Music and Sound

The August assignment in my still-life photo project for this year was “Music and Sound”, which made me think of two instruments: a piano and flute.

I wanted to play piano when I was a little girl, but when I applied for lessons at a music school, I was told my fingers were too short to make the effort worthwhile. That might have been true, but I was bitterly disappointed. Perhaps they had too many children asking for piano lessons so they tried to steer us towards less popular instruments instead.

Years later, I bought a flute and some self-instruction books. I practiced diligently, though I never became a master. Short fingers again? Perhaps. Still, learning an instrument gave me something precious.

Listening to music and making it yourself are entirely different experiences. When you play, the tunes don’t just resonate in you – you pour your own feelings and thoughts back into them. There’s a conversation happening.

It’s breathtaking to watch an orchestra perform, where this conversation multiplies: each musician communes with their instrument, with each other, with the conductor. What a rich, living story unfolds in every performance.

The assignment for September featured “Artist’s Desktop,” which I’ll be sharing next time…