The Diary of Queen Mothy |
Lovely Psaltry written @ 10:36 PM on September 10, 2004 On Labor Day a group of college chums and I went to the Ohio Renaissance Festival. This place is like embarking on a religious pilgrimmage to me, a day where I don my gypsy or noble costume and come to the English village loaded with cash and credit cards and a will to use both to purchase a favored bauble. I'm one of those old souls who belong in any century except for this one. I'm the kind of person who favors ancient ballads, poetry, plays, and art over most things in this era. I have plans to decorate my apartment (when I get one in some distant year) in a mix of Gothic, Neoclassicism, and pre-Raphaelite scheme. You get the picture. While at the Ren Fest, I was seized with this sudden urge to learn and study medieval music. So. I bought a psaltry. Yes, a psaltry. A psaltry is a biblical instrument (note: hence "Psalms"), an ancestor to the violin and cousin of sorts to the harp. Mine has twenty-four durable piano strings and a bow. I haven't read music since the fifth grade (I played the saxophone, if you can possibly imagine), but I've been able to pick this instrument up with relative ease. Currently in my repertoire I can play "Mary Had a Little Lamb," "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star," "Frere Jacques," "Ode to Joy," "Greensleeves," "Scarborough Fair," and, of course, "Smoke on the Water." I'm in dire need of more music, so last night I began a hunt online for music books for the psaltry. Of which there are hardly any (because hardly anyone plays this instrument anymore, even at Ren fairs). BUT I did manage to find entire collections of Irish, Scottish, and English traditional tunes, which I intend to order, and --get this-- a Best of Broadway book for the psaltry! Can you imagine me playing "Sunset Boulevard" and "I Could Have Danced All Night" on this sort of instrument? I hear a concert coming... You may think this is a phase of Sam's, that it'll eventually be collecting dust in a few months time on my window sill. But not so, I'm afraid. Once I get hooked on something, it stays with me for life. Besides, I intend to become a modern Renaissance woman: I'm already an artist of the visual and theatrical sort and a writer; it was high time to add music. One day I'll go for dance (how does ballroom dancing sound to you?). Hazaa for the Ren Fest! *** I had a preliminary critique in my graphic design class this week. Considering the trauma I suffered last week when I completed the project far ahead of the due date (uggghhhh), it went extraordinarily well. It was one of those things where either a lot of people "got" the assignment or didn't. The ones who did had fantastic feedback; I think I've fallen into a class where I will grow as a designer. My professor, in any case, called my work inventive, creative, and versatile. This is positive news, considering I had been having doubts about my abilities as a graphic designer. To top it all off, my typography prof had similar comments to make about my projects and concepts. I find myself getting more confident, which is what I need. Graphic design is becoming not unlike a big creative puzzle to be solved, each project becoming more interesting and intricate. I think I chose right for myself. I feel pretty good about it right now. Our latest project in typography is illustrating a historical event through type. I chose the Reign of Terror. I'll post it here sometime; it's going to be a fun project. And now... I have to kill a roach in my room. Ahhh, the joys of dorm living...
A Bit of History ~ And Onward! L'Amour Toujours! - August 08, 2005 |
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