What I have and haven't learned about creating music

Greetings! I haven't posted a blog entry here in several years because of using so much of my time in either productive or highly unproductive ways.

Yep, I've done both, and they both take time to do.

In this post, I will share some of the things I've learned about music-making, and sort things out by what has and hasn't seemed productive or a good use of my time. One of the first things to do is explain what I mean when I use these terms: productive and unproductive. They both refer to what reward I'm seeking in my activities. I need to put these definitions near the top of my current writing because my goals might not be like yours, but deciding what is or isn't productive for me (or for you) is very much the same process. It's a matter of knowing one's own values and priorities, and steering one's efforts in a value/priority-based way

In all things creative, I'd admit that I don't really have a work ethic. I do my things and devote my time, energy, and attention to doing my things, but I call my commitment to my creative activities a play ethic rather than a work ethic. My commitment is to have fun with it, to enjoy it, to let it give me an enjoyable experience that raises my spirits.

I love most kinds of art and feel an attraction/resonance from any type of art that "speaks" to me, so I have left myself open to any and all artistic activities. It's like all the arts are valued family members in the home of my heart, and I choose to love all of them without letting on that any one of them is my favorite.

But secretly, I love music the best. Music has always been a good friend to me; there for me when I need it, to pick me up when I'm down, to get me going when I feel stalled or stuck, or to playfully keep me going if I'm already in a going mood. Music has shaped my internal life in a way that makes me love people more, because of so strongly feeling the kindness in knowing that someone made the music and shared it, and once someone has done such a kind thing for me, I can no longer think of that person in any unkind way.

Please don't tell sculpture, photography, comedy, drama, painting, or dance that I have a favorite. All of these arts and the artists who do them deserve love. None deserves to think of itself as a second choice.


But music is my favorite, and I've always known that it is.

Such is life. One can have lots of unfocused love in one's heart, and it can seem boundless, as though there really is enough love there to embrace every lovable person and thing in the entire world.

But realistically, when it comes to matters of how to use one's time, there's only so much any one person can do. Maybe big, unfocused, ready-for-anything love is a good thing to have in my heart, but the nuts-and-bolts reality of daily life is in choosing what actions to take in any given moment. Spiritually, I can love the whole world. Physically, I can attend to one thing at a time.

I don't really like multitasking. It divides my attention. Most of the time, I can choose between doing one thing well by focusing on that one thing, or I can do several things in an unfocused and probably mediocre way.

This should be a shocking thing to hear from a drummer. Drummers are known for playing several drums or percussion instruments at the same time. But that's not multitasking. It might be several instruments at the same time, but it's one beat/ one rhythmic expression/ one groove.

Kind of. Humans have partitioned brains. We can all do one conscious thing and one (maybe more) instictive/ intuitive/ subconscious thing at the same time. Actions engrained through practice or repetition become instictive and somewhat below the level of conscious thought. If you play an instrument and tap your foot at the same time, the foot-tapping is done instictively just by feeling the beat. That's the kind of attention-breakdown most drummers use to play a steady beat with one hand or foot while doing more something different and more complicated with another hand(s) or foot(s). Rather than a multitasking chore, a drummer plays one rhythm at a time. Even if it's a polyrhythm, the drummer thinks of the different parts as parts of the same rhythm, and can play one of the elements instictively without much conscious thought.

Yep, drummers are human. I mean human drummers are human. Drum machines aren't humans. No player hate if you're a drum machine user; it's just that as a drummer and a human, I prefer to have human drummers playing the rhythms. It's a feelings thing.

It's also because of my strong feeling that making art of any kind is a deeply human activity. Art might seem to be about how something looks or sounds, but it's really about how that sight or sound feels. To any human there's a huge difference between--say--filing a tax return and singing a song. To a machine, both of those things are approximately the same: a task to do.

So artists--even artists who are highly motivatd to be successful--reserve a special place in their lives and in their hearts for their art.

Now, how do I balance the equation? If art exists in an ideal world, with rules and goals of its own, how does art ever come to be in this other, more everyday world where there are bills to pay and only so many hours in a day, and only so many productive years in a lifetime? How does one support all the time of practicing to develop skill at a craft that might never earn finincial rewards? Can we only call a musician successful if they make a lot of money while making music?

Because I haven't made much money as a musician, but I've had great musical experiences. Financially I'm not doing that well, but I'm rich in experiences.

I think the real answer is that, in addition to doing what pays the bills, artists do what enriches the spirit. Musicians play. Sometimes the playing is a performance, sometimes it's a jam with friends, sometimes it's practice at home alone, sometimes it's taking classes, sometimes it's teaching classes .

But a musician plays music pretty much every day, gig or no gig, jam or no jam, class or no class.

Musicians play because it's part of who they are.

I let this blog post sit unfinished for several years, unsure of what I really wanted to say with it, but I made music most days during those years

The solution to the equation of how to succeed in life is a combination of two things: Do what you love, and make doing what you love sustainable.

Notes to the New Owners of the House on Schubert

Home Mechanic's Notes

2nd floor heating/ radiators:

--Two years ago we moved our bedroom to the first floor, and left the 2nd floor unused most of the time unless we had overnight guests. The 2nd floor radiators will need to have the air bled out and be checked for proper operation. The radiator valves are not all the same; some turn on or off with a quarter turn, and others have multiple turns of the handle between fully open and fully closed.

