Ah, romance, that wonderful and exciting feeling, that most glorious intertwining of two hearts. So intense, such a high, but so fleeting, and so often for so many once gone never to return. But does it have to be that way? Can we intentionally create and sustain more romance in our lives?

Most folks profess to want more romance in their lives. Indeed, for some, romance is a goal unto itself, or at least high on the list of goals for their love relationships.

But if having romance in our committed love relationships is a highly prized goal, and if so many people want more of it in their lives, how can we create, cultivate, and encourage it? What concrete steps can we take to make sure that romance takes seed and flourishes? (more…)

Everyone loves music. Music is everywhere, it pervades our world. Everyone knows music has power and importance. But have you ever stopped to consider why? What it is about music that gives it so much power and importance?

Here are 7 top reasons:

1. Music is a universal language. It inspires common human feelings and bridges gaps between cultures that spoken languages cannot. It brings people together and creates universal community.
2. Music inspires and evokes emotion in a healthy way. It touches our emotional being and evokes moods and feelings that are sometimes difficult to express. It can change a difficult mood and make it happy or excited; it can change a light mood and take it deeper and more profound.
3. Music enhances learning and makes it more enjoyable. It is scientifically proven that music enhances brain functioning. Playing music uses many brain functions simultaneously: motor control, imagination, hearing, sight, memory, etc. (more…)

I recently ran across a YouTube video someone had put together that features a song of mine, I Give You My Love And My Life, from my CD Sweet Sax.

This YouTube post is from a Bay Area woman named Luba.  The words are Polish.  Here’s a translation:

When you find a true friendship, care for it like a priceless gem, polish it, give it your time, protect it and look after it, but let it shine on it’s own. It will then shine even more.
Friendship is not only a wonderful gift, but it’s also a constant work.
A man lives for love; when he doesn’t love, he doesn’t live.
Isn’t it a huge thing to mean everything to someone?
Could our love last without a sacrifice, without giving up a desire to posses it all?
Love is not based on mutual looking into each others eyes, but on mutual looking in the same direction.
Mutual dependency is a wonderful state but would it be possible without love?
Only love gives life sense; that is why the more able we are to love and give ourselves to others, the more sense our life will have.
Only love knows the secret: give to others and become rich yourself in the process.
If you hold love too loosely, it will fly away; if you squeeze love too tightly, it will die.
They who truly love, don’t care for the rewards of their love, they only care how to love better.
Love is an impassioned friendship, a storm bringing rich harvest, a wind that carries the seeds of life into the most secret places.

Beautiful, isn’t it?

Question: How many sax players does it take to clean a saxophone?
Answer: Apparently at least one.

I bought a box of Q-tips today to clean my sax with (a various tedious job).

I have, officially, the grimiest saxophone in the world. I looked it up on Google. You do a search on “world’s grimiest sax,” you get markmaxwellmusic.com. I looked it up in the Wikipedia. There’s an article about how dirty my sax is. Argh! I spend so much time outdoors in the dirt, wind, rain – this silver-plated sax collects specimens from all over America and saves them for future generations.

So I get layers of muck on top of the layers of tarnish crust. Mix that with all the spit that flies out of the horn while I blow my brains out. The sax is no longer silver, it’s taken on this weird shiny grayish brown patina.

Strangely, the sax ends up looking very soulful, very antique, and lots of people tell me how beautiful it is! Lots of people! But man, don’t look too close. I think I have a colony of ants living in the bell.

(Roberta has promised to help me take it apart and clean it when I get home. Next time you see me my Yamaha Custom YTS-875S Tenor Saxophone will be shining!)

If you’re a sax player, here’s my advice. Don’t play your sax. Don’t even take it out of the case. Take a picture of it, look at the picture often, but don’t actually put it together and blow into it. Get an Wind Synthesizer and find a good oboe patch.