Eine Kleine Nacht Musik

eine kleine nacht musik, in english translates to, “a little bit of night music.” it is also the title of my favorite painting, by artist dorothea tanning.

i’m not quite sure what i love so much about this painting. the first time i looked at it, i was actually a little startled. there’s something about it that really draws me in… i think it’s the mystery behind it. what does the flower symbolize? why is the door at the end of the hall open? why is the girl’s hair standing on end? what does the title have to do with the painting?

the title, a little bit of night music, makes me think about a theory i have about the universe. the greek philosopher pythagoras came up with the concept of “the music of the spheres.” his theory states that as all of the planets orbit the sun, they hum at their own pitch, all in perfect harmony. as crazy as this theory might sound with all of today’s astronomical knowledge, i believe that it’s true. pythagoras states that because we hear this music from the time we are born, we don’t even notice it in our every-day lives. think about it this way: when winter begins to set-in and the birds fly south to the warmer climate, we notice the silence outdoors. by the time january rolls around, we hardly notice the absence of the birds’ song. when the birds return in the spring, we are surprised to once again hear their cheerful chirping outside our windows every morning. by the end of summer, we hardly notice the constant tweeting, until they begin to leave for the winter again. (maybe all that is just me). if we don’t notice the chirping – or lack thereof – of the birds after just a few months, imagine what we would tune-out after an entire lifetime.

of course, sound couldn’t travel through the vaccuum of space anyway. but given the mathematics of harmonics and what have you, it almost makes sense that the orbiting and rotating planets would make some kind of sound, doesn’t it? pythagoras was a mathematician, so he may have been onto something.

here’s another reason why i believe this. all things seem to move in sync with one another. it’s hard to see except under two circumstances.

1) turn on the radio in your car – any station, any song – and watch. whether it’s the windshield wipers, people walking by, the turn signals of other cars, etc., it all goes together. the volkswagen commercial from about five years ago had it right on the money. (i’m looking for a video of it on youtube.)

2) turn on some music while watching television, and mute the sound on the tv. the way everything lines-up is amazing sometimes.

if you read this blog, please comment! give some feedback on the painting, on the theories, anything!!

peace, love, and rock&roll, VeeLynn