Books and the Unexpected

 I recently discovered that an acquaintance/former colleague/friend of mine has written and published a novel! I had not seen him in years until this past June when a group of former colleagues went to see a musical that he had written about ancient Aztecs. 

He's obviously a very creative guy. I first met him when a small theater I was working at produced a musical that he had written the music for. We were actually in college at the same time, but he was a grad student and I was an undergrad, and even though the school was very small, we never met. We did not stay in touch, but encountered each other again when we  both ended up working at a music magazine for band directors. We both moved on from there years ago and have gone in different directions career and creative-wise.

I discovered the news about the novel while reading the alumni magazine. (I always look for people I knew. Finding them happens less and less as we grow older.) I ordered the book immediately. The title is Music's Guiding Hand and is about Guido D'Arezzo, who was a real person born around 990 in Italy. Every music student learns about him in music history. His claim to fame is Guido's Hand, a mnemonic device he created to assist sight-singing, that is singing written music that you don't already know. If you want to know more, here is a video: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1042331942769547

I just got the book and haven't started reading yet. However, I claim a very small contribution to Guido's fame. When I was working as an editor at the music magazine, I was editing a humor article. I don't remember what the main idea of the article was, but the author has made a joking reference to some music thing that had been done "since the time of Guido D'Arezzo." My wandering thoughts led me to add an extra humorous touch, creating "Guido 'The Hand' D'Arezzo." Referencing, obviously, the Italian criminal organization and its many nicknames. The editor in charge loved it, and it stayed in. 

I suspect that novel is more serious, but I'll find out.