*Disclaimer* I wrote this in October 2020 but never finished it. I enjoyed revisiting it and finishing it today. It’s a bit disjointed but I think the thoughts are at least there for you to consider.
This season’s Magnolia Journal focuses on the theme of rhythm. So, of course, musician’s unite over this theme and can discuss at length the influence of musical rhythm and how it affects the listener. As I read the journal’s approach to rhythm I’m struck by its subliminal reminders of my own musical experiences.
When learning music there are some crucial elements that must be ingrained very early into the practice regimen. One of those elements is time. Each song has a rhythm and that rhythm will only be accurate when compared against the steadiness of a certain time of consistent beats per minute. Ever heard of a metronome? It’s an unforgiving constant moving “click, click, click” and without it we would be lost and left to our own fluctuating sense of time.
If you aren’t familiar with a metronome you may be familiar with a different type of time keeper. Ready? “Tick-tock, tick-tock…” That, my friends, is a steady 60 beats per minute – or – BPM. This is a constant rhythm that directs the minutes, the hours, the days, the months, and the years that pass.
Another element incorporated in a musician’s experience of time is learning how to work with others. Sometimes this looks like a modern band made up of drums, bass, 100 guitars, and keys (aka a piano that can do more than sound like a piano…what?). This can also look like a more traditional symphony structure that includes various sections like strings, brass, percussion, woodwinds, etc. In my experience as a singer this has been worked into my life in the method of choral music with multiple voices singing different parts. All of these forms of collective musicians have one thing in common: there is always someone or something there to set the tempo – or the steady underlying pulse that keeps everyone on track. Following this tempo is crucial to success because without it, no one knows how fast or slow to go. Some will race ahead and some will lag behind creating a mess-scape of notes that make zero sense.
So, what’s my point? Let’s take these ideas and apply them to life’s rhythm – or – TIME.
The concept of time has been around for a long…time. For as long as I can remember time has dictated the choices and course of the world that we live in. We are constantly surrounded by messages of time. For those who are midway into their life it’s all about how to reverse the effects of time – how to get rid of wrinkles, stay in the workplace and remain young and energetic. For others who are just entering the professional workplace it’s all about how to get ahead of the game. How to get the promotion, get the newest version, get to the top. So I’m left with this question of why we are trying to change time. Why are we fighting it instead of using it? The steady beating of time passing is a welcome into consistency and an invitation to work with it.
Going back to music for a moment, let’s revisit that “someone” or “something” that sets the tempo to unite the players. When it’s a “something” it’s called a “click” or a “metronome.” When it’s a “someone” they’re called a “conductor.” Clicks or metronomes are great but there is something robotic because there is NO variable or flexibility at all. They are a necessity to the musician otherwise the musician will not learn the essence of consistency. However, a moment also comes for both groups and soloists (I’ll fix on a soloist in this case) where the metronome is silenced and the player must keep the time inside. This will happen successfully only for those who have studied with a metronome until they can stay consistent without it. Then something beautiful happens. When the metronome is silenced, the musician is the player and the conductor of their music. They play precisely but with the invitation to express emotions through time. Some may choose to slow down slightly in a tender moment and hold out a note just a teensy weensy bit longer just to linger like a light kiss. Some might choose to play a large chunk of booming chords with a little urgency to exasperate the effect of an elevated heart rate in a tense moment. But, they always know where time is even if they choose to move around it just slightly. It is impossible to do this well unless one first learns how to be steady.
So. Here’s what I pose and here’s what I ask:
Instead of racing against time or trying to slow it down, let’s learn how to move with it. Then, only then, will we understand the nuance and gift of slowing down a precious moment or speeding through a 5k to beat our last time set.
Who is conducting your life? Someone or something is setting the tempo of your life. Who or what is it? Is it you? Your parents? Your spouse? Expectations of others? The American life? Grades? Finances? Exercise? Failures? Successes? Your boss? Your children? Your pastor? Your friend?
Are you okay with that?
My Conductor is the Father of Time Himself. The Great One who began the world and set the sun to rise and fall. He is reliable, steady, consistent and patient. His pace is ALWAYS good and it is a joy to follow Him.
In Response: 