Thursday, December 2, 2010

It's As Simple As That

It occurred to me this morning that there are 26 letters in the English alphabet, ten numbers and eight basic musical notes. From those simple structures, all of our experience is constructed. Every poem, every article, novel, love letter, blog for that matter derive from those 26 letters. Every musical composition comes from those basic notes, and mathematics from those numbers. How awesome is that really?

Everyone who writes anything is utilizing those very same bits of raw material and somehow combining them in a new way. This came to me today as I was humming something in the shower. I kept singing some notes that I don't recognize as belonging to a particular song. Maybe they are original; who knows? But that is exactly the point. They might be and yet they are drawing on those eight basic musical notes. The same ones that Beethoven and Mozart and Billy Joel used.

Such a vast universe is created from these basic elements. These letters and notes and symbols can combine to create greatness or banality. They can inspire us or lead us into darkness. But, we all start out with those same 44 basic pieces.