Let's Make Music

Flowing brown hair with the soft touch of a loving Mother at her fingertips—her stately presence and graceful poise in one combine. Bach sings through her small wooden box. And when those moments of doubt arise, her persistent heart carries throughout the entire concert—every piece, rest, break, pause, and audience outburst. She makes music! This concept bewilders me—as if music can be made like making money or cookies. No, I believe making music is so much more.

It is…

…that thrill before you enter the stage in your lovely floor length dress that your about to give away all that you’ve worked for to a room full of people.

…that bitter hatred and indescribable love that you have for the pieces that you have struggled with for months.

…the “high” you experience when you nail a run or the nasty passage that you have stressed about since you started practicing the piece.

…the guilty crapped out sensation that you feel when you fumble to get the right notes because you have a memory slip.

…the sensation that pulses throughout your body—the beat, the melody, the underlying harmonies that so easily intrigue, phrases that change with each performance.

…the tone that so smoothly rings through your ears as you so gently coax the strings.

…the movement of my swaying body.

…the excitement that the encouraging or apathetic or disapproval or simply boredom that the audience designs.

…the response of the concert hall after you have played your last note.

…the tender silence between the “ring” of your last note and the audience’s grand applause.

…the cheers, tears, cries, approving, caring, loving, piercing, sad, furious, discontented countenances that are enthralled in the moment and the performance.

…the swooping gesture you find comforting more because of the breeze than anything else that allows the piece and eventually the concert to finally come to a conclusion.

…the fast paced beat of your overwhelmed heart in conjunction with the sense of pride that this great accomplishment and the relief of this burden from your heavy shoulders.

…the hugs, tears, fears, and cheers you enjoy following this “great” accomplishment.

This is music making!