"When they start the Beguine"

So here's to a new string of postings that will hopefully allow for stretching of the musical muscles.

I have been a music player for the greater part of my life. After a frustrating start on violin at age 10, the saxophone was discovered for me and has carried me through the duration of everything else. Gathered some guitar and keyboard skills in my teen years; dropped it all upon entering (and quickly leaving) the college set - where theatre (onstage-and-in-the-spotlight) became a love for a few years; again gathered up my instrument-playing reins shortly therafter and found more focus and promise as the days have passed.

Lately I have been in love with one of the most grand mechanisms of delight and expression ever created: the ukulele. Purchased my first after discovering my hands were getting beat up and wrenched beyond pain with my dreadnaught (smaller size hands, me), and have hardly placed the thing down since. It's portability and simplicity have helped with my songwriting, and the ukulele community is a pleasure to be a part of. So some call us freaks, but at least I now have a special purpose.

Been collecting instruments of many varieties and have a few of the standards that any household should naturally stock, even if I don't play all of them neccessarily well... at least they are here, and are mine, and I own them, and they are mine. Some, such as some vintage keyboards (not terribly vintage, mind you, though I do have a woodbox Casiotone 202 in good shape), clarinet and various whistles, harmonicas, and tootley-things, are within my realm of expertise at this moment; others, such as the trombone, trumpet, violin (again with the violin - do we ever forget our first heartbreak?), accordions, and other stringed thingies, are not as well established in my mind or fingers, but I will prevail - should I live to age a few hundred more years.

Home recording naturally has been in my thoughts for some time, and I have been playing around with various softwares - some freeware, some not - trying my hand at composing outside of the lyrical realm. Which gets me to the reason for this blog.

I checked out Myspace, and it's all right. But as with some things, Myspace is a lot of a lot. Too much flashy mishmash. I need something "smoother" to start out with in displaying my wares (song snippets and musings and...). I like the feel of Blogger; suits my needs....

The plan is for regular submission of songs for criticisms, helpful hints, and eventually grand praise (somehow I don't want to skip that part).

Well, late is the time now, and I want early to be in the morning, not in a little while, so I bid all farewell for the eve.

Soon there is more.