In 1722, Bach published the Well-Tempered Clavier for musical learners, featuring 24 preludes and fugues in all keys. Bach's creativity fueled his passion for music and faith. The Greek concept "meraki" describes loving what we work on, transforming negativity into joy. This idea contrasts with Major Nicholson's obsession with building a bridge in The Bridge on the River Kwai. Philosopher Scruton suggests we should pursue our passions given life's brevity. A recent dinner with musicians Michael and Anna Lea Gutierrez revealed their daughters' impressive violin skills and education, highlighting the transformative power of learning music. Encourage kids to study violin and check out Violin Garden.
The Well-Tempered Children A violin teacher in Vienna shows how music can be the basis of a child's entire education and development. Thu, 10 Oct 2024 22:32:31 GMT https://petermcculloughmd.substack.com/p/the-well-tempered-children In 1722, Johann Sebastian Bach published a collection of music he titled the Well-Tempered Clavier “for the profit and use of musical youth desirous of learning, and especially for the pastime of those already skilled in this study." The collection consists of preludes and fugues in all 24 keys, major and minor. Its title refers to his tuning system that works equally well in all keys.
Bach remains famous for his extraordinary musical creativity. Composition was his labor of love for music and for his Christian God. Many professional musicians have told me they still frequently marvel at the intricate quality of Bach’s music, even though they’ve been listening to it for decades.
Somewhere I heard someone talking about a classical Greek concept for the love we naturally feel for something when we work on it. I can’t remember the classical Greek word, but I found a modern Greek word (deriving from Turkish) that means the same thing. The word is Meraki .
In the act of working on something, we invest ourselves in it. In this act, we come to love the object of our work in which we see a reflection of ourselves. Working hard to learn a skill and to create new things can transform our lives from being agitated, negative and antagonistic to being calm, joyful, and harmonious.
A dark and inverted expression of meraki was portrayed in the film The Bridge on the River Kwai , when the British army engineer, Major Nicholson, falls in love with the bridge he built for the Japanese Army. So engrossed is he in building the beautiful bridge that he more or less forgets he is a POW who is treated harshly by the Japanese Army.
Thinking about meraki reminded me of a remark made by my philosophy professor, Roger Scruton. As he put it: “Given how short life is, we should spend most of it working on things we love.”
On a recent trip to Vienna I was invited to dinner at the home of my old friend Michael Gutierrez and his wife Anna Lea, who are both professional violinists. I had not seen them in years. The first thing I noticed when I walked into their apartment was their two daughters, age 12 and 15, standing in the entrance hall to greet me. They were polite and respectful but also relaxed. I was instantly moved by their exhibition of perfect manners.
Over dinner, Anna Lea told me about her YouTube Channel called VIOLIN GARDEN in which she provides a series of violin lessons using the Suzuki Method.
After dinner, one of her daughter’s performed a Paganini piece for me, the other a piece by Mozart. Their musical performances struck me as yet another expression of their excellent education, which was also evident from their sophisticated contributions to our dinner conversation.
Both girls seemed perfectly comfortable in their own skins. In spite of being midstream in adolescence, the older girl displayed none of the awkwardness or neurosis of that difficult phase of life.
I’m pretty sure that their dedication to learning the violin is the cornerstone of their intellectual and spiritual development. If you have kids, please consider encouraging them to study violin and to subscribe to Violin Garden .
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