Musical Range

Among the qualifications a musician carries is her musical range.  This already has several meanings, and I wish to generalize from there.  For a singer, musical range will include which part she sings, say, soprano or alto, but more specifically, what the notes she can hit (at all) and the notes she can hit comfortably, say, C4 to A5.  A musical range for a singer or instrumentalist will also include the musical styles she is comfortable in--jazz, rock, ska, whatever.  Moving away from the purest definitions, the musician's range will also include the sorts of venues she is adept at--big crowds, house parties, Southern locales, etc.  And moving away again, this sort of definition applies to contract workers in every field: where can their skills be applied?  What is the range of those skills?  Professionals have to have specific knowledge and depth in specialties, but also have a range of capabilities.  And moving away again, this is true for all skills, professional or otherwise.  An athletics trainer can know a breadth of training modalities, or understand nutrition, or physiology and injury recuperation, etc.  And coming full circle, an amateur musician needs to think about her range and interests to match with the community of musicians she wants as band-mates and potential listeners.

Shit has consequences

I just finished rubbing some arnica on my back to relieve some moderate pain I've been feeling on and off for over half a year.  This back pain, in addition to being painful, which nobody likes, has affected my life negatively in other ways.  It has sometimes taken me away from acrobatics.  It has made me not want to be so active, a part of my life I have come to truly revel in.

I've tried various things to solve this mystery: massage, drinking more water, sleeping with or without my mattress topper or with different pillow configurations.  And I just finished rubbing arnica on my back after months of back pain.

But this is Karma, world.  I *deserve* this back pain.  Does that make me religious?  Am I being too hard on myself?  I don't think so.  I deserve this back pain because karma means consequence and I have been lying down on the couch watching television since the two graced my living room (on and off, sheesh).  And I've been compromising my back at an angle while I do it.

It seemed like a small thing at the time, of no consequence.  But today while leaning over and watching television with an achy back, I decided I'd try to make myself more comfortable, and I removed a cushion from behind me.  My body shifted, relieved.  My mind reeled, informed.

Shit has consequences.  May my eyes always be open to the karma which surrounds us.  May my back heal in the coming weeks and from better care and maybe chiropractory (because shit doesn't just happen on it's own; I make this happen).  And may I find better things to do than punish my mind and body in front of a flat screen of electrons.