
What music/projects would you like to manifest this year? Now is the
time to set the stage for them. Gather the sheet music you want to
learn, start jotting down notes or playing around improvisationally
to get the ``sap'' flowing for those compositions .... What better
time to spark new ideas--St. Brigit, who is honored at this time of
year, is the patron saint/Irish goddess of inspiration, poetry, fire,
and creativity.

 March 20-23: Ostara/Spring Equinox

One of the two points of balance in the year. Day and night are of
equal length. Vegetation burgeons--you'll see new leaves fanning
forth, and daffodils brightening into bloom. After the cold still
months of winter, it is time to move outside ourselves once more.
Farmers and gardeners nurture seeds in earnest about now, anticipating
the first crops and flowers of early summer. Our musical ideas have
gestated these past weeks. Now is the time to coax them forth.
Tend the sprouts that are your new tunes and arrangements. Don't demand
too much of them too soon--after all, they are still tender and young,
and haven't developed enough growth to be thrust ``into the field''
just yet. Be kind to your new projects. Delight in their delicate
green shoots, and in their subtle but determined growth with each
passing day.

 May 1: Beltane/May Day

Spring has exploded into a rampant flowering. The days stretch longer,
the night shrinks, and It seems that all of nature is bent on procreation.
Now is the time to be bold and vigorous. Tackle your creative projects
with flair. Set your arrangements and compositions into flower. They
don't need to be fully formed at this time, but you probably have
a good sense of their structure. Spend time on some of the broadbrush
sculpting that will make your project uniquely your own. Be adventurous--throw
in an intro, an outro, or perhaps an improvisational section, experiment
with timbre, unusal bass hand possibilities, etc. Add color and blossom.
Take your cues from nature, and be abundant in your music! Take chances!

 June 20-23: Litha/Summer Solstice

The sun is at its peak. We've reached the longest day and the shortest
night of the year. After this moment, the days will begin their gradual
shortening once more, returning eventually to the dark time of the
year. In these summer months when the world calls to us to be outside,
enjoy this free and zealous time. Just as the sun is strongest at
this time, now is the time to honor our own strengths, our intensities.
Creating new music isn't just about trying new techniques or ideas,
or pushing yourself in new directions, it's also about taking stock
of what you're good at and doing those things too. Do certain styles
of music or certain techniques come easily to you? Celebrate those
things you do well, and go ahead and ``throw'' together a new arrangement
or piece that allows you to do those things, or add them into pieces
you're already working on. You may feel like you're ``cheating''--doing
something that you've done numerous times before -- but that's not
what it is at all. If you've spent time in previous months working
on new ideas and techniques, you have moved to a different place,
and your ``same old'' approaches will have shifted as well. Don't
bother thinking, just do--and allow yourself to be surprised when
your ``same olds'' reveal bright faces in your playing.

 August 2: Lughnasad/Lammas/First Harvest

It's not your imagination. Even though it is still summer, the earth
has shifted, and we begin to sense autumn around the corner. The days
are hot and long, but an occasional crispness in the night air, or
flutter of dead leaf reminds us that "the times they are a-changing".
Crops everywhere are ripening, and plants are going to seed. This
is the time that grain ripens and is harvested, and those who celebrate
this festival bake the grain into bread, in honor of the nourishment
that the earth provides us. This is a time of celebration and transformation,
as the fruits of our labor are harvested and changed by
preparing them into innumerable fresh and simple dishes that sustain
us: fruits and vegetables lightly cooked or just eaten raw or combined
into salads and dishes that celebrate their freshness.

As the plants around us go to seed, we too can take our cues and do
the same, musically speaking. Now is a good time to harvest your music.
Play those pieces you've been working on for the past few months in
festivals, at circles, at parties, or just in front of a friend or
two. Don't worry about doing all the hard stuff you may have planned
for your arrangements and compositions. This is a good time to run
through them in front of people. If you have to simplify parts in
order to play from start to finish, so be it. Focus on clarity and
continuity. You can add the harder stuff back in later. For now, enjoy
the first fruits of your labor, and sharing it in a clear form with
others. Like a slice of fresh baked bread, you'll find that even an
unadorned musical piece will nourish the soul.

 September 20-23: Mabon/Autumn Equinox

Another moment of perfect balance, as day and night dance together
in equal length. Days filled with golden light and warm sun alternate
with crisp star-filled nights. Here is the time when full harvest--apples,
plums, pears, tomatoes, corn, the first of the winter squash--may
overwhelm a gardener in its abundance. You'll find gardeners and farmers
harvesting heaps of vegetables and fruits and doing all they can to
preserve by means of canning, freezing, dehydrating this food that
is far more than they can eat at this time. This time marks the original
feast of thanks-giving. Folks gave thanks for the things harvested
during the year, and shared the fruits of their harvest in a grand
celebration. Musically, we can do this too. A harp circle (or retreat!)
at this time of year is an ideal time for sharing with one another
the musical journeys we've taken. Even if we haven't created a single
new arrangement in the past 12 months, we have certainly journeyed
somewhere in our creative lives. Share this journey with your friends
and enjoy in turn the stories and music that chart where they have
gone. Like a harvest feast, each others' journeys can sustain and
inspire us as we settle into the inward-turning of the year.

 October 31: Samhain/All Hallow's Eve/Halloween

At its roots, this festival honors our ancestors, death, and our own
inner wisdom. Now is a time of reflection and remembrance, and of
paying attention to our dreams. Rather than focusing on creating complex
musical pieces or mastering various techniques, try going inward with
your music. Use your music to reflect your thoughts. Recall a favorite
grandparent and noodle a melody as the memory unfolds in your mind;
take an image from a dream and vocalize simple or strange sounds as
you recall it; jot down a series of words about autumn and string
them into a chant. Rather than ``practicing'' through an entire session
with your harp, be sure to spend time just playing whatever pieces
or tunes that come to your mind and fingers--even if they are melodies
you have never worked on in your life! Be dreamy with your harp. You
may find yourself journeying to someplace completely unexpected.

 December 20-23: Winter Solstice/Yule

The second peak moment of the year, that of the shortest day and the
longest night. The earth has gone to sleep, and her bones in the form
of bare-limbed trees and ground are revealed. In this dark time it
seems that spring may never return, but the reemergance of the sun
after the shortest day promises otherwise. This is the time of both
celebration and quiet reflection. In our culture it is hard to allow
for the quiet spaces that nature, tucked deep within herself, offers.
Unfortunately the frantic activity and preparation for celebration
drags us away from the crystalline moments that this time presents.
The celebration itself is one important part--enjoying the company
of loved ones, the promise of returning light and hope. Discovering
and reflecting on the beauty and stillness at the heart of the season
is the other aspect. In the company of others, add your harp music
and voice to the merrymaking and song. Alone, improvise  gentle melodies
as you sit by your fire and enjoy a mug of hot cider. There is great
joy in making music with others at this time of year, and also in
making music alone.
 

end