Wow, again it has been a while since I’ve written anything in here. I have become one of those insanely busy people who rarely has a minute to spare.
Job is going well. Trying to fit everything else I need to do into the time I’m at home is a big challenge. I LOVED mine and Elfair’s recital in St. Ann’s Church, Manchester, thanks to everyone who came, it was a lovely evening. I’ve also had gigs in Blackpool and Parbold, Lancashire over Easter weekend.
The next thing on my agenda is a trip to Southampton next week! To play on a ship! I’m very excited, the ship isn’t actually going anywhere but I’m hoping it will lead to other cruisey type gigs in the future – which would be GREAT – financially and in general, I would love to be able to travel and get paid to see the world.
The gym is also adding to me being incredibly busy – I joined basically first thing after my first payday. And since then I’ve been three times each week – a record that will end next week as I am away, but I’ve been really enjoying it. My programme that was given to me at my induction and which seemed impossible is now fine, I feel loads fitter after five weeks of regular exercise.
So yea, lots of excitement coming up in the near future. I will be posting more regularly as well so watch this space.
So last week I completely forgot to write a post! There goes my system of numbering the weeks as they go by. Never mind.
I wanted to talk a little bit about the things I’ve been learning since starting my new job, and how they translate into my musical life.
Being in a new role as I currently am, there are lots of questions, and I don’t particularly like asking questions as I don’t want to seem silly (although that’s possibly a lost cause) BUT, which is worse, asking and looking silly for a minute, or not asking, never quite being sure and looking very silly further down the line?
As you get comfortable with certain aspects of the job (for example, cashing up, using the till etc) there will be things that I’m not as comfortable with (say, handling refunds or exchanges). But the quickest way to get past that nervousness is to do the things that make you a little edgy. I was a little nervous the first few times I answered the phone at work as I wouldn’t know who it would be or what they’d need, or if I’d been given the training for what they require. The only way I could get over that is to make sure that I answer the phone as much as I can so I get used to it – avoiding things won’t make them any easier, only getting used to them will.
On another note, I have a Recital coming up on March 12th, in St. Ann’s Church in Manchester – myself and the wonderful Elfair Dyer will be playing solos and duets from 7.30pm until around 9pm. More information can be found here: http://www.facebook.com/events/606208226062404/
While practising and memorising music in preparation for this concert, the same principles apply – I have such limited time to practice that I have no time to waste by staying inside my comfort zone. I have to go straight to the sections that aren’t quite up to scratch and work on those. If I don’t feel like playing a piece through, I just tell myself that it must be because I’m worried it won’t be securely from memory – which would mean more work needs to be done (sounds pretty lazy doesn’t it?) but I have been playing it again anyway – just to make sure – and then once more for luck. And you know what? Pretty much all the notes are from memory and I still have a week to go. I have one more day off work between now and the recital so it’ll be a case of squeezing in concentrated practice before and after work.
Bring it on!
So it seems, in work, in music, (and maybe in life?) the only way to get comfortable with things that we are nervous about is to just do them anyway. Mistakes are good because they show what needs work, and that’s how we learn and improve.
Another week has flown by, and somehow I’ve managed to find the time to fit in two gigs, five full days at work and two trips to the pub!
The first gig was on Valentine’s Day – yes my V-day was spent setting the mood for loved-up couples having dinner at the restaurant in the lovely Lowry Hotel. I actually managed to leave work at 6.15 and be at the venue at just gone 7! Unbelievable – I had my new dress:
As you can see from the above photo, I was to get changed in the spa changing rooms, the whole place seemed lovely, really clean and spacious:
I began playing at around 7.30pm. The restaurant wasn’t too crowded, which was nice – after each set I had a (non-alcoholic) drink in the bar:
So yea, that was pretty much that. The manager mentioned getting me in to play for the occasional afternoon tea up in the restaurant, which would be lovely! Watch this space.
The other gig I had this week was on Saturday, playing at Manchester University’s Martin Harris Centre. I was feeling very delicate on Saturday morning but somehow managed to pull myself together for the evening concert. We were doing Debussy’s Iberia and Ravel’s La Valse – I had done the Ravel before in college so I knew I was in for a treat. The Debussy was great as well. Harp 1 was played by Sarah Paterson (hello Sarah!) I can’t believe we had three years at RNCM together and yet last Saturday was the first time we played in orchestra together! It was a pleasure, it’s lovely to have some company in the harp section! Luckily for us Debussy and Ravel were before the interval so we could ‘clock off’ early – which makes little difference to me as I only had to drive 2 minutes and I was home, but Sarah had quite a trip back over to Yorkshire so it’s always nice to finish early!
Every spare minute I have had this last week has gone into practising for my upcoming Recital. On 12th March I will be performing in St Ann’s Church at 7.30pm alongside the wonderful Elfair Dyer. More information coming very soon so watch this space.
