There Are Times
Information:
- Source: Music and Life Notebook
- Key: C Major
- Measures: 36
- Parts: Cello and Piano
- Duration: 2:37 min.
- Pages: 3
“Good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgment.”
― Rita Mae Brown, Alma Mater
Hello everyone,
LOUD STATEMENT
Decision making is a daily activity we do, whether we are aware of it or not. Indeed, it could be an automatic motion, or an alert pursuit that requires a mathematical precision and deep reflection. See, making a decision is the same as making a loud statement to the whole world. Yet, some people go to the extent to say: NOT making a decision it’s making a decision. Well, I suppose there is some logic to it.
Decisions can be as “significant” as to the color of an outfit for an important job interview, or as “insignificant” as to choose the flavor of ice cream we prefer. Some decisions we take, will be a life changing event, delineating the path of who we are for the rest of our lives. Kind of scary if you ask me.
RANDOM ACTIVITY
Coming to sensible conclusions at the time of deciding is never the easiest task, because a lot of times, it’s in every respect, just a very random activity. We have the ability to ponder and make the right decisions, however, they are times, so many times of which, a number of outside events make their way in, playing an important part in the outcome of a good judgment.
I have always wondered if having a “good sense” is something we learned, or, is a genetic disposition that becomes ever more present as we aged; in any case, we all must have at any age, a certain degree of common sense in order to survive the inhospitable world we live in.
During the length of our existence, it is almost expected that we loose sight of our intensions and make very poor choices, causing distress, forcing us to change the course of action just to feel a shade of reassurance, hoping to have learned our lesson.
THE VOICE INSIDE
I’ve been thinking about my life, and how indirect events had influenced my better judgment. I wish I could say all the choices I’d made in life, had been beneficial. Yet, I try NOT to dwell in regrets. Instead, I celebrate my victories. However, to celebrate these victories, first, I must listen to the voice inside my mind, telling me all the commands learned for survival:
Wait
Listen
Speak Out
Focus
Keep Silent
Don’t move
Faster
Go
Day in and day out, we all are being bombarded with excessive amounts of information, there is a lot of noise everywhere, making it easy to go astray and decide for the wrong path. But, I would like to think a good solid grasp of reality and a bit of luck, can and should keep us out of trouble.
As a music composer, the decisions taken to make music, are almost always directly affected by emotions. However, there is another important aspect to take in consideration: The technical rules. The following list shows some of the commands to consider at the time of composing music:
Key
Tempo
Dynamics
Melody
Harmony
Rhythm
Pitch
Accidentals
Articulation
COMPLETE MYSTERY
It is incredibly amusing how music resembles life itself. The creative process is, even to the most accomplish composers, a complete mystery. We know the emotions collate within, and then, between the writing and all the things going on in life, they dictate the decisions taken, almost imperceptibly.
There are moments of doubt during the creative process, but at the end, all the “should’ve” “could’ve” “would’ve” fade away, in this way, hoping to have accomplished an important task. Similar to life itself, which demands to take decisions based on knowledge, all the doubts may dissipate with time.
With this piece of music, it was my intention to reflect on the failures and the victories that I have to faced as a result of making decisions in my life. In my better judgment. I also wish the piece reveals a portion of hopefulness and comfort knowing that, not everything is lost, regardless of our choices.
Enjoy !