Playing to Nature’s Accompaniment

I had a beautiful experience whilst practicing last night. And though it does involve Rudolphe – I won’t use his last name this one time – I think you will enjoy it.

I found myself spending a good deal of time on #23. It’s a wonderful caprice, and develops your ability to play free-form scales, arpeggios, and such. In short, it’s a long, mellismatic and mellifluous cadenza.

Most of it requires the use of very long bows and is very effective played in piano. After a period of intense concentration I succeeded in getting my mind and hands around it to a point where all the filigree was flowing effortlessly, like a brook down a hill. At the same time I became aware of sounds coming through an open window from outside.

We live back east, as most of you know. At this time of year we still have an abundance of insects sharing the landscape with us.

After dark it is all about sound around here.

So there I was, bubbling away, and being accompanied by the high pitched banter of a thousand crickets.

Now, it’s no coincidence that cricket chatter increased my feeling of well being. The fact that they produce high frequency sounds guarantees they will have a calming and soothing effect on the human nervous system.

This scientific fact has been proven in numerous studies, and is just one small piece of a growing body of knowledge you should be familiar with in today’s fast paced noise intensive world.

Low frequency sounds have the reverse effect, they increase your heart rate, trigger the release of adrenaline, and actually put you in the ‘fight or flight’ mode. In nature, a roaring lion and thunder are two low frequency emitters. In music heavy rock beats create the same effect.

It is easy to get addicted to adrenaline rushes. That’s what rock concerts, roller-coasters and scary movies are all about.

Fact is, they are also stressing your body and shortening your life.

Now, for those of you who want to maximize your physical and mental performance, who want to make informed choices about what music you expose yourself to, who want to use MUSIC to enhance your effectiveness and overall health, I highly suggest you check out this link.

In the meantime I would very much enjoy hearing of your experiences with music and the natural world. Drop me a line.

All the best,

Clayton Haslop