One final note, my blog has been in existence for a whole year now! A big thank you to everyone who has been reading along, and commenting along the way. I am a whisker away from 3,000 views and those can’t possibly all be from my parents so thank you! I’ve really enjoyed writing and look forward to continuing to do so in the future.
I’m about to go to bed and I’m so excited! I love going to bed knowing that I’m going to sleep really well. I have taken to putting my alarm away from my bed so I have to get up when it goes off – it really works!
Since last week’s post I’ve been working a lot and I’ve also had two gigs. Plus I have two more this week – I am insanely busy for the next few weeks.
Saturday’s gig was a wedding at Oulton Hall in Leeds – incidentally I’m pretty sure this was the venue of one of my outdoor gigs last ‘summer’ that I moaned about – luckily this was inside. I wore my new dress! It actually reaches the floor which, on my 6 foot frame is quite marvellous.
As usual I took a few pics of the building:
The amazing wedding car:
And the golf course:
The Bride was half an hour late! I was providing background music ‘while the guests were congregating’, they basically sat in silence and got a free concert. Not that I minded particularly – but I felt bad for the groom, he was definitely getting a little edgy.
Tonight’s gig was in the MetQuarter in Liverpool – parking was tricky but there was a bunch of guys on hand to help (tough job but someone’s got to do it) and they were lovely – showing me where to park, helping to carry things, paying for my pay and display ticket! Liverpool is friendly! Wore my new dress again, I did I mention that I have a new dress??
The gig was an art exhibition to raise money for the Princes Trust – only a small gathering of around 25 people but it was a lovely event. I did manage to get locked into the bathroom where I was getting changed, it can only be locked from the outside but someone thought no one was in and locked me in! So my helpers were wondering where I’d disappeared to and I was frantically giving them all missed calls and worrying what time they lock up at night. Luckily I did get out as you may have gathered.
I listened to the Les Miserables soundtrack all the way there and back and LOVED IT. I also bought the Jesus Christ Superstar soundtrack at the same time, and no, I’m not ashamed.
So I got home tonight at around 9pm after having worked at the shop 10-3 and then gone straight to a gig – when I get an evening in, it often consists of chilling out and watching DVDs (usually Sex and the City) with my flatmate (hello Josephine!) and just zoning out before bed, I enjoy the feeling of being so busy – it forces me to organise my time meticulously – and stick to it! But it also allows me to appreciate the chilling time.
So I’d like to finish this post by wishing everyone a wonderful Valentine’s Day! In case you were wondering, yes I have plans! But more about that next week.
I had a day off work today. Still really enjoying it but I needed today as a sorting out day. One of those days where you send emails you’ve been getting around to, pay bills that need paying, spend time filing away papers, alphabetising music instead of keeping it in a pile on the floor and, most importantly, I was able to do a good stint of practice. Yay!
So, last Saturday I was in Sheffield playing some Wagner with Sheffield Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Dane Lam (hi Dane!). There were two harps! Myself and the lovely Alley York. I’ve never been a big Wagner fan to be honest – haven’t grown into it yet. But we were doing excerpts from Wagner’s Ring Cycle so that was that. Only, some of it looked a tad tricky:
And the hilarious thing is, you can hardly even hear it! Arghh! The top photo is a close up showing the ridiculous number of pedal changes in that passage. If Wagner was here right now I would (on behalf of all harpists) give him a serious talking to – and a book about appropriate writing for the harp.
I’m never quite sure of the best way to drive to Sheffield from Manchester, Snake Pass (twisty and turny and often shut) or M62/M1 (crazily long detour) – I went back the snakey way in the dark just to keep things interesting and to see how my new car handled it. I think he enjoyed it!
Alley hadn’t been given the music for one of the excerpts so we had to resort to modern technology:
All in all the concert went well – when the harps could be heard we pretty much doing what we were supposed to be doing, and with Wagner, maybe that’s all we could have hoped for.
Well another week has rolled by. This last one has been rather busy – no surprises there. I was working Tuesday-Friday and Sunday as well – really enjoying the job! Enough to do to keep me busy without being stressful. Ideal.
On the Saturday I had a wedding to play for in Halifax at Holdsworth House Hotel. Once I drove out of Manchester I suddenly entered a winter wonderland. The roads were just about clear and the snowy scenery over the Pennines was gorgeous.
So a relatively easy journey until I get to the hotel itself. The single track driveway was very icy and snowy and I just managed to slide onto it when a car leaving the hotel started driving towards me. She was obviously not going to stop so I had to reverse off the snow back onto the road to give her enough room to get out – I’m already sliding all over the place so mild panic ensues. But anyway, I manage to get into the car park – which is ankle deep in snow, after a lot of skidding around (I wonder if onlookers thought I was doing it for fun) I managed to follow some tracks into a space at the far end of the car park.
