His Own Hand Music

There’s something that bothers me. It bothers me when I walk around outside, and 99% of the people I see are looking down at their phones. The sun is shining, the grass is green, the air is fresh, the water is sparkling (yes, I live in Florida now, sorry to all you Northerners!), but no one is looking around and admiring nature. Everyone is looking down at their phones. Granted, I am a hypocrite, because I do this sometimes, too. But I have been making a conscious effort to do something crazy when I am walking outside: actually walk and look around me. (A novel idea, right? You may even avoid bumping into both animate and inanimate objects if you do this.) The benefits are numerous: I notice things I never noticed before. I find new beauty to appreciate and thank God for. I see how dumb the people around me look who, heads bent in seeming obeisance, are glued to their phone screens.

I've been thinking a lot about the past and present state of classical music--what kind of music was composed in the past, and how does it compare to music being composed right now? Generally, I have noticed a trend away from organization toward the chaotic. If you compare modern-day compositions with those from the 17th-19th centuries, the two most striking differences are harmonic and organizational. Compositions of the past are built on harmonies and melodies that the ear can relatively easily distinguish and understand: if you listen to a Mozart piano sonata, you can hear a clearly defined melody; you can follow that melody through its development; and you can tell when it comes back throughout the piece.