"I am not a number -- I am a free man!"
13149.
That was my employee ID number for over 4 years.
Very weird not to be "an employee" of anyone's anymore... at least, not for the next 4 weeks.
If it seems strange to think of a composer as an "employee", it shouldn't. This sort of servitude goes back centuries -- Bach was a composer for THE CHURCH, Mozart was a court composer in Austria, Vivaldi was a composer in an all-girl's school (some guys have all the luck, eh?)... there is a long tradition of "blue-collar composers", and it wasn't until the Romantic period that this sort of convention was even questioned.
And when you think about it, doesn't a commission create an "employer/employee" relationship between the commissioner and the composer? It's funny that your day job at the bank, your service in the Navy, or your shift at the 7-11 is what keeps you a "true artist" and not a "slave to THE MAN".
I'm planning to milk these 4 weeks for all they're worth. But in the meantime, I've gotta practice -- I'm playing my cousin's wedding, and that means a bunch of classical guitar, and that calls for stamina. I just practiced for a half-hour and my hands are TIRED! I can't believe I used to practice for 3-6 hours a day in college -- all that electric guitar has made me a total wimp!
That was my employee ID number for over 4 years.
Very weird not to be "an employee" of anyone's anymore... at least, not for the next 4 weeks.
If it seems strange to think of a composer as an "employee", it shouldn't. This sort of servitude goes back centuries -- Bach was a composer for THE CHURCH, Mozart was a court composer in Austria, Vivaldi was a composer in an all-girl's school (some guys have all the luck, eh?)... there is a long tradition of "blue-collar composers", and it wasn't until the Romantic period that this sort of convention was even questioned.
And when you think about it, doesn't a commission create an "employer/employee" relationship between the commissioner and the composer? It's funny that your day job at the bank, your service in the Navy, or your shift at the 7-11 is what keeps you a "true artist" and not a "slave to THE MAN".
I'm planning to milk these 4 weeks for all they're worth. But in the meantime, I've gotta practice -- I'm playing my cousin's wedding, and that means a bunch of classical guitar, and that calls for stamina. I just practiced for a half-hour and my hands are TIRED! I can't believe I used to practice for 3-6 hours a day in college -- all that electric guitar has made me a total wimp!
2 Comments:
I AM NOT A NUMBER!!! I AM ET2...dammit.
And you're absolutely right, Jim--it's because of what I do in the Navy that allows me to do what I do elsewhere. I never thought of it like that. Color my mind blown!
Amen, brother. The job at the bank gives me food, clothes, and shelter; music gives me sanity, peace, and joy. I do wonder what would happen if Kantorei became a "professional" choir and began paying its members. Would I still enjoy it?
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