The events in America last week prompted me to think a lot about change.
Change comes in many forms. For some it can be good. For others it is painful or frightening. It often comes along with ‘loss’. Loss of a loved one. Loss of a job or loss of good health. Change can be something we choose or something we have no choice about. As an adoptive parent of 15 years I have observed how change has directly affected my two younger children. For them even going on holiday can be difficult. It takes time for them to readjust to a new place. Then when you return home, there is another adjustment needed.
As I considered my thoughts and observations about change I wanted to relate some of them to three musical terms. Tempo, Segue and Overture.
Tempo.
Tempo is the ‘speed’ of a piece of music. It can be fast or slow, but it can also change at various times within that piece. For many of us our ‘speed’ of life has changed dramatically since March. In my family, my wife was furloughed for many months and my youngest daughter didn’t attend school until September. I could not do concerts but continued to work with my choirs and to teach singing online. However, the tempo was slower. This allowed more time to reflect. More time to do things we had wanted to do but normally couldn’t get around to in our ‘normal’ busy lives. Most importantly it allowed us time as a family to grow together that we hadn’t had in my adopted daughter’s early years. For another of my daughters, her Tempo increased at her work. Although working at home, her work load seems to have grown and her working hours have stretched into her home life. Now she occasionally attends her office so that she can do some of the other things that she loved doing before our lives were changed. Change doesn’t mean we should have to abandon what makes us whole.
The last change in tempo is often at the end of the piece. There is often a ‘rallentando’ at the very end. A gradual slowing down. I think this often serves to let us know that we are coming to end of this particular journey. It can be a beautiful moment. And for me the moment of silence that follows the music where the audience are ‘held’ in suspense is equally part of the piece. Perhaps this silence is also our moment to reflect on what has gone before.
Segue
In music this is when we move from one piece of music to another without interruption. No applause, just straight on with a new piece. This can often be at a faster pace. We have many segues in life. Moving house. Moving jobs. Sometimes moving from one thing to another involves an overlap. In music this can cause chaos. However, with the help of a conductor, this chaos can be avoided. In our own lives we are the conductor. We can choose when we slow down in one thing and gain speed in another. However, in order to make this transition we need to be clear of our intentions so that others can also make the changes with us. Segues can be positive experiences if we are clear in our intentions.
Overtures
An overture is the opening to a larger piece. It is a ‘new beginning’. It can often hint at what is to come but at the same time not give away the whole story as to what follows. It can be fast and slow. It can be dramatic or calming. As we begin ‘overtures’ in our lives we often don’t know the full story that follows. We may have a vision of where we want to go, but not know all the steps to get there. However, we do have a narrative and if we can visualise the steps we need to take to get to the end of our goal, we are better prepared for what comes ahead of us. This weekend I did an exercise in ‘Creative Visualisation’. It was fascinating. I saw a goal and through the exercise I was able to see many of the steps I would need to take to reach that goal.
The Covid-19 pandemic may mean for many of us that we have had to make numerous changes in our lives. Some of them we can’t choose, but others we can take control of and enjoy. Change can be a vehicle to opening up our own creativity. It can give us time to catch up on things that we have so often put on the back burner. But most of all, it can lead us to a better place that we may not have considered. So…..let the overture begin!