Emusic has had its ups and downs but I keep my subscription in tact for taking chances. Given the choice between dropping $10 on an album by way of a recommendation or hitting up Emusic for a pile of downloads, the Emusic options almost always wins. It is not, however, a place to dig up tunes that were influential in my musical development. There are so many old albums that I would love to capture digitally and can’t. But from time to time I’ll search on Emusic in the vain hope that something will show up. Occasionally that brings on some serendipity.
A search for Robert Fripp didn’t get me what I wanted but did return an interview with him done by his sister Patricia called From Good to Great: Beginner to Mastery. It seemed interesting enough to blow a pile of downloads on, so I did. It was an impressive talk. I have read that Mr. Fripp is quite a good teacher and I can hear that in his presentation. His words reveal a highly organized mind that spends its time really examining and simplifying problems. It’s the simplification that signals a good teacher. While at first blush some of it smelled like a training seminar powerpoint manifesto, in short order it started to make more and more sense. His presentation wasn’t a trick or a gimmick but was based on deep experience that dripped off of every word.
The thing that Mr. Fripp said that got my attention and stuck with me throughout was simple. In discussing a question about moving from good to great he chose to step back and go from bad to good. A fine point missed by many. In reference to the journey he said that you start “where you are.” In other words, it doesn’t matter where you were yesterday, to improve you have to start where you are today. Tomorrow is still a dream and yesterday is over. It’s all about today.
I personalized that a little too much as I rolled it over in my head. I neglected my creative work for the better part of a decade and that has filled me with regret that at times can cause paralysis. Where did all of that time go? How could I have neglected core parts of myself? Why do I think that I can produce anything of value after such a lapse? But if I start where I am today, with all of the experience I have to date, I can improve. Progress happens over time. Today is time.
It was about four years ago that I started to put myself back on track. A lot of water has passed under (and over) the bridge since then. Not to sound like a poster from the detention room in my Junior High or anything but the decision to start something is the first step to achieving something great. Without that spark, there’s nothing. Of course that spark without action might be worse, but that’s for later.
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