Spirit of Joy

Last night, I was at the "Spirit of Joy" closing concert. 20 years since their debut, the choir had shown so much growth. It was a bitter-sweet moment, seeing the last of a group that I grew up listening to, but it was unforgettable none the less.

One thing that I love about "Spirit of Joy" is that they always have amazing guest artists. The first was Daniel Mullin, who was a previous member of the group who had left, but was there for the closing concert. He put on an amazing show, inspired by the old hymns. Both Mullin and the second guest, Sarah Velasco, performed in the classical genre. Velasco is a brilliant violinist who performed a shortened concerto to perfection. 

Just being there and taking it all in made me realize that there was another side to music that I had completely shoved aside and forgotten. Looking at myself, I tend to stick to the penatonic and diatonic scales (music talk, I know) pretty much all of the time, but here, I was being hit with so many combinations, that it made my head spin. I could also see that the choir itself had much classical influence; it really makes me want to brush up on my knowledge of scales and learn some new combinations to take my own music to the next level.

The thing about music, as with all arts, is that no matter how deep into it you can get, there will always be worlds more to discover and improve. As one of my bigger influences, saxophonist Kirk Whalum would say, follow the acronym "ASTWO," meaning Always Something To Work On. There may be a set number of scales, but each can be altered with the shift of a single note, making it a completely new scale of its own. And the possibilities in music are as infinate as the amount of numbers a person can count; good luck maxing out on the possibilities.

So take this influence and go improve your own art. If you believe that you've masterered it (which after this lesson, you shouldn't) challenge yourself by experimenting. Alter individual elements in ways that you haven't tried yet and see the effect it gives. Remember that the possibilities are limitless.