School of Life

I found this youtube channel that I really like called The School of Life.

Here is a video that explains what they are all about:

Here is one their videos that really spoke to me:

1. The Sanity of Madness http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYfQSyDuriA

I really like the idea of a school for life.  A school where you can discuss possible answers to all sorts of complicated questions about thoughts and feelings that we all have (or so I gather).

I have been embarking this year on my very own curriculum for learning what I want to learn from this life.  It’s been pretty obvious to me for a long, long time that coming up with stories and characters brings me joy.  If I were to truly follow my bliss then I would create all sorts of fun shows where these characters and stories could live.  Even more so I would use the medium of music to communicate these characters stories.  Well, only if it feels right.  Since I do have stories and characters that don’t really seem to sing.  But I really want to write musicals.  I can’t help wanting that want.  I’ve tried to not want that want for so long and it did lead to a breakdown.  So whatever, I’m writing musicals.

How, pray tell, is someone like me (a dyslexic maddening emotional wreck of a person) going to do such a thing?

Step one is learn how to write songs.  What am I doing to learn how to write songs?  I am taking classes at the Toronto School for Songwriting and my teacher is Murray Foster.

Step two read books about how to write musical theatre.  I went to library and found: Writing Musical Theater by Allen Cohen and Steven L. Rosenhaus and revised and updated Writing The Broadway Musical by Aaron Frankel.

Step three listen to and read the ‘libretto’ (the book) of popular musicals.  So far I’ve listened to Oklahoma!,  Carousel and Annie Get Your Gun.  All of which, I’ve already heard dozens of times but I haven’t been looking at song structure or whatever I’m supposed to be looking for.

Step four – practice writing songs as often as possible.  Write a new song a week.  There have been 4 weeks in this year already so therefore I should have 4 new songs.  Well, I have 2 for sure: 12 Steps To Get Over You and Superman Loves Me.  Then I have a poem that I’ll add music too eventually.  And a bunch of lyric ideas.

Step five – spend lots and lots of time trying to make sense of the book for the musicals I am writing.  The musicals I am writing are: Nobody’s Idol, Catalogue of Love, The Musical and I and My Big Fat Jewish Christmas.  

But what don’t I focus on writing just one?  I don’t know.  I guess I’m going for the law of probability for this one.  The thinking is that one of the above musicals will be a jem and some so-so and one pure crap.  Only time and experimentation will be able to tell us which one is which.  Which brings me to the play that I have also been toying with, Witch.  I still love that world and can’t wait to be done figuring it out and then set about making it happen.

I leave this post with that poem that I need to make into lyrics that I need to set music to.

I will never be an astronaut

So why bother looking at the sky?

I will never be an astronaut

so why bother asking myself why?

I’ll never give matter a second thought

Cause I’ll never be an astronaut

I’ll never be an astronaut

So why bother looking at the stars

If I’ll never be an astronaut

And why bother reading mars memoirs

When I’ll never be an astronaut

So much time and space to fill

But do I dare enjoy the thrill

Of having a passion

That I will never cash in

I will never be an astronaut

Oh I’ll build my own spaceship

Who cares if I’m not cosmonaut

And this may very well be an epic ego trip

So much time and space to fill

But do I dare enjoy the thrill

Of having a passion

That I will never cash in

Call it crazy.  Call me lazy

But I don’t really care

Call it poetic or just pathetic

Even if I end up nowhere

I will be my own kind of astronaut