Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Lost Chords

Last night hearing my daughter's remarkable piano improvisation, I was struck by the power of listening to beautiful sounds that I could not identify--not that I need to identify the sounds I hear, but that these sounds were coming straight from the gut, as it were.

She has never learned music theory.  She knows what she knows by listening.  I dream about those chords.  They are not incidental to her music, but integral to every mood, every transition, every state.  Where does she get them?

Try looking at 32,000 vibrating hair cells and you may find that we base most of our music training and conceptualization on vast over-simplifications.  It takes a master like Rachelle to unlock the gates.  I have no hesitation referring to her as a master, even though she is my daughter.  I go every month to hear her.  Though it is a trek I wouldn't miss it for the world.