Today my goal is to record some material whether it is a just some small segments or a full song.  I will start to create and brainstorm.  I have been reading This Is Your Brain On Music and I am finding it to be very inspiring.  It is definitely getting me in the mind set to start recording and I am feeling a little more excited about the project now.  I found a quote in the book that I thought was interesting:

     

   "A couple of generations ago, before television, many families would sit around and play music together for entertainment.  Nowadays there is a great emphasis on technique and skill, and whether a musician is "good enough" to play for others.  Music making has become a somewhat reserved activity in our culture, and the rest of us listen."  

I thought that this statement was interesting because of how true it is.  I never really realized how so many people care about perfection when it comes to entertainment and music and how the only people who get to play music anymore have to be wildly talented.  In the book he talks about other cultures like that of Lesotho.  Lesotho is a small landlocked country in South Africa.  He tells a story of how his friend went there during college to study the culture.  One day he was asked to join one of their songs, but he said to them "I don't sing."  The villagers were puzzled by this because to them, singing was a typical, everyday activity that everyone took part in.  He says, "It was as odd to them as if I told them that I couldn't walk or dance, even though I have both my legs." 

I plan to continue reading this book and find new understandings of music and culture as I record.