I was going to post again to continue along in the thread about 'taking music onstage:' My post in the thread in 'Teaching and Learning'

-- But, really I'm starting a new topic, so it's here instead.

Maybe it's just because of my own lifestyle and and circumstances, and maybe I wouldn't 'obsess' over making binders full of papers and sheet music if I were about 25 years younger than I am -- or, maybe if I'd never had to amuse a child with a picture book, I wouldn't bother --

but, I do enjoy working on my 'library' of binders for my printed music. To my own, I add photos, even.

Whether or not I can play/sing the songs without the music, I just like having my various binders. For instance, I have a huge book/binder of just my own original music. I have another one for classical/art songs. I have another one for instrumental concertina arrangements (that have no lyrics). Another for lead sheets/'cheat' sheets. Another for printouts of whatever I post at my website, which include a picture, any lyrics or text, and the notation....and so on.

Yes, I suppose it's partly out of boredom that I assemble these, and partly it's because of having been around my husband's business of dealing with old documents/papers/archives, etc..

And, when I'm dead and gone and someone's throwing out my piles of...stuff, maybe someone will store the binders somewhere, and if there's any world left in 100 years, someone might find them to be at least mildly interesting....as I have found so many things to be, that someone else left behind!

Wendy, I can't say I share your obsession with binders, but it reminds me of the practice of keeping a "commonplace book" (click here). I've kept a journal for most of my life, and some years it's so stuffed with song lyrics, photos, sketches, poems, autumn leaves, etc, that it's hard to tell what's going on. I admire your sense of order!

Maybe I'll be inspired to organize my music better. I do have binders for concertina, songs, my chorus- maybe I do share your obsession after all!

Hehehee, Thanks, that was this morning's chuckle!!

Yes, my binders are nice and organized, but they're kind of like my, well, peaceful island retreat surrounded by pure chaos.

I'm kind of overwhelmed by the piles of things that have accumulated around me (though, I will hopefully swim through them all, sometime), and my organized 'commonplace books' (interesting link, thanks!) are my escape from that reality.

I often work on arranging something in a binder collection, taking great pains over it, when I am too tired to filter through a pile or two of junk mail or something else in the house.

Re 'commonplace books,' I'd never heard that term. I suppose that's what you'd call a few of the old scrapbooks that I have. Some are simply huge books of old printed music, but there are a few that someone used as personal scrapbooks -- glued other things over the sheet music -- old newsclippings and so on.

I have one with articles and bits from old 'Etude' music magazines. Someday when I dig them out again, maybe I'll find some interesting things to post. Though it's stuff that was printed at one time or another, so it's not really rare, it doesn't always easily show up anywhere else in research. I think that's part of the beauty of old scrapbooks.

For instance, I found this old poem (trying to dig it up again, now) that I think was written by a well-known Rev. War writer. It's written as a riddle. I've posted it online before, but no one seemed to have any info about it. It doesn't seemed to be archived anywhere. So, it may have just been ephemera in it's day (printed way after the Rev. War, of course), kind of passed over, and who knows what record, if any, exists of it -- besides my copy?

Wendy,

What a gloomy, "autumnlike" words . It sounds as if you're ready for oblivion . Of course there will be a world left in 100 years (with concertina's ) and within two months the days (at least in our hemishere) are getting longer and we are heading to a spring with loads of flowers, sunshine and singing birds

A final thought: it is not completely impossible that in 100 years from now your grand grandchildren have formed a concertina band and are playing stuff that they found in your binders

There are a fair number of USAns -- and others -- who are wondering whether the world will survive this coming Tuesday... or the results thereof. But me... I'm a cynical optimist. I can tell you lots of things that are wrong in the world , but I still believe that things not only can get better, but will. (Not overnight, though.)

Well...yeah, I do admit to having a bit of a dark, sarcastic and gloomy edge at times!

But, at least today it's 'okay,' since it's Halloween in the USA. BOOOOO!!!!

Really, I am actually quite a happy and content person. (Usually.)

Seriously, though, watching the news broadcasts daily in the USA (or, reading the papers, too, I guess) can tend to make me think of moving to another country. I love the USA, yes, of course -- don't want to leave. But....well, I have my doubts about the future of its peacefulness and security.

As for posterity appreciating the concertina and so on -- yes, I hope that they will! Sometimes I do brood over the irony of the fact that we send our kids to school or college and they must study history, but the potential history being made by their own families is often met with negativity on their part. (Of course, I was a prime example of this, while growing up, many times!)

I don't really mind obscurity...don't need even half the attention that my husband gets for his art at various shows. I'm sure part of my 'gloom' comes from viewing piles of papers, etc...

I recently bought a paper shredder!!!! Having some fun with it. Not shredding any real archives, of course!

I know!

Wednesday is going to be one strange day.

My husband and my daughter are both going to vote -- and each for different candidates.

I am not voting, not because I don't care....and, I'll stop here, so's not to start a new tangent in this thread!

I've been looking at sites about scrapbooks and commonplace books. I just found this interesting site,

http://www.scrapbookersparadise.com/ideas/history.html

and the paragraph under 'Common-Place Books' mentions the practice of pasting clippings and whatever over the pages of other, already printed books (like some of what I have):

(Quote) 'Even wealthy scrapbook keepers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries often pasted their clippings and memorabilia directly over the text of old books or catalogs.' (End Quote)

I found another site, I think it was called futureofthebook.com, and a section there made interesting comparisons in what we call 'scrapbooks' today and what were more like the older commonplace books.

It was interesting...I know this board is about concertinas, not scrapbooks, but, okay, so make some concertina scrapbooks....

Edited to fix the URL of http://www.futureofthebook.com/

Well Wendy it takes all sorts to make the World and I must say I am the exact opposite of yourself.My Grandfather I think started me off hoarding when he was walking down the road and picked up a screw."That will be useful one day" he said.
I inherited his bits and pieces box and I think it`s still in there.As a boy my toy cupboard was not anything you opened ,as it was only a door that was opened a crack and items were pushed in.My Father made the mistake of swinging the door open wide one day and named it the death trap after that.My garage is so full of possible future items and tools, that there is no room to put a car in it.Of course when I do need anything I can rarely find it.My wife of course is the tidy one and often puts my things in the dustbin only for me to get them out again.My record and cassette tape collection is in the loft, with many other bits and peices, including some concertina spares, old music,my old trumpet and the dance music that went with it.
You of course Wendy would have a field day sorting it into piles and putting those piles into files,catalogue them and put them on shelves.I in the meantime will continue to live in utter confusion in my own happy world.
Al

Makes me think of a couple I know. (Not to imply anything about Alan & Wnedy. )

Simultaneous with getting married they bought a small house, with just enough room for all their possessions, so they made a pact that whenever something new came into the house, something old would have to go out to make room for it. "What I didn't realize at the time," the wife said, "was that whenever something new came into the house, something old of mine would have to go out...
...
...
...
...
... because I was the only one bringing new things in. and I was doing it all the time."

NNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I would NOT!!

All the stuff would go into what I would call 'the goodbye pile,' and....

oh, okay, well, maybe some of it would be GOOD 'junque,' of course. That would be different.

And, Jim, my latest intake is an exercise bike -- one that HE wanted, but never used. We moved it out of HIS space so that he can possibly get a recliner, because HE falls asleep in his chair and the chair he's had is not good for sleeping.

I'm hoping that I'll have enough free space around the bike to actually move the pedals, and what will be next in the 'goodbye pile' will be some excess weight!!!