Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Internal Rhythm

There has to be such a thing.  People talk authoritatively about the connection of musical rhythm to the body:  I have long had problems with that one, since it is impossible to generalize about bodily anything.  As a child I was very aware of that: I simply could not do as other children seemed to do so effortlessly:  throw a ball, move in sync with others, coordinate my movements within a team sport.

I insist that there is a different source of bodily rhythm, faster, more reliable.  That is the rhythm of hearing itself.  I notice in my students of all ages that this rhythm seems to be the most lively to them; certainly inhabiting music at that level gives them maximum range of choices as to how to coordinate their bodies with the sounds to which they respond.

Why aren't more people interested in that level of activity?  Is it already obsolete?  Has the species already evolved to a place where that level of activity has been diminished?