A Melody Is A Finite Sequence

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© Copyright 1999 by John L. Waters.
All Rights Reserved.
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A Melody Is a Finite Sequence

A melody is a finite sequence
Of sounds each of which
Has a pitch of predominantly one value.
A stroke of acrylic red
May suggest a red rose or a red runner.
When we listen to a melody
We aren't trying to parse the song
Into the song
Of a robin or a whale.
So why must we want to identify
What physical object the artist's
Strokes on paper, wood or canvas
Were intended to depict?

Radiant color itself
In lines, blobs, or squidges and squoodges
Squeezed out of a tube
Make the hand feel like the glissandos
Of a horn blower.
Even so, educators still cultivate
Quite different ideas for art
And for music.
We are trained to expect to look at a drawing
And express in words what the
drawing looks like.
But when we listen to music
We just listen.
Why can't we just look and see the abstract
In everything?

Children take music and art 
Quite differently
And many people don't enjoy abstract art
Even though they enjoy listening to music
Without trying to hear the croaking of a frog
Or the cawing of a crow.
Isn't it funny the way human brains are
Trained?
And
Isn't it sad?

(contributor:  John L. Waters)      

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