Good class last night, the singing much more engaged, too. So keep
listening to the downloads (corresponding to Tan and Gray Songbooks) and
learning the songs. I was singing San Franscisco Bay Blues in the
shower last night at about 12:30...
Digital Notebooks.
(Your personal blogs). See my WEEK 1: Notes to the Class post, set this
up and send me your active URL. BY THE END OF THIS WEEKEND. I will
send out a set to the group, and post on class blog. I'll want you to
post your work each week... starting with last night's project. With
some writing. Ben's story last night (wonderful) set the bar pretty
high--but this is Ben's medium. For many of you, I'd like to see thE
writing as a kind of journal or commentary on how your work relates to
the songs--including things you learn about thew songs per se (their
history, performers, how they fit into the roots tradition. And how
tghey relate to place. In other words, I want to see your intellectual
journey reflected as well as your artwork. They go together.
And
bring that small real notebook to class--the people and places and books
mentioned will add up. Austerlitz, for example-- W.G. Sebald...
Ambition for the work.
I think I mentioned the first night, water seeks its own level. The
more ambitious everyone's projects, the more it encourages the rest to
take leaps. Leaps of imagination, exploration. That's why I poured the
water... So give them your all. An encouyragement!
Reading.
I did manage to get you the readers, but we stopped just short of
talking about them. Bring them next week and we'll start with that. For
this week, read the Alan and John Lomax selections (pages 1-32). I
commented on these in my week 2: You Are My Sunshine Post.
New Project.
In case there's any confusion, the new song will generally be the focus
of your new week's work. I didn't say that specifically last night, but
I think you see how the class works. If I want to guide you more
specifically, I'll do so on each week's new blog post. Okay?
Enjoy it ALL....!
