7: Chord

the simultaneous sounding of a group of musical notes, usually three or more in number

It’s not a secret, I am a muso at heart. It comes from learning violin from an early age and continuing on through TEE music. It’s a bit of a tragedy really that the old violin only gets dusted off once in a blue moon.

So why am I delving into my musical past you ask?

The truth of it is, I feel there is an awful lot of synchronicity between music and art. I know, not exactly a ground-breaking revelation. Artists have been waxing lyrical about this for centuries. In fact, isn’t the foghorn picture one of the first examples of this from back in the 1920’s?

To me it is a wonderful thing to look at a piece of art and unpick the layers, just like unpicking the individual notes in a chord.

You have the base note, possibly the intent behind the art. The deep emotions connected with the artist and their production. The base note is one which sets the mood, the tone of the piece. Much like we talk about perfumes, it is the base note that sticks with us the longest. As an artist myself (if amateur) it is exactly these base notes that are the most important to me. If I can make someone feel something through my art I have succeeded. As one of my dear friends said to me once “I don’t care if someone doesn’t like what I have created, as long as they have a feeling about it. Nice is not a word I want to hear”.

Next up the chord would be the middle notes. I view these as the form and materials that the artist uses. The paints, or clay. Chalk or fabric. What is it that is going to bring this creation to life? What colours are going to be used? What is the connection between those colours and emotions?

And at last there is the top notes. The sweetest of them all and for me, I like to think of these as the finishing layers of the art. Possibly the final touches and detail on a painting, or the glaze on a piece of clay work. This top note is what you see when you look closely. When you step right up to a painting and look at the brush strokes and the little dabs of colour that might have otherwise escaped your attention.

After picking to pieces the chord, after contemplating the connection, I certainly have convinced myself that this connection is most certainly a strong one.

Every action of our lives touches on some chord that will vibrate in eternity.
Sean O’Casey