It is slipping through my fingers. Seconds, minutes, hours lose their unique differences and feel all the same. Starting to lose track of time.
By limiting the physical space in which we’re allowed to move, time seems to unravel. What difference does it make if time goes forward, backward, or in circles if we keep on seeing the same objects around us?
Combined with the undefined duration of self- and soon to be officially imposed isolation, hours and minutes unravel. They reveal themselves to be just human constructs, not able to withstand greater natural forces. One such phenomenon that we almost had eradicated in the hyperactive time of before: boredom.
Our over-organised world sees itself now trapped in a Dali-painting, where time has been melted out of its concrete form. What once was a solid, razor-sharp block is now liquid and formless, an iceberg sinking into the ocean and becoming one with it.
Music keeps me afloat. It helps me to sail over this sea of time and find hidden structure and gives me a sense of direction instead of a feeling of floating. It frees my mind and wakes up my imagination.
Together with books, music lets me look up and travel within my locked-down room. It is the compass towards undiscovered worlds and cherished memories. It is this power that makes music such an important part of our life. If there is one positive thing from these testing times, it is to realise again that music is a lot more than just “expensive noise”.
It is structure, support, comfort while also being inspiration – all at the same time.
Music is structure.
It gives us a beginning, a middle and an end. There are themes that reappear, changed or identical. Music also provides us with harmony and rhythm, measures to order noise on the canvas of time.
Music is support.
The power to magnify emotions. Music resonates with us and gives us the possibility to understand our own inner life. It can also take our mind of things and put us in a happier mood than we were initially in.
Music is comfort.
Hearing a beloved song is like seeing an old friend again. It doesn’t matter if we have seen him only yesterday or a decade ago, it gives us the warm feeling of being known and loved.
Music is inspiration.
Rediscovering an old recording, listening to it several times, focussing on different instruments, figuring out the harmonies and activating our brain and courage to try it ourselves.
While thinking about this, the sea doesn’t look so big anymore. I know now what to do if I am lost again. Thanks to music, we never feel completely alone.
Posted by Ernst Spyckerelle. Ernst is editor and junior music producer at TRPTK. He studied violin and music composition at the Conservatory of Amsterdam and the Conservatoire Royal de Liège in Belgium. He won the gold medal at the Concours des Jeunes solistes Luxembourg and was prize winner at the First International Triomphe de l'Art competition in Brussels.
Music in the time of COVID-19
It is slipping through my fingers. Seconds, minutes, hours lose their unique differences and feel all the same. Starting to lose track of time.
By limiting the physical space in which we’re allowed to move, time seems to unravel. What difference does it make if time goes forward, backward, or in circles if we keep on seeing the same objects around us?
Combined with the undefined duration of self- and soon to be officially imposed isolation, hours and minutes unravel. They reveal themselves to be just human constructs, not able to withstand greater natural forces. One such phenomenon that we almost had eradicated in the hyperactive time of before: boredom.
Our over-organised world sees itself now trapped in a Dali-painting, where time has been melted out of its concrete form. What once was a solid, razor-sharp block is now liquid and formless, an iceberg sinking into the ocean and becoming one with it.
Music keeps me afloat. It helps me to sail over this sea of time and find hidden structure and gives me a sense of direction instead of a feeling of floating. It frees my mind and wakes up my imagination.
Together with books, music lets me look up and travel within my locked-down room. It is the compass towards undiscovered worlds and cherished memories. It is this power that makes music such an important part of our life. If there is one positive thing from these testing times, it is to realise again that music is a lot more than just “expensive noise”.
It is structure, support, comfort while also being inspiration – all at the same time.
Music is structure.
It gives us a beginning, a middle and an end. There are themes that reappear, changed or identical. Music also provides us with harmony and rhythm, measures to order noise on the canvas of time.
Music is support.
The power to magnify emotions. Music resonates with us and gives us the possibility to understand our own inner life. It can also take our mind of things and put us in a happier mood than we were initially in.
Music is comfort.
Hearing a beloved song is like seeing an old friend again. It doesn’t matter if we have seen him only yesterday or a decade ago, it gives us the warm feeling of being known and loved.
Music is inspiration.
Rediscovering an old recording, listening to it several times, focussing on different instruments, figuring out the harmonies and activating our brain and courage to try it ourselves.
While thinking about this, the sea doesn’t look so big anymore. I know now what to do if I am lost again. Thanks to music, we never feel completely alone.
Posted by Ernst Spyckerelle. Ernst is editor and junior music producer at TRPTK. He studied violin and music composition at the Conservatory of Amsterdam and the Conservatoire Royal de Liège in Belgium. He won the gold medal at the Concours des Jeunes solistes Luxembourg and was prize winner at the First International Triomphe de l'Art competition in Brussels.