Day 220: Too little, too much
36yearsago.com
Vienna 1971—A Student Journal
A year of music, study, travel, sightseeing &
friends.
Day
220 — Too little, too much
09-March-1972
(Donnerstag–Thur.)
TRANSCRIPT
Not a bad day. Practiced a little horn, piano. Did
some electronic music and had a rehearsal. Only
problem is that in doing a little
of
everything, it is too
little of everything.
REFLECTIONS
Too
little. A lesson
that always comes back to you throughout life. If you
do a little bit of many things, it is often not
enough to get what you want done, completed. It is
better to perhaps spend more time on the important
things and get more done on those.
Guess what? Everything’s important.
Everything I’m doing in Vienna is important. And it
makes life interesting, it keeps you busy, it’s
exciting, and (despite my complaining) it’s fun.
Too much. For most
of my life, I had a tendency to do many, many things.
Perhaps that’s why I don’t finish everything 100%.
(There is something to be said for focus.) However, I
find it exciting to do many things. It makes life
exciting and keeps you busy. We spend most of our
life energy on our work, our day jobs. If I didn’t
have my extra projects, life would be dull. In
Vienna, I did a lot. I don’t regret one minute of it.
No.
1 Hits or not? Here is a
real life example. During some periods of my life, I
have written a lot of music (mostly pop, songs,
background, commercial music). For example, during a
two-plus-year period living at the beach, I would
come home late (1-1/4 hour commute), and later at
night write my music on my computer. I would
improvise at the keyboard, just play the music in,
not write down anything, and layer small
semi-finished tracks (with mistakes) and produce the
“idea” of the piece. I call these “roughs.” Maybe I
did 150-200 of these (can’t remember) during the
two-plus year period. I might do a piece in anywhere
from one to several hours. Sometimes I cleaned it up
a bit on subsequent days. Most of the time, the NEXT
time I went to sit down at the keyboard and play
music, I wanted to do something NEW, not go back to
the old rough. I’m an idea guy. Is that good?
So, which is better? (for this two-plus-year
timeframe)
#1 – Taking five of those roughs, completing them,
hiring singers and musicians, professionally
producing them, mastering and replicating CDs,
marketing them, getting five TOP TEN hits with maybe
a #1 or so, establishing your career, becoming rich,
buying a yacht and summer villa in Italy, traveling
the world, speaking at engagements, and being
successful? People know you. Of course, this all
costs big $$$$, requires time, quitting your day job,
professional production, and getting lucky.
or ?
#2 – Writing 150–200 “roughs,” continually writing
new music, never producing a final product, just
getting good new ideas, and never getting the music
into the public eye, having a normal job, no villas
or yachts, worldwide travel, and speaking
engagements? No one knows you. No money spent (none
was had), done in your spare time.
Survey
says. Balance.
Yes, balance is the key. Do both. Have fun. Make life
interesting beyond your day job. Be creative. Write a
lot and then focus on a few items to polish that
“diamond in the rough.” Aim for success and your
dream. Don’t give up too early (my issue), but don’t
give up a meaningful career as a neurologist thinking
that you are going to be the next American Idol
winner.
Once I retire, I plan on getting some creative
balance in my life. Finally. I should have polished a
few of those diamonds and taken the next step
(without quitting my job).
Humor
or advice? If after
reading several pages of this blog, you don’t
recognize my humor, I’ll introduce you to an old
friend. Once I had a girlfriend who said, “I can’t
tell when you’re being serious or when you’re
kidding.” All I can say is that there is a little bit
of humor in almost everything I write, and there is a
little bit of truth in almost everything I write.
Take this as lighthearted advice.
I am still
waiting for someone to discover my roughs in my
living room. Balance.
John
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