I am a musician/violinist/orchestra teacher/lover of most musicals, but I do not like noise. Ironic, right? I LOVE silence. It's very strange because I can listen to kids playing all sorts of interesting notes all day long (yes, of course wrong notes make me cringe), and listening to my children being loud pretty much doesn't phase me. But background noise=YUCK!!!!! No music on, no crinkling sounds, and absolutely NO CHEWING!!!!
My ears. My ears are a blessing in my line of work and a curse in my line of...life. I have insanely sensitive ears (and sniffer). Having perfect pitch certainly has its benefits. Like knowing when a note is out of tune. HAHAHA...but since it doesn't ensure I play in tune, is it really THAT helpful? I can randomly sing a G. Another really awesome skill...NOT! It's like a nerdy party trick, but I don't like parties (whole separate post some day) so strike two. I can impress my students when they play random notes when they're not supposed to be playing and I chastise with pitch expertise (example: Student, why are you playing an F# while I'm talking!!) or when they're doing the "what note is this?" game (which I actually do enjoy) but again...not getting me ahead in life.
The negatives: I KNOW when a note is out of tune...like really know...really quickly...really accurately. OH. MY. GOODNESS. All day long, this is what I fix, and it can be draining. When I watch movies, instead of hearing music (like, "ooooh cool, there's the Star Wars theme!"), I hear note names. I tell my students this. If you were listening to a conversation, and instead of hearing words, you heard the letters being spelled out...D-i-d y-o-u h-e-a-r w-h-a-t h-a-p-p-e-n-e-d...(that was as painful to type out as it would be to listen to I imagine)...it's just not as pleasurable to listen to. This is me and music. Not music I'm directly involved with (either playing or conducting), hence why I'm still doing what I do. But if it's indirect...eeks!! This is why I don't let my students pluck or play or play airy at any time. (I can't think or form thoughts when this is going on. My older kids have caught onto this and think it's funny to pluck random notes while I'm trying to form thoughts). This is why I'm sitting here typing in silence instead of watching The Blacklist (even though I really want to know what's going to happen to Agent Keen). Most of the time, I have to craft in silence. Even Bernie can attest to the fact that talking can totally mess me up. And it's weird because musicians are supposed to be huge multitaskers. We have notes, rhythms, bowings, dynamics, style...so much going on that we process simultaneously. But I can't stand listening to the fan, or the air conditioning, or the cockroach that was crawling around the other night in my craft room---couldn't get ANYTHING done! Though, it could've just been the fact that there was a cockroach crawling around. I will drive around in the car uncomfortably warm just so I don't have to hear the air.
I've really gone on much too long about this (even though there are so many more examples). The point...is perfect pitch nature or nurture? That's something I think about a lot. Is it because Mrs. Moyer started us all at age 3 and we have just learned what A 440 was and boom=perfect pitch? Or is it genetic? Do my biological family members seek silence like I do?
My fave superhero is Superman. Remember in the movie when he's young and he's discovering his powers and he runs and hides in a closet at school because he hears so many noises/conversations? Yeah, that's how I feel. And...He's adopted!!! (Remember at the end when the lady comments on GOOD LOOKING he is? Maybe that's an adoptee thing too! HAHAHAHA!!!!)
Final irony...all my post titles will probably be song titles.
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