Musical Projects

This year, I want to really hone in on what I want to achieve. I can't keep going on about how I just want more original songs and such. I've learnt the hard way that goals are likely to be achieved in specificity. So this is me trying to specify what I want to see this year.

When it comes to music, I've shelved a lot of projects for choir and instruments. I'm actively ignoring the piano because I favor improvisation - in saying that, I think lead sheets are the way. I want to dabble in other instruments and musicality. The Chinese and Japanese pentatonic scales are absolutely fascinating. (Looking at you, Erhu...)

Maybe things might start to come to focus when I list down my current works in progress:

Choral Arrangements:

• Bakunawa - as soon as I get the harmonies done, I'm practically half-way there

• Bitterly, She Weeps - currently in a ditch; might need some intense inspiration

• Purpura Caelum - the urgency hasn't hit yet, but the form is still stowed in my head somewhere

• Odi et Amo - my first ever Latin project, going through intensive revisions

Instrumental Arrangements:

• Sunrise on the River - my first experiment with the erhu and cello

• This Little Light of Mine - a lead sheet for my reharmonized version of the gospel song

• When The Saints Go Marching In - another gospel song I want to reharmonize

Among all these projects, obviously I want to start with the easiest, so probably the lead sheets for the gospel songs first. One staff usually means a lighter workload, right? Then I'll move onto the other choral arrangements for the upcoming choral composition concerts when the time comes. This will probably be from June onwards.

But of course, in saying all this, I'm bound to be distracted somehow by someone's fancy music. Now I'm further from a goal than when I started...