Planning

Okay, so time to get cracking. Here's the plan I would recommend:

• Get a copy of the score.
• Flip through it once to check for range issues.
• Sing through it once.
• Listen to an authoritative recording (or a few).
• Read a translation of the poetry.
• Do some background reading on the work.
• Write down some goals for when part of the work will be learned.
• Get practicing, and get memorizing.

Here's what actually happened:

• Spring - I found out about the performance and thought, "ooo, podcast!"
• I went shopping on amazon for a score, and then downloaded and printed a copy from imslp.
• I sang the first piece or two.
• Beginning of the summer - I did a trial run of a video where I talked about what I wanted to do
• A month later - I filmed another trial run of the same video (it was still terrible).
• Three months later (how'd that happen?) - Made a spreadsheet comparing the original key of each piece to the Low Voice editions I had on hand, analyzing the key changes from piece to piece.
• Another month later - Got another recording to listen to and gave it a listen. Took some notes.
• Added more numbers (playtime) to my spreadsheet. Spent a while getting the spreadsheet formatting just right.
• Tried twice more to film an introduction video, this time getting something I liked.
• Spent a week or so editing the video.
• Toyed around with a bunch of websites where I can talk about what I was going to do.
• Hired a graphic artist.
• Wrote a bunch of blog posts.
• Figured I'd better get started on actually learning the thing and cracked open the score again.

So, yes, I confess preparation thus far hasn't been ideal. Life rarely seems to match the ideal, though, and that's not always the worst of things. When was the last time your plans didn't work out the way you expected? What is your usual way to start a large music project? Have you ever managed to do it the way you intend to do it? Help us all feel a little better by offering your own stories below.

Next up, I'll do a read-through of the translations, do a bit of reading, and let you know my initial impressions.

(Someone out there is going to appreciate this - here's the aforementioned spreadsheet.)