The Difference Between Noise and Music
Photo by Jefferson Santos on Unsplash Readings (From the Daily Office, Book of Common Prayer 2019) : 1 Samuel 5 1 Corinthians 14:1-19 Luke 14:7-14 I remember the first day I played a guitar. It was perhaps not the first time that I had ever plucked a string or held a guitar in my hands, but it was, to my knowledge, the first time I had ever sat down with the intention of learning to play actual music. I was about thirteen years old. I painfully and slowly transitioned from a G chord to a D chord and vice versa. I am sure that it sounded awful. But despite that, it was a step beyond noise. Noise and music are different things. Anyone can make noise, but not every noise is music. Music has a form, rules. Yes, composers like John Cage bend and break those rules, but there is intention in those compositions. Even the greatest jazz improvisors are bound by intention. Improvisation does not entail a lack of intention, but a great degree of deliberateness and skill. It is far fr...