Wednesday, July 2, 2008

The Fear of the New 2

Sometimes, I wonder whether I am living my life backwards.

I am at an age when most of my contemporaries are contemplating retirement from regular, remunerated activities such as teaching, to follow the “less well trodden path”. I have followed this path, which on occasion has resembled virgin jungle and required a machete, for thirty years or so, making a living in various countries by artistic means, but never ever knowing how much money to expect in my bank account at the end of the month. This has had its pleasures and its pain, but has never been boring. I have not been tied down by anything except the fact of my children.

Yesterday, I agreed to something which will change my life completely.
A job. A real, ordinary job. For a year.
With proper hours and all that.
At the same time, every week, I have to be in a particular place.

It’s true that it is just in the early evenings, and I will still have time to work on my book, and it is doing something I love (singing)…
But I won’t be able to just decide, Hey, I’m going to India for two months…
Unless I do it during the school holidays, which are quite long, come to think of it…

So say hello to the new singing teacher at the Centre de Musiques Actuelles, La Citrouille.
I shall be offering singing lessons on technique, soul and R n B music, pop rock from the golden age of Beatles and Beach Boys, Jazz Standards from the Great American Songbook, and last but not least, initiation to Carnatic music of Southern India.

Form an orderly queue.

8 comments:

Ms Mac said...

Ooooh, that's quite exciting.

Enjoy it!

amy said...

That sounds wonderful, I bet you will love it. Structure of any kind can actually lead to more creative productivity I think! And a year goes by so fast...

Rosie said...

thanks ms mac, I intend to.
Amy, I believe that you are right. In years gone by I have found myself envying people with a routine imposed upon them, since our lives have been always been totally disordered...I am looking forward to it

katydidnot said...

proper hours and an orderly queue? urgh. sound like a drag. except on brit-speak fridays.

Lesley said...

Sounds like fun. (I have a musician friend who is moving to St Brieuc soon)

Anonymous said...

Well, I guess we'll sort of pass like evolutionary ships in the night. Welcome, Rosie, to pedagogy as I head away from it towards playing a bit more! (Do you know Ian Dury's wonderful paean to the respectable life, 'I Wanna Be Straight'?)

Rosie said...

katy- all my days will be french speak now goddammit

Lesley- if it is a jazz piano player I have a job for her

Dick- perhaps there is only enough room for a certain number of straight people and I had to wait for you to leave before I could take my turn at it...thank you

meggie said...

Congratualtions. It sounds like it wont really be work, as you will probably enjoy it so much!