experiencing things completely

this week i’ve been working on memorizing the poem “be my sherpa” by andrew varnon. why? because it is a monumental creation, and speaks volumes to me. i am currently 17 lines in, almost halfway.

knowing a work-of-anything so intimately, versus just experiencing it one or multiple times are two different worlds of understanding. and not just poems, but drawings- if i see something drawn that strikes me as so outstandingly perfect- i will probably have to try drawing it myself. just to work it out, see how it was done. figure out what exactly it is that is resonating with me so intensely.

for music, i’ve spent the last six years or so using my transit time to get a sense of natural rhythm (vs. just being able to read sheet music) and have recently moved on to studying piano music. if you’re an explosions in the sky fan, i highly recommend you tap your fingers along to “your hand in mine” with this sheet music. (transcribed by the awesome cleiph) even if you don’t know how to properly play piano- listen for relative notes that are higher or lower than the ones before it. try to follow along with the top or bottom staff of the song at a time. use your fingers to feel the spaces between the notes. after enough time, i was able to see just how gorgeous this song is not only to listen to- but to play and feel through your hands.

it’s some whole. other. shit.