© 2024 WNIJ and WNIU
Northern Public Radio
801 N 1st St.
DeKalb, IL 60115
815-753-9000
Northern Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Live Music Hits All The Right Notes

I'm going to turn on the radio and listen to some music while I write this. We do it all the time … have music in the background while we do other stuff.

I was thinking about this the other day while I was at a concert. The Avalon String Quartet was performing at NIU. Why drag out to see a live performance? Why not just turn on the radio or a CD or listen to iTunes?

The performance I heard that night reminded me why live music is so different from a recording ... and so much better. For one thing, the music is front and center, not in the background. And when you focus on it, you hear all sorts of things you never notice when you're listening to a recording.

The Avalon's consummate performance the other night was a great example of what I mean. String quartet music reveals the bones of the music, as the two violins, the viola, and the cello toss the melody from one to the other, with subtle shifts and abrupt changes. You can hear each instrument, and the sound is perfectly balanced. The pace picks up … then slows down. Suddenly, all four instruments are performing as one. And on it goes.

Listening to live music brings so many rewards. It clears the mind and fills it with new sounds and shapes. So, take a break from iTunes, check out the events page or the School of Music website, and make time for some live music. You won't be sorry.

I'm Deborah Booth, and that's my perspective.

Related Stories