Ok the car is parked, next hurdle, how to wheel a harp across the tundra previously known as the car park. A man who went by the name of Jaf was busily shovelling snow and I asked if he would help me – but by help I meant carry my bag, steady the harp and catch it if I slip. His definition of help was rather different. As soon as the harp was loaded onto the trolley he started wheeling it – I freaked out slightly but then realised there was no way I could have managed it so I just let him get on with it. I must say he did an excellent job – so well done Jaf !
The venue itself looked very beautiful:
I had been asked to play this for the Bride’s entrance:
At first I thought it a little strange to play video game music at a wedding but, to be fair, it’s a lovely piece of music.
The two readings were also lovely – Shakepeare’s Sonnet 116 – the one made even more famous by Sense and Sensibility, and an Edward Monkton story called Love Monkey:
It was once custom that every monkey would carve for himself a wooden heart.
And the heart that love monkey carved was the most beautiful of all.
Its contours were soft and rounded, like an ancient pebble sculpted by the oceans.
Its surface was smooth and shiny like liquid silk, and it shone as bright as a ruby in the desert sun.
“Take your hearts with you wherever you go,” said their teacher.
“Nurture them as a mother nurtures her new-born baby.
For when you want to give of yourself fully, your heart is the only true gift you will have.”
That night, Love Monkey had a dream.
He dreamt of a monkey whose smile lit up his sole like sunshine.
He held out his hear to her, so radiant, so splendid and so new.
She took him in her arms and he felt truly, perfectly, at peace.
When Love Monkey awoke he resolved that, from that day forward,
he would search for his Dream Monkey until he could stand before her and give to her his perfect heart.
He travelled through deserts…and climbed over mountains.
He trekked across forests…and sailed many oceans.
Love Monkey looked after his heart as best he could, but the storms that he endured on his travels chipped away at its surface and each new adventure reshaped it.
By the time he arrived on the last distant shore, his heart was so changed by the patina of time that it barely resembled his old heart at all.
And then, he saw her.
Standing before him, as radiant and as beautiful as the sunshine, was his Dream Monkey.
At firs the cold not speak. But then, from somewhere deep inside himself, he found a voice.
“I have travelled the world over to find you, and to give you my hear,” he said.
“But now that I am finally with you, I see how foolish I have been.
You are so beautiful, so perfect. And my heart that was once smooth, so bright and so new is now not something that I could even bring myself to show you,” and he turned to go.
“Let me see it,” said Dream Monkey. She took his heart and held it up to the light.
“Nothing to me is more beautiful. Every fissure tells a story.
Every blemish makes you more real. All my life I have been waiting for a heart like this; a heart that speaks the truth.”
“Come here,” she said. “I have something for you too.”
In her hand was a tiny golden heart. It was as worn and as scratched as Love Monkey’s own
…and it was the most precious thing that he had ever seen.
Love Monkey put his arms around her and they held each other for a long, long time.
“I shall treasure this heart for as long as I live,” said Dream Monkey, running her fingers over its ridged and dimpled surface.
Then they looked into each other’s eyes and, feeling the joy of truth in their souls for the first time, they began to laugh.
And often they sit together still, holding each other’s hearts in their warm hands, lifting them to the light…and laughing.
Always laughing
There were a lot of tears at this wedding, happy tears.
The ceremony was over rather quickly – and I played some music while people were leaving, I had one gentleman come up and start videoing me half way through Andrew Lloyd Webber’s All I Ask Of You – I’m not one to be put off easily but all I wanted to ask of him was to stop it!
So afterwards I had to bring my car round to the entrance so I could get the harp back in, this time I had to ask two guys to push my car through the snow – and of course Jaf was on hand to wheel my harp to my car. I could get used to all this help! So I slid back down the driveway and went on my merry way – it’s good to get back into the routine of doing gigs! And there are plenty more coming in the next few weeks.
This last week will in the future be thought of as the-last-week-in-which-I-had-any-free-time. I start my new job tomorrow and I am so excited!
So being offered the job totally changed the feel of last week – it went from being just another week in which to chip away at emails/admin/looking for gigs to being the last week when I can get up when I want to, have my own schedule, go out for several cocktails with friends, play Monopoly til 2.30am and then watch a DVD with friends and beers and just generally making the most of my freedom.
It’s been amazing! And the weird thing is, now I’ve relaxed somewhat regarding my income, gigs are now pouring in! I have gigs for the next four Saturdays, a solo recital in March at church (more about that later) and a huge pile of Wagner to mark up and learn for a concert in exactly twelve sleeps, Arggh!
Maybe the only thing I needed to get more work was, well, work. It’s going to be pretty crazy trying to fit all this in as well as working four days a week, but I can’t wait to get busy and work hard for a living – it’s going to be so satisfying to see my debt get smaller each month.
