Categories: random
Date: 15 February 2006 12:10:46
Last week at the concert I blogged about, I was thinking about some of the choices we make. Specifically if you turn out to be good at something, like music or sport. As I watched the harp being played, and thought about what a ridiculous-looking thing it was, I mused on what might have prompted her to choose the harp as her instrument as opposed to the violin, or whatever, when it's such an awkward beast to manhandle, especially for a young beginner. I suppose the fact that hardly anybody else plays it is a big plus, whereas everyone plays the violin or clarinet (my choice) - although I love playing the clarinet, the fact that the world and his dog play it means that I've been rather limited in opportunities to play in orchestras now that I'm no longer school-age, and so sometimes I did wish that I'd taken up something a bit more obscure, if only the option had been available.
Not that I'm complaining - I adore the clarinet, and when I play my own, even though technically I'm not as good as I was due to lack of practice, I can still make it sing much more beautifully than if I were to use my voice, if that makes any sense. And when somebody else plays my clarinet it's not as nice - I guess we've kind of got used to each other. When I got home I looked at the sleeve of the CD I bought of Julian Bliss, the (16 year old) clarinettist I'd seen at the concert. It talked about how he'd been given a recorder at 4, and he'd given it back as "it made the wrong sound". He describes how he felt when he heard the clarinet, loving its different sounds, and how he now sees it as an extension of himself.
So yesterday I was watching a bit of the Winter Olympics whilst doing my Russian homework, and a similar train of thought struck me. I can kind of see why someone would get into skiing or skating or half-pipe or whathaveyou - there's a certain glamour to it (that's not to decry the hard work involved), and depending on where you live there are plenty of opportunities to practice. But please - like the harp or the sousaphone - what bizarre processes are gone through and what random series of choices are made to reach the point where someone decides that *their* sport is the luge?