Tuesday, November 2, 2004

For the first time in a long while, I sat myself down and listened to a full hour of music, gentle reader, and boy was it satisfying. There’s a reason why notes have been around for so long. When you hear a certain tune or a few thoughtful words at just the right time, there’s something damn nigh therapeutic about the whole process.

My violin teacher lives in what she calls a “chicken coop,” and in the corner of this coop sits an ivory-colored bowl. It’s a gigantic bowl, as big as a bucket, and I assumed she used it to catch rainwater whenever her roof failed to do so. One day, after I remarked as much to her, she chuckled at my ignorance and calmly walked over to the bowl. She picked up a baton-like object, held it along the inner lip of the bowl, and went ’round and ’round the circumference.

At first, you couldn’t hear much, but the room soon vibrated with a rich, powerful note. Turns out it wasn’t a fancy bucket. It was a singing bowl, and while it sang my teacher dashed over to her shelves and fetched some smaller ones. Within moments, all the bowls were happily pulsing, and the room sounded positively primeval.

I could feel the sound–on my skin, in my gut, inside my very bones–and I knew these frequencies preceded my silly little life and would continue long after I left. The same thing happens, I believe, when you savor the right song. It resonates so much that it shakes out all your stress, all your cares and worries, and you gain a fresh pair of eyes when you’re still again.

Whether you’re studying tonight, reading the news, or watching those electoral votes like a hawk, you may want to enjoy some music. I linked to eSpew a few days ago, but this is so much better.