Fresh starts

In the opening months of a new year some of us have inclinations toward making fresh starts, whether with systems or some aspect of our own procedures. But much of this burst of energy gets reduced, and often drastically. As a person who usually falls for this temptation, I confess that it lasts but only a short while before diehard habits creep back, and the tried and trusted method is back in operation. Yet it works because some new aspect has peeled away from the rest, and often improves the system as a whole. And it certainly helps us to ponder rather than merely read.

For most of my life I have found the need to curb impatience for floating new ideas. Within music I was seeking new publications in my areas of interest from my teens onwards, no doubt fuelled by my first job as a junior in the stately London showroom of music publisher Novello. Hence was entrenched my incessant curiosity for the latest 'off the press'. The most dramatic change came in my sight reading, which was a dubious development for a youngish lad as most music through my fingers was now 'tried' with less regard for accuracy than advisable. I overcame this, but the pleasure of trying the new has stayed with me ever since.

I will not agree to a possibility that my musical perceptions were damaged for I have always enjoyed the matter of assessing my feelings about quality and originality. But music has remained a scintillating art penetrating my mind to an extreme that exceeds all other activities that come my way.

So, my experiences will have similarity with those of thousands of our readers. I hope that you will be tempted to write to us, but please remember that brevity generally aids clarity. Don't be inhibited, write as you feel about your experiences of music and its significance.

We would like to publish your views, so please take action before other matters put this one out of your mind. Publication can give you a wide audience.