Registration Black

May 17

In printing, registration black refers to 100% coverage in each of the four process colors: cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (K). It’s a special purpose color, and is not generally used to print black text or grayscale graphics. They’re used for printing crop marks, which help with alignment.

Juries feel the same way, like checkpoints to see if we’ve lined up with our appropriate benchmarks. There are only three people, but waiting backstage feels like an eternity, even when goofing off. The day comes in a rolling, matter-of-fact to-do list.

work – the kids are thrilled it’s Friday
class
print music for the jury judges
harp lesson
juries
throw together a syllabus for work
take about three seconds to throw together an introductory video for work
sprint back to the music building for work
pack for a red-eye

I think about simplicity, about being exhausted, being accomplished, and being done. I’ve never been very good with endings, even endings that don’t feel like endings. The ending to Ravel’s La Valse also comes suddenly, abruptly. When I last performed it, I was told it was a lament for the decay brought by World War II. The piece whirls and teeters around beautifully, but unsteadily, collapses inwards until the basic structure of the waltz, the big three, crumbles into a final duple pattern.