Shouts From Down Under

Notes are stored energy- collections grow into a story, song

Uploading a blog entry every few days, I've depended a lot on notes, some I've written ages ago, lists of interesting items, phrases, sayings, links, jokes, advice and what not.

But it seems I've come to the end of my reserve of notes tucked away in the WDC notepad. Right here. This is where most of my entries start, so I can save the stuff I've written in case the computer goes off at the Library online centre, or here at home. We have pay as you go power here. That means instead of a standard power meter, we have one with a credit card sized electronic thingumybob that allows you to buy electricity credits. There are a couple of resellers in town where you can buy these credits. A newsagent and a supermarket.

Pay As You Go Electricity meter

So I save my notes in Notepad and just add to them to make a blog entry. Sometimes I write them up in the actual entry, but then have to rush it before my computer time is up. The online centre computers don't wait. They just switch off after 1/2 hour or 1 hour.

My reservoir of notes has dried up. I still have a bunch on my phone. But for now that's where they'll stay.

When you write, do you write some things utilising notes you've written in the past? I remember Dean Koontz advising, or was it Stephen King, to save all those little snippets and anecdotes, whatever it is, and file it away in alphabetical order in a cabinet.
That was before iphones with their huge memory and easily workable notepad functions. Not to mention photos and videos, links, emails, and all the rest of it.

There was once a time when research meant reading books, travelling, talking and that. Now it can be done at the computer, of course. I feel though, that nothing can replace good old life happenings, first hand witness of incidents, events, disasters and hilarity. Online research and no amount of reading can replace fresh eyes on experience, gut feelings, hidden ambience that's left out when seen through cameras or in someone else's viewpoint.

I was thinking about notes in music. They are each a signal, a tone, a button activated that blends with others causing a reaction in our ears, if we are lucky enough to be able to hear.

Do you ever hear a song on the radio or on someone else's playback device, and at the time you can't quite hear the song or you don't have time to fully appreciate it. You might even be embarrassed to show too much enthusiasm for the song.

Later, sometimes months or years later, you try to remember who sang it, or what the words were that appealed to you. Mostly it's just the feeling of the song.
Sometimes the song is so good because there is a mood in the notes.

Notes can have a mood in them whether written, or musical. The collection becomes more than just some notes, but develop a deeper rhythm, a message, a charisma.

It's only later, when you're alone, in a private non-embarrassing place, you listen to the song over and over, and you realise what the writer meant.



Uploaded on Nov,7 2009

Views: 44,119,941
Likes: 158,706 Dislikes: 3,486

In the comments for this song, the uploader becomes one of the listeners, one of the comment posters, one of the mourners. I note he promised to answer every single comment, but hasn't done so for at least 3 months. I hope he's ok.

Are you ok, Andrei Zevakin?

"Andrei Zevakin 1 year ago
Dear viewers

When I made this lyric video, I never thought it would go so big. I just made this because it is an amazing song and obviously it has magnificent lyrics. However, after it suddenly went up in views and comments, I made a promise to myself. The promise was to read every comment that the viewer leaves on this video and I haven't broken this promise. I've felt happy for the people who share their positive stories and sad for the people who share negative stories. And today I would like to share a small comment with you as well. Unfortunately, it is a negative one.

Usually, people write about their relationships that have ended and would like to dedicate this song for the person who they have lost. This time, I want to do the same. Today, I lost the most important person in my life. She was everything to me. During this long period of time we were together, we shared so many great memories which I will never forget and I can't be any happier that I met her. I got so used to her but suddenly it all ended and I honestly cannot describe how much of a pain it is for me to be without her. It is already killing me and I don't know what to do. I am hoping that only time will cure this pain and I won't be feeling as depressed as now.

I would also like to dedicate this song to her, as most of you do the same thing. I will remain reading the comments people post on this video and continue being happy and sad for you, depending on your story. Just remember to always stay positive and everything will go your way. And if you have any problems, time is the cure for it.

Thank you for you attention!
Andrei Zevakin

PS! I love you AT :)
Likes: 3029

Here's another song that's made me think of a collection of notes, the impact of them, coupled with the loud complex parts combined with the other quiet simple phrase or riff.



Musical term Glossary
http://www.classicalworks.com/html/glossary.html

Hook
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hook_(music)

Define
http://www.enjoythemusic.com/musicdefinition.htm

Parts / Anatomy of a song
http://musiced.about.com/od/othermusicgenres/p/partsofasong.htm

Understanding and writing lyrics: Meter and Rhyme
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/feb01/articles/lyric.asp

Surely I don't have to spell it out?

Songs. Stories. Poems. Novels. Lyrics. Writing.

They weave their magic spell.

James Blunt wove a spell in the video for You're Beautiful. The message is loud and clear. The living note for those left behind. Well, that's what I interpreted from it.

Here's another form of note. Oh the humanity, as they said years ago.

http://www.gofundme.com/perryandaustin

"4 DAYS AGO
5151 people like this update
Our families' are committed to continue the search and rescue efforts of our boys with the aid of volunteer pilots and aircraft. This fund will continue to be utilized to fund private aircraft, boat fuel and any other additional resources needed for the immediate recovery of our missing boys.
We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to our families, friends, neighbors, colleagues, community along with strangers from around the world for your prayers and thoughts as well as all that have contributed to the Perry and Austin Rescue Fund to ensure the boys safe return."

In the comments...

"Bob Shafer 115115 6 days ago I covered 10 miles of beach yesterday North of Sebastian Inlet i am going out shortly to search at Cape Canaveral National Seashore praying for their return"

Notes are made of letters on a page. Musical notation represents relative duration and pitch of a sound. Snooker balls are like notes of incident on the felt background of our lives.



No matter what the game or sport, people are tested; their character is developed, their mettle is discovered, their backbone and sportsmanship is settled, or not.

Writing? Can we deceive people? Perhaps. Can we fool ourselves? I'm not sure we can forever. Perhaps briefly drown it out. Then, eventually, the truth of those written words comes to the fore, and our inner self is known, our real self.

Who will crowd fund a failed writer? Who will rescue the forgotten statement smith? Who will bring back to life the writer of an old fashioned idea?

Well, before we can fail or otherwise at writing, before we can write enough that people over time forget what we've penned, there has to be writing. And for there to be writing, there needs to be notes.



Sparky