Opening Day yesterday marked the official start to baseball season, and we encourage you to get in the spirit today by checking out this New York Times article that caught our eye. In true music critic fashion, the author takes the game and gives it a musical spin, comparing it to an outdoor symphony.
The roar of the crowd, the boom of the announcer’s voice, the intro music for each player, even the crack of the baseball bat… the sounds of the sport usually take a backseat to the hits and home runs, but if you start paying attention, it may even make you a better musician.
As the author writes…
The most assertive soloists are the vendors. My favorite was a wiry man with nasal snarl of a voice who practically sang the words “Cracker Jack” as a three-note riff: two eighth notes on “Cracker,” followed by a quarter note on “Jack,” always on a falling minor third. (Using solfège syllables, think “sol, sol, mi.”) After a while I heard his voice drifting over from another section, and he had transposed his riff down exactly one step.
Baseball fans get treated to a live performance of this kind of symphony at every game. And although each game follows the same format, as music follows the “rules” of harmonies and melodies, the emotional response of the crowd can be huge when something unexpected happens – an impressive triple play or a sudden accelerando, for example.
As we head into the weekend (and especially if you’re going to a baseball game!), we encourage you to really stop and listen when you’re out and about. Take off your iPod and listen to the sounds of nature or the sounds of the city. The best musicians internalize music wherever they go, and pretty soon you’ll hone that ability to hear the music in everything. And you never know – you might find yourself even more inspired to play, perform or compose.
Suzy S.