BY MEGAN BURSLEM
When I was in grade five, I recited Roald Dahl’s Little Red Riding Hood at my primary school fete. I can’t remember exactly why I chose this poem, but it was probably due to the part where Little Red Riding Hood ‘whips a pistol from her knickers’. Whatever the reason, it was from this moment that I fell in love with the power of writing. I went on to become a violist, but I have never lost my love of words.
I would like to grab a big fat texta and graffiti the words ‘read, think, write’ wherever I can; inside the cubicle of every McDonalds toilet, on every music stand, and above every gaming console. I want these words to hold the same significance as ‘slip, slop, slap’ or ‘stop, drop and roll’. In my opinion ‘read, think, write’ will do as much saving as these other mantras.
Those of us involved in classical music in Australia have experienced the benefits of good writing. You may be a performer who has read extensively on practice technique or a student learning about John Cage. You may be an audience member who is reading about Mozart for the first time, or someone reading a sterling review. Regardless of what or how you read, these writings have done one thing: advocated.
This is the power of writing. Our youngest CutCommon contributor, Gabrielle Ruttico, thinks that reading and writing about music have contributed to her understanding of musical expression and technique. Sam Gillies, our resident composer, adds that we need to be having ideas about music as “the dots will only give you a fraction of the story”.
And me?
Read: Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy or The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle. Immerse yourself in the letters of Beethoven or wrap your tastebuds around Oliver Sacks. Hell, get into Hairy Maclary for all I care, but READ!
Think: about what you have learnt. This will probably hurt, but don’t forget that your brain is like an unlimited 7/11 Slurpie – you can just keep filling it.
Write: this is not a job just for the professionals, but for everyone.
If you have a passion for writing, get in touch with us at editor@cutcommon.com.
CutCommon would like to acknowledge the Australian Youth Orchestra’s Words About Music program.
Image by Onderwijsgek via Wikimedia Commons CC3.0.
