Ganeida's Knots

 Everyone is bored until they find something to do. ~ A.S. Neill [Thanks, Ember, for this quote!]

I am not allowed to offer the Star musical advice because I don't know anything, never mind that sitting in on classes for nearly 10 years now means I can hear when something is wrong.  Still there is nothing like having your head on a platter to make you reconsider things & yearly auditions are very good for doing this.  Even the unflappable Star gets just a tad anxious about auditions.  There is the song to choose.  There's the clothing to wear.  There's the make~up to consider [because presentation is important, mum!].  There's the weeks & weeks of practise while the Star drives everyone in the house crazy & we are all singing her song of choice in our sleep.  Then there is the day itself when either Star or I suffer terribly from nerves, usually me though Star has been known to succumb on the rare occasion.

This year is worse than ever.  In fact I think it is the worst ever.  Star is a teenager.  Other years Star has plodded along cheerfully at her own dilly~dallyish pace & been laise faire about the whole bloomin' thing while I stew in a lather about her song choice, how her voice sounds & whether, in point of fact, she has done near enough practise.  I can't help it.  These things leave me in a tizz.  However, now Star is a teenager, she chats to the other teenagers & gasp, horror, shock, horror of horrors, everyone else has their audition piece chosen & is ready to go even though these auditions do not take place till next year. And Star had exactly Zip. Zilch. Nadda. Zero.  Absolutely nothing.

The hunt for a song was on. For weeks Star has been at me to help her choose a song.  Phuleeese!  I'm an old hippy. To Joan Baez & Mama Cass the child turned up her nose.  On Neil Young, Stephen Stills & Bob Dylan she pronounced unfavourable judgement. Grace Slick was deemed unsuitable [this is true but that is one heck of a voice!] We have spent hours on you~tube listening to songs that Star would sound wonderful singing but does not like & songs deemed too difficult ~ or too crass or too dull. And each time Star turned down yet another song she begged in the next breath for me to help her find one!  I was starting to think thoughts unthinkable.  In desperation I said, "Well, why don't you sing your own song then!"

Some of you may remember that Star was gifted a guitar; a very good guitar.  At the time I showed her the 3 most basic chords I know [D, A, G], handed her my chord chart & all the music I owned & left her to get on with it.

  Now Star, for those of you who don't know, has been playing an instrument since she was about 6 or 7.  I began her on the piano with a very good friend of ours to help her math & because on a piano you can see how all the notes relate to each other.  The piano is all right but the child begged for violin lessons so when someone gave her a rather substantial amount of money she purchased the violin & I have been paying for violin lessons ever since.  Then it was flute with the school band & private tuition for a year till we lost our teacher.  Most musicians, once they have learnt one instrument, have no serious problems learning another & so it is that Star knows far fewer chords than I do but sounds far more musical when she plays & true to form Star was not content to just churn out someone else's work.  She promptly began experimenting with composition of her own.  Star's theory is almost non~existent though naturally she has picked up quite a lot over the years one way or another, so my comments were neither as cruel nor as untoward as they might at first seem.  Besides, remember my opening statement?  It never occurred to me Star might actually take my advice ~ but she has!

So spare a thought for us in the coming months as Star double guesses herself, & wonders, aloud & frequently, if this is a good idea after all, & as the rest of us [Lord, grant us patience] are subjected to endless  rehearsals.

And for the musical amongst you, a funny: Star arrived  with 2 chord sequences & asked me which one I preferred.  Silly girl.  Old hippy raised on folk.  Of course, I prefer the minor chord!