The gloaming. And capturing fleeting ideas.

I first heard this word from Catherine and, according Webster’s online, it simply means twilight, but it’s a little more precise, I think, as it truly refers to that fleeting moment between the time when the day is more light than dark and when it is more dark than light. It’s a moment that can last up to 30 minutes, but more likely is over in under 10.

To me, the gloaming is the equivalent of the moment when good ideas form. I mean, let’s face it, we all have ideas all the time, but good ones? No, those are rare. Sadly, the gloaming for ideas doesn’t happen at roughly the same time each day, nor can it be forced, so the key is to somehow always be ready for when the moment occurs and to be willing to stop and take in what your mind is saying to you. Ideally, you will be ready at all times to whip out your fountain pen and parchment and elegantly capture your thoughts in calligraphy-worthy ink, but that’s just not very practical, so what’s second best? For me, it’s my BlackBerry. No matter where I am, I seem to have the thing with me, and I just email myself whatever song idea is on my mind. I always make the subject the same, song idea, then, later, when I want to gather up my fragments for further musing, I just search for the phrase “song idea” and up they all pop. As for capturing melodic ideas, that’s a lot tougher, since I can’t write music, but I can at least try to describe what I’m hearing and write things like “up a major third” or “against I-IV-V”. Works okay. Oh, and I also hum the idea to myself over and over, like when trying to remember a number. Works okay, too.

Does anyone else out there have thoughts on capturing the gloaming for ideas?