Learning by Ear

It's easy to laugh at myself and my little
Fits of faith

Because every once in a while I open my eyes, smile,

And I think about Learning by Ear.

When you fiddle, you're not looking to be a virtuoso. Pouring over musical books, the circle of fifths playing round and round your brain.

you're just learning tunes. 

They're simple.

 It's patterns, it's harmony. It is something you feel, it reverberates through you.

I try to be patient - I know I am learning a language.

My teacher's strong voice speaks slowly for my stumbling. I repeat, eek out what she's said. You learn when to come in. You learn how to join the cacophony.

Some of the clearest, proudest moments of my life came when I first coaxed sound from my instrument. When my shaky, tinny, flat little rented voice slowly started to intone, then to chant

And now, every now and again, there's a song. There's music.

Learning by Ear is just that. It's listening, and that is a dying art.

We do so poorly at truly LISTENING to one another. And this is where we misunderstand. If I really listen to you, I can learn your language. I can learn your subtext. I can learn when you're sad. I can effectively learn the cadence, the music of you. 

I might not like it, but that does not mean you are not beautiful. That you are not art. That you are not worth listening to.

I am a silly, wordless jig.

And perhaps you are a Leonard Cohen song.

You can learn us both if you listen.