Saturday, January 01, 2005

Da Capo

Da Capo (from the Italian da, meaning 'from' and capo, meaning 'head')

Abbreviated to D.C. An instruction to players to repeat from the beginning.



Repeat from the beginning. Oftentimes in music, the repeat can bring new and interesting variations on the theme. From the ornamentation of Baroque arias to the improvisation of Jazz standards, the Da Capo is all about changing the familiar and making it something more. Something special. Something unique.



But in the case of both Baroque and Jazz music, these Da Capo changes are not notated. It's up to the performer to take the foundation of the piece -- melody, harmony, rhythm and text -- and decide the hows and the whens of change. When all is said and sung, it becomes a very personal statement of the musicians feeling and approach to a given piece.



So here I am, finished with the song of 2004, and nearly twenty-four hours into 2005. I have to wonder, what will this Da Capo bring? The answer, of course, is not printed on any page -- it is up to me. I don't want to change things so much that I obscure the melody and lose sight of the original intent. By the same token, I don't want another 365 page rehash of the same old thing.



Da Capo -- 2005

Time to sing.



1 comment:

Gary said...

Wow, Tuna. Good analogy. Although sometimes I feel like shuffling through the piano bench for a new piece altogether!