So, Ti.. Do. So, Ti.. Do. So, Ti.. Do. So, Ti.. Do. So, Ti.. Do.Â
Philip Glass’s repetitive whirling of tones circles my apartment, my flickering candlelight moving with the sound pressure waves vibrating through it and through me. Never have I heard the piece like I have today. For some reason, the revelation of the vocal line repeating the pitches on solfege never stood out in this way. Things music school does to your brain….
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In music school, the principal foundations of musical theory are set freshman year when we learn musical counterpoint.
In most of this music, the melody dances around the tonal centerpiece in different patterns and according to different rules and returns to do. As history moved along, people started changing the rules, breaking the rules, and reinventing new soundscapes.
I won’t go into details, but essentially, music is obsessed with “do”. I use solfege everyday in class, but I haven’t thought about it in a new context until now.
Recently, I listened to a Tim Ferris podcast about Essentialism. The guest, Greg McKeown, author of Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, maintains that in a world of noise, information overload, and choice anxiety, revealing your individual essential goals, pursuits, and dreams is a powerful path to success. I’d agree with Ferris that learning about yourself is the first and foremost tool to develop your sense of identity, path… essentialism.
Philip Glass’s sound waves revealed something to me today. Essentialism is about finding your “Do”. What do you return back to?