Something crazy happened in the last seven days. In my last post I remember saying how I need a part time job as a little extra income – well, I’ve got one! First interview was last Friday, then second interview was yesterday (Monday) then yesterday afternoon I got a phone call offering me the job! Exciting!
It’s four days a week in a specialist clothing store for tall ladies like me – they don’t need me on Saturdays so I can still accept the majority of the gigs I’m offered which is a huge plus. Also, we get a clothing allowance each season so we can wear their clothes to work – so I will regularly get to pick out lovely clothes that fit really nicely! It’s so perfect for me. I start a week today – next Tuesday.
I’m so excited about saving some money! Finally! This year I’ll be able to buy decent Christmas presies for my family instead of having to knit them because I had no spare cash. I’ll be able to have the occasional night out in a nice bar and not freak out if I spend £30 on drinks – not that I ever do that *cough*. My life won’t have to grind to a halt if a couple of gig payments take ages to arrive – December gigs this means you!
It’ll also be nice to be around people during the day – not that I get lonely – but I sometimes wish I had the chance to have more social interaction during the week. The shop itself is lovely as well, really friendly, not too busy and the clothes are good quality – it’s almost like a boutique.
So all this has changed the feel of this week – it now feels like my last week off before I suddenly become very very busy. Somehow I’ll have to fit in my running, admin and practising for gigs in amongst working 25-30 hours a week.
So it has been 2013 for a week now! I still haven’t decided whether to say two-thousand-and-thirteen or the slightly more concise twenty-thirteen.
So I want to post every week this year. During this week I’ve been thinking about what I’m going to write and sort of formulating the ideas in my head so I can just write it and it’s done!
This isn’t the post I thought it was going to be.
I thought I’d be writing about how getting up early really impacts on the whole day, about how I feel much better and much more organised.
I do still believe that getting up earlier results in these things – I feel as organised as I could be, the flat is clean & tidy, I’ve had time to cook healthy and somewhat interesting meals, I’ve even been running a few times. But I think what I was looking for is a sense of control.
Control over how I organise my time, control over the money that comes in, and the gigs I’m offered. But I’ve been really unsettled at just how out of control I have felt recently. Take for example, a pupil who, for whatever reason, no longer wants lessons. Fair enough but I then have to find that money from somewhere else – usually just as I’m reaching some sort of equilibrium between income and spending, something happens to tip the balance, having to buy a new car for example, or suddenly receiving a bill I’d forgotten about.
There is also the fact that I’m still owed money from gigs I did over Christmas – I hate that I have to nag to be paid in a reasonable amount of time. I’d actually rather they give me a cheque on the day which is dated in the future – at least then it’s in my hands ready to be put in the bank.
I hate living from month to month like this – it’s only half a life! Only just making enough to get by – I need something else, a part time job somewhere – just something during the day, during the week while I’m not really doing anything apart from pottering around trying to sort my life out. I have no money for socialising or clothes or anything really that’s not a bill or rent or a car payment. I know people younger than me who have bought their own property – wow – that’s just amazing. I wish I was in that situation.
I don’t want to put a downer on anyone who reads this! But posts like this are important – this is not an easy career to go into – I’m still deciding if it’s one I even want to stay in for the long term.
Firstly, I’d like to wish everyone who reads this a happy and prosperous New Year. And, I also want to thank those who have been reading my blog, and a big thank you to those who leave feedback in the form of comments – or in person.
On New Year’s Eve I decided to take a very last minute trip down to Hampton-in-Arden to see my sister. I’d already had a gig – performing at Sunrise Senior Living Retirement Home in Bramhall as part of their holiday celebrations. I had what I thought was a clever idea that we could sing some carols for a bit of audience participation. This was not met with much enthusiasm, or indeed, singing. Never mind! I tried.
I was actually in Hampton last New Year’s Eve too, in the same pub! That led me to ponder the things that have changed in 2012 for me and my career. My bank balance is probably pretty much the same, I’ve had to change my car (rest in peace Bertie), but what I have gained is experience in terms of gigs and teaching. I just hope it’s all heading somewhere – and that I’m heading in the right direction.
Anyway, moving on! I’ve made a few resolutions – some of them will only begin once I get back to Manchester later this week:
Start running regularly, 3 times a week – I didn’t go for a single run in December so I’m looking forward to getting back into it. I also have the target of the Great North Run to aim for.
Get up earlier Monday-Friday, days are ridiculously more productive if I drag myself out of bed earlier, every day needs to be like that.
Get out of overdraft and start saving – this will be huge if I manage it.
Write in my blog more often! Once a week – even if it seems like nothing noteworthy has happened!
So, what are your resolutions? How long will they last? Do let me know!
