'I'm always looking for the Hows and the Whys and the Whats,' said Muskrat, 'That is why I speak as I do. You've heard of Muskrat's Much-in-Little, of course?'
'No,' said the child. 'What is it?'
- The Mouse and his Child. Russell Hoban.

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Thursday 16 February 2012

The Orchestra!


I'm a visual sort of person. But I also love music. I like to 'see' music. In fact, I can play by ear very well, and do it by visualising the music as colours, textures and shapes. I can hardly read music at all - certainly not fast enough to play it.

I teethed on Peter and the Wolf. I discovered Mozart through Mozart 40, Beethoven through Miguel Rios's Song of Joy and A Clockwork Orange, and Strauss through 2001 A Space Odyssey. An accelerated learning/teaching course introduced me to Bach and the Goldberg Varitions, and there was more Bach in The English Patient. Chopin has captured me recently from watching The Pianist.

So, I came in through the back (visual) door to classical music, but now I love it, and it's more than half of all the music I listen to.

Now, Lemony Snickett has written a sort of new Guide to the Orchestra. I will just have to get this book/ DVD for my great niece in London!



Thanks for sending this to me J!

4 comments:

  1. How did I miss this? I'm sure that I'm not getting all posts on my Dashboard. Anyway. Ever since we discussed music and how we see it I've been fascinated by your seeing music as colours (just as a young friend sees numbers as colours) and analysing it in such detail.

    For me music is purely an emotion. I cannot envisage nor remember it as notes at all. I listen to 'classical' music constantly (probably 98% of my music listening) but I have no ability to recall nor identify most of it. Sometimes I think that if I had a wish it would be to be a musician (but next day it could be to be a linguist). I have noticed that there is a commonality in that they are audio-related skills. Hmmm.

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  2. Oh I love, love, love this. Thanks so much for introducing it .
    Cheers

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  3. Geeb - I've been writing back-dated posts. It was nice to be greeted by excellent music when we visited.

    Helsie - you are welcome! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I have another one you might like, if I can find it (Scrabbles around in the bottom messy cupboard of the computer).

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