A trombonist colleague recently posted a photo of his music which included some alto clef.
Nerdy alto clef questions and comments ensued during which time my colleague indicated that occasionally trombone parts are in alto clef to avoid having to read notes “several ledger lines under the staff”.
I chimed in with a jaunty observation that this sounds like a euphemism for a musician being in the grave.
A solid trombone/viola dad joke if there ever was one, but it got me thinking about the other standard quip responses to “how’s it going” - “Every day above ground is a good day!” and the ol’ Monty Python standby of “Not dead yet!”
I think if my partner wouldn’t absolutely lose her mind I would probably cover many of the mirrors and walls in our home with sticky notes filled with hopeful random ideas for various projects and creative endeavors and questions and solutions. As it is, she can barely handle my seemingly total commitment to tsundoku, which according to the interwebs is “the phenomenon of acquiring reading materials but letting them pile up in one's home without reading them.”
My nightstand is currently struggling against becoming a nightcrusheddown…. I do read them, eventually, but more always appear because my life insurance policy (if the policy means it ensures I continue to live) is that I can’t possibly die when there are books to be read. All this to say hope exists in many forms, and is a great place to inhabit and creative practice to embrace.
Here’s to living ‘several ledger lines above the staff’ I guess!
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