Have you ever looked at a house without a library or bookshelves and thought, "Who are these people who don't read?" Apparently, builders think that people don't have time for books or even a good soak in the tub. But my mom and I are old-fashioned souls, who believe that books and bathtubs are essential ingredients for a healthy home. And speaking of old-fashioned, we're now tackling the future of her music library.
The music library is like a time capsule of musical history, filled with old scores and manuscripts that were once rare and valuable. Nowadays, in a world where everything is digitized and disposable and we are entering the era of AI, the future of the music library seems more poignant than ever.
In the past, musical scores were treasured family heirlooms, passed down from generation to the next. But today, it seems like everyone is in a rush to get ahead and forgets the things that really matter, like slowing down and cherishing the old sheet music. The healing power of gathering around the piano and playing these old songs is something that can't be replicated by AI-generated tunes.
Now, my mom has generously offered me sections of her musical library to put my books. As I stack-up scores of Gounod and Gluck, I realize I'll have to deal with Handel’s sing-along Messiah scores and piles of Mozart’s Magic Flute next. How could I possibly let go of the copies we used to create the Sing Along traditions in the old Stowe church or let go of the notes from Becky Brown’s show-stopping performance as Pappagano! How do we cherish the old, while making room for the new? How do we let go of these scores that were meant to be passed down and teach the healing traditions of standing around the piano making music together or gathering one’s friends for a string quartet after supper?
In a world where everything is about instant gratification and getting ahead, the music library reminds us of the importance of taking our time and cherishing the things that really matter. Music isn't just about making a hit song or a viral video; it's about coming together, sharing something sacred, and creating something that may last a lifetime. And who knows, maybe one day the old sheet music will be considered rare and valuable again, and we'll be glad we held onto them.
PS While writing this blog, my computer shut down three times and I had to start from scratch — a good reminder to hold on to our old paper friends.
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Oh, we’ve never had enough bookshelf space for all of our books, and, of course, the more we read, the more quickly we would run out of space. Cartons of books would end up going to the local ladies village improvement society to be resold and re-purposed.
One of the great joys of hardcover books was being able to pass them along to friends. Many of them would never return, but no matter.
MS robbed me of the ability to read hardcover books, almost 2 decades ago, but a Dartmouth classmate surprised me with a first generation, Amazon kindle. Suddenly, I was off and running again. The only drawback to reading electronically is that you can no longer “loan“ a really good book to a friend when you’re done reading it. Of course, the flipside to that problem is that my Kindle never runs out of bookshelf, space.
The whole subject of books and musical scores/sheet music saddens me. They seem to have gone the way of antique furniture. What we considered to be beautiful and treasured is, in today’s world, simply wood .
Everything moves too quickly. Everything is time leg zero. Nobody wants to slow down and savor the precious moment which is the “present.”
I suspect there's a little more to it than simply a music library. My parents could have put the BSO in my bedroom and I still wouldn't be able to distinguish one note from another.