CJ Eller

I picked up classical guitar after a brief hiatus. As soon as I started learning a piece of music, it hit me how crucial choreography is in playing. With the guitar you can play one chord in a number of ways. However, in a given context, a particular chord shape will be better than the rest. This is usually due to where your fingers are, where they've been, and where you want them to go within a piece. Sometimes sheet music will give you helpful hints about what positions on the fretboard would be advantageous, but I think much of the fun lies in figuring it out yourself.

This concept of choreography now bleeds into how I use my laptop. I never thought of writing templated emails like performing a prelude, where copying and pasting text resemble a couple measures. Now it takes on that context. I wonder how a shell script could save a finger stretch to the trackpad. How can I give a task more flow, give a task more musicality?

When I fumble about on a particular passage in a piece of music, I break it down and try to find a chord shape or fingering that will help. Usually spending that time leads to a breakthrough. The same time and care could be applied to computer workflows.

I wonder what it'd mean to treat each keystroke as part of a piece of music? Reminds me of the thoughts from Jon Udell & Scott Hanselman.