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July 20, 2005 at 2:32 PM

Got two hours of practice in today - I'm hoping to build it up each day - so probably 2 hours tomorrow, then three the next, then four by sunday. I worked on my Bach in the second hour. I'm not sure how I need to practice it - I'm definately looking forward to my lesson. It seems to me that I need a new insight to it - one that will suddenly make me understand and make some progress.

I want to do some more planning on my composition, i'm about to go do some. I'm thinking that a composition that is just music won't really work all that well, especially for orchestral works. It seems to me that I need to have some inspiration - something to write about, or to portray. IE Cappriccio Espagnole - a Russian depicting Spanish Music, or Indian Pacific, a piece by a West Australian Composer, which depicts the train that runs from Perth to Melbourne (I think it now goes up to Sydney as well).

But finding that inspiration - well that's a bit harder. I could write about an international event, or a place, or a story. But which one? There are so many.

And then I read Pauline's blog about her trip to the Butterfly House. And I think I could write about that. All the different types of butterflies, the noisy school children (obviously that would have to be the brass), the flowers, the mists. Things I think I can do well. I have my inspiration. I shall go compose.

Cappricio is truly inspiring. Well, the story behind it is anyhow, because it's a bitch to play.

Try writing about something that is important or remarkably beautiful to you. For example; a local composer/high school orchestra director wrote about the Wildflowers of Texas. The composition was played by the Iowa All State Orchestra and won a composition contest in Texas.

You probably already knew to write about something like that. But it's a good story all the same :-)

Ben, I'm so pleased and flattered that you found inspiration in my blog. The experience was mainly visual to me, and it will be interesting to find out how you express it as an auditory experience.