The Value of Down Time

DAY FIVE: We creatives work hard. Whether we run our Art as a business or no. Writers, painters, musicians…we are constantly practising our craft.

I can truly vouch for this. No matter where I am, I constantly absorb details, my senses are receptive to everything. It is all fodder for a song, a story, a sound, a line, a character. Every emotion, moment, neighbouring conversation. A face can set the artist in me off. The colour of a sweater. A smile from a stranger. A line from a child.

This is something non-artists often misunderstand. We are always creating in our minds. Feeling things deeply. Digging in places beyond the hard surface of reality. To the outsider we appear vague, at times, for this very reason. We drift away. We need a lot of space.

My notebooks are filled to the brim. They always have been. I can’t help myself. I have to get them out of my brain or I cannot function in the real world.

It is the same with my choir work. It is another hungry, creative pet in my life which needs feeding! I’m taking some downtime in a cafe and I hear a song on the radio. I immediately assess whether it would be a good number to add to my choir repertoire and yes! that sets me off at once. I am Shazamming it and opening Sibelius and arranging harmonies for it at once.

I think I need a desert island. Without a pen. No radio. No blog page. Nothing. I need some real downtime!

Meanwhile, back to that song. You will have to join us at a singing club to know what the song is. So cool. Back to work…

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