General plumbing maintenance

--Kitchen and laundry drains, catch basin: Maintain this part of the plumbing system with regular use of an enzyme treatment such as Zep Drain Care. First, warm the pipes by running hot water for several minutes, then pour 1/2 cup of liquid enzyme treatment into the drain and don't run water there for at least 6 hours. Best done at night so the enzymes can work while you sleep. This treatment works to break down fats, grease, and soap residue. This easy maintenance is for the kitchen drain, the laundry drain, and to keep greasy residue from building up in the catch basin*

*Catch basin is a grease trap located in the back yard near the basement stairs enclosure. You'll see the manhole cover there. After years of maintaining the drains with enzyme treatment, there's barely any grease/ soap residue in the basin. The catch basin is also an access point for sewer rodding. I rodded the main sewer line in 2024, and I would predict that it may not need rodding for several years. When/if it does need to be cleared, the catch basin will provide the best access.

There have been three occasions on which water from heavy rains has come up in the basement. This happened all over the area during those occasions because the public sewer system--a combination storm drain and sanitary sewer at the time--got more rainwater than it could handle. Since that time, the city has installed a new storm drainage system in the area to alleviate flooding. However, should something go wrong and if water comes up in the basement, I have left an emergency pump at the house, along with flexible hoses to take water from the pump to the alley. There are steps to do in this emergency situation:

--Tie a rope to the C-shaped handle at the top of the pump. The rope must be long enough and tied securely enough to lower the pump into the catch basin, and to lift the pump out again.

--Attach drainage tubing to the pipe attached to the pump.

--The straight steel rod at the side of the pump head is the switch for the pump. It has two positions: Up turns the pump on, and down turns the pump off. There's a float to switch the pump on and off (a white, 2-inch diameter capsule-shaped thing) that is also there, but it came unattached from the pump. The last time I used the pump, I just lifted the switch rod manually to run the pump, and used an extension cord connection to turn it on or off

--Use an extension cord to power the pump. Make sure the connection between the pump cord and the extension cord doesn't fall into the basin or get too wet. SHOCK or ELECTROCUTION HAZARD if this direction is not followed.

--Do an emergency drill before there's a flooding situation so you can make sure you're familiar with all the steps, and can act quickly, safely, and effectively.

The waste disposer/"garbage disposal" in the kitchen sink is a basic one that I installed 16 years ago, which is far beyond the expected lifetime for a basic waste disposer. It is still operating quite well because I maintain it weekly by using a dish sponge and Dawn dish soap to clean the inside--making sure to keep all other humans well away from the disposal switch while I have my hand in there. I also make sure to run the disposer with plenty of water every day, and to use it lightly. Make sure not to drop anything into the disposer that is not soft, grindable food waste. The disposer can get a piece of tableware (fork or spoon) or a bit of broken glass, a bottle cap etc, inside that must be removed from the disposer by hand before running it. If you turn the disposer on and there's an unusual grinding/ clattering sound, turn it off immediately, and once it has fully stopped, reach inside to remove the object. Use all due caution! and avoid personal injury.

Hose bibbs/ sillcocks: There are two spigots for outdoor watering/ carwashing etc. both located in the gangway on the west side of the house. The only essential maintenance needed for these frostproof sillcocks is that you don't leave a hose or any other item--such as a sprinkler timer--connected during the freezing months of the year. Disconnect any hoses, timers, etc. in about November. A small amount of water will drain from the spigot, and then the sillcock is prepared for winter.

Special note on basement toilet, bathtub drain, and floor drains: There might be an occasional sewer odor in the basement. When and if this happens, the solution is usually to run or pour some water into these drains so they have a water seal trap. The trap seal in floor drains can evaporate. The toilet in the basement bathroom does not refill the water in the bowl automatically. When you flush this toilet, you have to follow up by depressing the flush handle slightly for a few seconds to put water into the bowl to keep the trap seal. If the basement bathtub and lavatory sink are unused for a period of time, these fixtures can also lose their trap seal (the water in a drain trap). All that's needed to stop the sewer odor is to run some water into the drains.

The basement has no dedicated heating. It gets *some* heat from the water heater and furnace. During a deep freeze, I always place a space heater in the laundry room to keep the pipes from freezing. There is a pair of one-inch copper pipe stubs--valved and capped--above the furnace. These stubs can be used to run pipes to new radiators or baseboard heaters in the basement.

--The main water valve is in the front of the basement, and is a 1/4 turn valve. The main gas valve is outside at the gas meter. It is also 1/4 turn.

--The electrical panel is on the east wall of the basement in the laundry area. I have labeled all of the circuit breakers in what I hope will be a logical way that you can understand.

--The concrete in and around the house is a century old. I've done extensive patching and crack-filling, and as of September 2024, there's no seepage. Some areas might occasionally need some cracks filled. I left a partial container of concrete crack filler for this. The best and most durable thing is mortar that is mixed very runny/ with "too much" water so that it settles as deep as possible into gaps...but a winter and summer will probably pass before this is needed at all. The strange little closet-like room under the front stairs/stoop could use a bit more mortar patching that I never got around to, but even that has been water-tight in recent years.

You may be thinking by now that this is a house that requires a lot of maintenance. The Chicago Bungalow is often called a craftsman-style home for good reason: there is maintenance to do and things to learn about the house, and a bungalow's best ally is an owner who cares. In a few years, all the maintenance will be easy for you.

I hope you love this home as I always did. Fill the house with love, and it will always be a loving home.

My best to you

Bob DeVore