Isolation

So. Here we all are, at home, seeing what it is like to be homebound. For some, I bet it is a relief... being social is a pressure, and no one expects you to be social now. For others, it is likely just torture... either they have never learned how to keep themselves company, or they live in a horrible situation that they now can not escape from (There always is help, though, ask me privately if you need to.)

And then, there are us artist types. We need time with ourselves to create... for me- compose music and write lyrics, maybe paint or write for another... but we ALSO need an audience, regardless of whether we are introverts or extroverts and produce a hard product or a performance. Perhaps painters and photographers and writers have this natural delay in having their work viewed, so this doesn't seem all THAT weird. But for musicians... Well.

So we try FB or YouTube or StreetJelly live. And we watch the chat and are pleased that people are listening, or at least you see their name as present. Some of them 'talk' to you or each other. You get to actually talk out loud to them, although they can only type back!!! And so you sing and play and give it what you have, and when you finish the song, it feels empty. Empty. Where are the people? Oh, yes, there they are... there is about a 30sec lag between what I am doing and what you see, and then another lag as people respond... with little hands. That is your applause.

It still feels... empty.

Like you are singing into a void.

I am about 30 minutes from doing my 3rd Facebook Live. It is Easter. I didn't realize that when I set it up, but I decided to go with it anyway. I imagine there are folks out there, needing some distraction and maybe I will be that distraction for just a little while. You hope that you bring some little joy into people's lives at this time. As a musician, that is my job.

Music is SUCH a way to connect. We musicians connect to ourselves to write, or to the songwriter when we choose to cover a song. We then connect with our fellow musicians as we practice it and 'work it up' into a piece that we hope will excite an audience as much as it excites us. Then- we connect with the audience when we perform, and the BEST performances are those where the performer connects with themselves, the other musicians and the audience, all at the same time!

Connection.

That is what is missing in this new world we have here... hopefully for a little while only.

Spring is the time of new beginnings. May you be safe and have peace.