The other day we were listening to one of our favorite pieces of classical music: the “Adagio for Strings” by Samuel Barber. People of our generation are probably most familiar with this piece as it was one of the central musical ideas in the 1980s Vietnam War movie “Platoon,” but the piece stands on its own exceptionally well.
The piece starts very quiet and pensive, and gradually grows in drama and dissonance until all the strings are practically crying out in anguish, until it resolves in a powerful, satisfying consonant chord. And then silence.
Yes, right after the high point, silence. A rest. And then a quiet return to the original themes.
We remember the first time we heard that piece and what a shock to the system that sudden silence was, and how completely profound that moment of “non-music” was to the performance of that piece of music. The surprise and satisfaction of that use of “negative sound” was awesome. Nobody puts a piece of music on to hear how the performer uses silence–but the best ones really know how to do it!
Now, we know that not everybody gets as excited about classical music as we do, but there will be similar moments in your everyday that can have the same effect. You glance into a grove of trees you’ve seen a million times, but just once you see a baby deer walking through; a family goes by you in the grocery store, but this time you look close and see that a small child is busy taking care of his infant sister; a pile of leaves drifts by on a breeze, but this time you pause and catch the faint scent of a burning fire.
You will always be able to find great things when you set out to look for them. But we think the world is a far more interesting place if you try to keep your mind open for the beauty of moments unlooked-for.
The Gurus of Get It!
