Anne wrote:
Yet I've found that I
> can listen to some types of TV while I'm writing or editing -- in fact,
> I often need the white noise to drown out all the other distractions.
> (How Gouldian!)
I recognize that! I live near a road and the continuous sound of cars has a kind of hypnotizing effect on me. If I am working at the computer I get hyper-concentrated and do a lot of work in no-time. It's the same thing with the sound of a brook....or the continuous flood of 16th notes in certain Bach compositions.
I have often thought about this phenomenon and I have still not found an answer to it. A weak explanation could be that the continous sound of 'everthing' brings us into 'higher spheres', you could compare it to the Buddists, mumming 'Ohmmmmm' during there meditation, it connects them to whatever-they-call-it. Perhaps a psychologist on the list can give us an(other) explanation?
However, it's an interesting topic, since Gould played certain passages all in exact rithm, very fast and without changings in dynamics. The fact that Anne wrote, that from now on she will leave the vacuumcleaner on while working on the computer, ánd the fact that she likes Gould's playing, might not be two different things.....
Regards,
Teun
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> Van: Anne M. Marble <amarble@abs.net>
> Aan: f_minor@email.rutgers.edu
> Onderwerp: GG: The Solitude Trilogy
> Datum: zondag 28 februari 1999 19:50
>
> I finally buckled down and ordered "The Solitude Trilogy." Wow! I really
> loved it. (Though I did start to feel a little seasick during the
> beginning of "The Latecomers," even though I loved the sound of the
> waves.) I can't even fathom the amount of work that went into all the
> editing all those interviews, particularly for "Quiet in the Land." No
> wonder Glenn often looked so tired in those pictures...
>
> To my amazement, I found that I could listen to the disks while
> formatting a document and updating a computerized index for a word
> processing manual. When I mentioned that to my coworker, he told me to
> proofread my index carefully to make sure it didn't contain twenty
> entries for the word North. On the other hand, when I tried editing the
> glossary, I had to stop the disk and find something inane on the radio
> instead.
>
> This reminds me about an earlier discussion about listening to Glenn
> Gould while working on the computer. (I read it in the digest before
> joining the list.)
> I can listen to almost any music while I write. Almost. I haven't tried
> listening to opera while writing. Also, I haven't tried writing while
> listening to the Second Viennese School. It depends on what I'm writing,
> too. As I have mentioned to a couple of people, off the list, I found
> that listening to Glenn Gould's later Brahms disk actually enhanced the
> process of writing emotional scenes. But I wouldn't try listening to
> that recording while writing something comic. Imagine the effect that
> would have!
>
> The spoken word can be distracting while writing or editing. I can't
> write or edit while listening to a book on tape. (I guess I'm asking the
> same part of my brain to do two things at once.) Yet I've found that I
> can listen to some types of TV while I'm writing or editing -- in fact,
> I often need the white noise to drown out all the other distractions.
> (How Gouldian!)
>
> Maybe I should start leaving the vacuum on while writing. (Just thought
> I'd end this post with a reference to a GG anecdote...)
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