Indecipherable To Me
The cover is aged,
old cracked leather,
and I can’t help but wonder
what secrets it might hold.
The paper is yellowed
and I had expected
inked script
but instead I’m staring down
at something that is
indecipherable to me.
Unlike another language,
where I can perhaps
hazard a guess
at the odd word or two,
this means nothing -
not to me.
Lines and dots,
squiggles and
signs -
some remarkably complicated,
even ornate.
To my untrained eye this is nothing,
but when I pass it to the cellist
he nods his head.
This paper tells of notes,
of times,
the beats are there
within the lines,
and as he reads
he turns what I had been unable
to decipher
into music for my ears.
Submitted: May 25, 2020
© Copyright 2023 hullabaloo22. All rights reserved.
Comments
I could never read music either, Hull; if it sounded good to me, it was good enough, excellent
Mon, May 25th, 2020 7:10pm
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I had to learn at school but it was very much a case of in one ear and out the other. They say there is a big connection between Maths and music - maybe that's why I'm useless at both.
Thu, May 28th, 2020 12:16pm
Trying to read sheet music..I give up. In grade school, had a music teacher who would berate us for not being able to read music. So several of us lifted his Honda Civic and put it on the sidewalk in front of the Catholic school that I went to. "We don't need no education. Teacher leave those kids alone!"
Mon, May 25th, 2020 9:10pm
Author
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Maths and music - I was useless at both...and pretty much everything else too. Thanks, 88.
Thu, May 28th, 2020 12:33pm
nicely done Hully
Mon, May 25th, 2020 10:34pm
Author
Reply
Thanks, DH.
Thu, May 28th, 2020 12:39pm
My mother was an accomplished pianist, but she could not play by ear, only to sheet music. My cousin became a gifted pianist, but he could not read music and played only by ear, both were equally brilliant. Just saying... reading sheet music is something I've never mastered. Interesting poem, Hully!
Tue, May 26th, 2020 1:39pm
Author
Reply
We learned basic music notation at school, but that has all long gone from my mind. Thanks for giving this a read, Sue.
Tue, May 26th, 2020 1:08pmFacebook Comments
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Jeff Bezaire
I have an easier time understanding hieroglyphs than I do sheet music.
Mon, May 25th, 2020 6:47pmAuthor
Reply
Yes, it's like a totally alien language with not so much as hint of what it means to those that have never learned to read music.
Mon, May 25th, 2020 11:54amThanks, Jeff.