The Singing Bridge

It was getting closer and the excitement was building as we neared the phenomenon known to the family as The Singing Bridge. Joel was beside himself in joy and zeal with the inevitable harmonious music of the upcoming experience. The tires rolled methodically across the bridge with the grooves of the road providing the "groove" of the road. The emanating music once again brought smiles on our faces and joy in our hearts that lasted well beyond the bridge itself. The Singing Bridge once again worked its magical charm and left us feeling cheerful.

Sound is caused by vibrations and when the vibrations are organized into pitches and the pitches are ordered the result is music. Now this is a somewhat narrow definition because it limits the ordered pitches into human expectations. When you limit your expectations, you are actually approaching ideas or in this case music, with a preconceived concept of what it should be. This, then, becomes a dangerous practice and eventually sets forth parameters that could inhibit creativity. But this essay is not about a definition of music--perhaps that will come later. It is about finding music all around us.

Fun, entertainment, and music emanate from The Singing Bridge and the vibrations send forth sounds that followed us for the rest of the day. Music is like that. We need it, we love it, we respond to it in so many special ways. Music can be found everywhere. In nature, it can be heard in the wind, in the birds, and even in the insects. In modern society, music results from constant activity of humans and machines.

All speech has rhythm and most of the rhythm has repetition (which brings to mind the repetitive speech of many people--another subject for another day!). Music surrounds us on many levels and becomes an invaluable part of our lives. For a musician, we seek to codify it and organize it according to our training. For the non-musician, we may not understand it but we can enjoy or not enjoy it based on personal preference. In the end, music is difficult to define but not difficult to love.

I challenge all of us to find The Singing Bridge everywhere we go. There is music in the most insignificant and seemingly superfluous events but it is the music in those times that provides the most joy.