It’s ringing, singing in my ears…
A music no one else can hear.
I play to set sweet music free,
So everyone can join with me!
—
Written for Stream of Consciousness Saturday
https://lindaghill.com/2020/11/13/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-nov-14-2020/
Are you still waiting
For your starship to come in
On lucky zephyrs?
Wake up and smell the coffee!
Your life is passing you by!
—
A Tanka, obediently written for Linda Kruschke’s
Paint Chip Poetry Prompt #46.
The holidays are coming, whether we like them or not, whether we celebrate them or not, and no matter how different our celebrations may be this year than in years past! They are coming nonetheless, and it would be more positive to embrace them than to dread them, or wish they were different!
TO that end, I offer “The More We Get Together,” a Viennese melody composed by Marx Augustin in 1679. Its German title is “Oh du lieber Augustin.” In the United States, the tune is a children’s song, but it’s fun, and as strange as it may seem, also timely. We still need to get together with our loved ones, reach out and make new friends and contacts, etc. Even if our physical gatherings are limited, there are so many ways we can still get together for the holidays and all year long! As the song says, “The more we get together, the happier we’ll be!” I believe this to be true.
Today you’re listening to zither, Oriole (soprano) Recorder, and viola. That’s right, viola. You know, the middle voice of the string section in an orchestra… The instrument with its own individual clef for musical scores… The true alto, tuned a fifth below the violin and an octave above the cello… And the instrument that is the butt of nearly every joke in the orchestra… What? You mean you didn’t know any of that? Then you clearly don’t play viola! 🙂
Well, neither do I, at least not in the traditional sense. I hold the viola upright on my lap, more like a baby cello, and sometimes with a strap for support. Because of neck, shoulder, and back pain, I can’t hold it in shoulder playing position. I even removed the chin rest.
I also have more than normal trouble with the bow, especially in this position. So, I ditched the traditional long bow for a tiny–literally 4 inches long at most–bow meant to be used on acoustic guitar. It works. But it’s so short. This means that right now I can only play short notes, until I can purchase a different bow that’s easier on my right hand and arm. In addition, I’m playing with a rubber practice mute installed, to save my husband and neighbors from the full volume. So, no, I’m not traditional in this case. But dog gone it, I still want to play, and play I do!
I don’t have access to a multi-track device or software, so I recorded the zither, viola, and recorder separately, then mixed them. This takes a lot of time and is frustrating, but for now it will have to do.
One more thing… I know that at least one of my blog followers has perfect pitch. You know who you are. 🙂 Please accept my apology. I’ve had the viola less than a week, and I’m still working on intonation. A viola, like violin, cello, some banjos, etc, has no frets. So, you must learn, by a combination of sound and feel, where the musical intervals are on each string. Of course, there was a sticker on the fingerboard showing pretty colored lines for each note! But not being able to see made this a hindrance rather than a help, and I removed that as well. Correct intonation/pitch is the bane of every violinist’s, violist’s, and cellist’s beginning days. I’m not a total beginner, but it’s been years since I picked up a violin or viola. My intonation will improve, and thanks for bearing with me in the meantime!
I hope you enjoy “The More We Get Together!”
If one is all and all are one,
Then why such trouble on this earth?
And why, beginning at our birth,
Do struggles keep us from the sun?
When night arrives and day is done,
We make our choice: To light the spark
Or wander stumbling through the dark…
We may not see, but we can hear
The inner voice of faith or fear.
And which we follow leaves a mark!
—
A Decima for
Ronovan Writes Décima Poetry Challenge Prompt No. 31: (ONE) in the A rhyme line.
Let it fall away…
First we must heal from the old
To enjoy the new!
—
Written for
Ronovan Writes #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge 331 FIRST & Heal
Anglican bishop Reginald Heber wrote the lyrics to “Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty!” but the hymn was not published until after his death. The melody is called “Nicaea” and was composed by John Bacchus Dykes. This hymn endures into the 21st century in many Christian denominations. I remember singing it as a child, in celebration of the Trinity.
I hope you enjoy this arrangement on alto recorder and lyre!
A supernova flies across the sky!
It pulls me from a melancholy time.
I wonder how a being such as I
Could miss a fascination so sublime!
The scent of lavender comes sweetly round
To ease a troubled mind before I sleep.
The night air, softly, gently blowing down,
Takes what must go, and tells what I must keep.
The wild blue yonder always points the way,
Unchanging Self with ever-changing view.
I, too, can change my thoughts in night or day,
And deep within I Am the Light of Truth.
It isn’t simply nature as it seems,
But beauty to enjoy and teach us things!
—
A Sonnet for Linda Kruschke’s
Paint Chip Poetry Prompt #44
Like a flash of smoke
Error’s illusions destroy
What took time to build.
What took time to build
Required strength and hard work
To achieve the goal.
To achieve the goal,
We must step outside the box
In faith and courage.
In faith and courage,
We go on despite failure;
Nature shows us how.
—
Shi Rensa Haiku
written for
#Threethingschallenge #412
My kindred are the instruments
For sweetest music-making–
The nature of their character,
A present for our taking.
The strings within the orchestra
Are sea glass for the ears.
They ring, reflect; they laugh and cry
With smiles and then with tears.
The brass, a welcome lighthouse great,
Is pointing out the way,
With pride and power leading on
And strength for each new day.
The woodwind section fills the air
Of inner, outer space,
As sounds of singing harken back
To fragile antique lace.
A booming blizzard from the drums!
It rattles rafters high!
Our hearts quicken in unison,
Uniting rhythms rhyme.
My kindred are plum perfect
And do a job well done!
They teach that through diversity,
In truth, we all are one!
—
My response to Linda Kruschke’s
Paint Chip Poetry Prompt #45: Kindred
I wonder how the animals feel!
When they enter our gardens to catch their crumbs,
Do they think we await them and want them to come?
I wonder how the animals feel!
When they hear our clocks chime and the noises we make,
Do they beg us to stop, for goodness sake!
Do they pray for a mute button on the remote
And wish we were still, silent like their fur coat?
I wonder how the animals feel!
When they see all our selling and marketing stuff,
Do they ask themselves, “When will enough be enough?”
I wonder how the animals feel!
Do they vision a world without people and places
So teeming with ghoulish, uncool social graces?
Would it brighten their day if we all stopped to listen
To our wonderful sky as it gleams and it glistens?
I wonder how the animals feel!
When the time comes to ring in a shiny new year,
Do they question if things will be different from here?
I wonder how the animals feel!
When we smell fetted odors that make us go “Phew!”
Do they want to exclaim, “You smell bad to us, too!”
Do they point and react to our oft foolish ways?
Or go shaking their heads through the rest of their day?
I
Wonder
How
The animals
Feel!
—
My response to this week’s
#Threethingschallenge Take Seven
Mystical Strings 
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