Music creates order out of chaos: for rhythm imposes unanimity upon the divergent, melody imposes continuity upon the disjointed, and harmony imposes compatibility upon the incongruous.
Yehudi MenuhinRead
I can only think of music as something inherent in every human being - a birthright. Music coordinates mind, body and spirit.
Interpretation
Music is an inherent part of being human, essential for harmony within oneself.
Yehudi Menuhin emphasizes the fundamental role of music in human existence, suggesting that it is a universal birthright that connects our mind, body, and spirit. This idea reflects the profound impact music has on our emotional and spiritual well-being, as well as its ability to unify various aspects of our being.
In practice
In a speech about the arts, one might quote this to highlight the essential role of music in education.
Music creates order out of chaos: for rhythm imposes unanimity upon the divergent, melody imposes continuity upon the disjointed, and harmony imposes compatibility upon the incongruous.
Music lives and breathes to tell us who we are and what we face. It is a path between ourselves and the infinite.
The practice of yoga induces a primary sense of measure and proportion. Reduced to our own body, our first instrument, we learn to play it, drawing from it maximum resonance and harmony.
Improvisation is not the expression of accident but rather of the accumulated yearnings, dreams and wisdom of our very soul.
We are living in a world where the individual must learn to command the raw materials of expression. He must not be dependent all the time on the ready-made, the finished product. It's the transferring, the changing of the raw into what is the expression of your own self β the whole joy and satisfaction and frustration of life is built into this.
It is music that welds spiritual and sensual, that can convey ecstasy free of guilt, faith without dogma, love as homage, and a person at home with nature and the infinite.
I heard someone from the music business saying they are no longer looking for talent, they want people with a certain look and a willingness to cooperate. I thought, that's interesting, because I believe a total unwillingness to cooperate is what is necessary to be an artist β not for perverse reasons, but to protect your vision. The considerations of a corporation, especially now, have nothing to do with art or music. That's why I spend my time now painting.
I have never heard a dancer asking for advice about how to stay focused on her footwork, or a painter complaining about the dull day-to-day task of painting. What task worth doing isn't worth daily effort? Do you think Michelangelo was having fun the whole time he was on his back painting the Sistine Chapel's ceiling?
As photographs give people an imaginary possession of a past that is unreal, they also help people to take possession of space in which they are insecure.
Poetry is more a threshold than a path.
Draw a line; draw a line that pleases you. And remember that it is not the artist's role to copy the outlines of things but to create a world of his own lines on paper." (pp.28-29)
In documentary filmmaking, there's a tradition of telling stories about victims. We often do that from a very patronizing place, but mostly we do it from a very selfish place, to reassure ourselves that our lives are in sympathy and solidarity with the victims.
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