Who knows what makes some kids care more than others about sound?
What sets the standard for quality in a child's experience of sound?
Is there a standard or is it a function of the child's own personal experience of the world around her?
Living a few blocks away from the Deagan Chime Company in Chicago I grew up with the ringing of beautiful chimes every quarter-hour. I notice when bells ring. The sound is more than itself.
When Hans Neumann pointed out the bells in Ravel's Le Gibet I was struck by how hidden they were by the notation of that sound in the same shape and dimension of circle on the page as other sounds that were "just" piano sounds.
Since then I have discovered other instances of bells: in Dvorak's Dumky Trio, for example. I now know how to find them, perhaps because I am always on the lookout for experiences that will transport me back to the source.
