The other day I decided that my next recording project would be to record some of my solo piano works. I can remember writing quite a few, and this sounded like a good idea. Easy, right?  I would just sit at my piano and play them. Main problem to this idea is that I write a lot of songs, but I don't have the gift of memorizing songs. I'm a reader. Put something in front of me, and I'll play it. But from memory...not happening.

So I started to scour my computer files searching for songs I hadn't seen in quite a while. That's when I realized that although I tend to think of myself as a fairly organized person, my computer files of my music were anything but organized. It seems that I've been storing my music in a somewhat haphazard way...shows I've written were fairly easily found, but individual songs were spread over a multitude of locations within my computer and in my storage closet. 

Yes, I have boxes of music that I've been moving from place to place, always with the intention of 'someday' organizing them and checking to see if the handwritten manuscripts had made their way into my Sibelius program. Did 'someday' ever come? Not yet, it seems. Someday...

Ignoring those boxes until 'someday', I decided first to tackle those works that lie buried within my computer. I successfully created folders to hold categories that seemed to make sense: children's tunes, Christian vocal solos, choral anthems, musicals, cabaret shows. That first part was fairly easy. But then I got bogged down.

I started to find songs I had not seen in years...I couldn't even remember when I had written them. Some had lyrics, some were just the bare beginnings of a tune waiting for completion. Some were worthy of saving...some received the delete button!

Along the way, I did find a few hidden treasures...pieces that showed promise and were surprisingly complete...yet had never seen the light of day...they were just nestled within their cozy, undisturbed file in my computer.  Many will require editing and re-writing...a process which I've come to embrace over the years as a very valuable exercise. I think my most worthy songs have been found this way.

One in particular attracted my attention...it was called "For All Your Gifts". In the format I found, it seemed to be a vocal solo, but as I was listening to it, I realized that it would make a better choral work.  I guess that'll be my next project.

Now where did I put those piano solos?

Until the next time,

Michael