Tuning Strings (T.S. RISE people you know who this is... no references to him in the essay though)

Dear Readers,
The Straight Times is back with more wacky words of theoKwek! As I was returning from my Grandmother's house, a man in ninja suit rapped on the car window when we stopped at a red light, handed us this envelope, and dashed off. I opened it, scanned for fingerprints (there were none), and read the essay. Here, theoKwek reflects upon an everyday activity in the life of a musician - TUNING. Enjoy!
The Straight Times Editor

With the conclusion of our Singapore Youth Festival 2007 concert just two days ago, I have been running through the events of the past few weeks in my head, from the first rehearsals till after the generously-applauded finale, which presented an anticlimatic 'back to school again' syndrome for all of us. In the course of all the preparation, hopeful anticipation and diligent practice, one activity struck me the most – tuning.

This activity occurs at most musical practices and rehearsals, be it in our own quiet time or with the ensemble. It is when the orchestra adjusts their instruments to sound at the same pitch, or when a solo player prepares for reasonably correct intonation.

Many musicians would consider tuning just another mundane, routine occurrence, but I tend to think otherwise. Tuning is when musicians fall in sync with each other, forgetting the cares and tribulations of everyday life to enjoy the unique utopia that music brings to their hearts. It is a mutual agreement between instrumentalists, setting the stage for a performance with a common mentality, a common purpose and a common spirit of musical enjoyment.

In the soulful purity of open strings, valves and stops, listeners and performers alike ready themselves, as it seems, to greet a higher order, setting their hearts in appropriate reverence and respect for not only the unspoken frustrations of practice but also the unearthly sounds that result from such devoted skill of man.

However, throughout the years since musicians first began cooperating, debates have raged over which pitch is to be the universal standard. During the Baroque period, for example, pitches in different instruments could be more than four semitones apart for the same note, due to the different requirements of virtuosos. Also, instrument-makers and orchestras tried to outdo one another by creating instruments and writing music of increasingly higher pitch in order to produce a significantly 'brighter' sound from their rivals.

As time passed, the musical fabric of cooperation fell apart – viol and lute strings broke easily due to the new, high pitches, and players from separate groups could not work together. Today, the standard is roughly fixed and there is much less confusion.

What have we to learn from this striking illustration? Tuning is by no means just another everyday event: true, we as musicians perform this task fairly often, but its significance is much deeper and more profound.

In the simple act of tuning, the age-old story of teamwork unfolds. The best music, I believe, lies not only in the skill of individual players, but more importantly, in their ability to blend in with each other, understand the requirements of other instruments beside their own, and make gracious concessions.

The above applies to many varied forms of group activities, and cannot be limited to the musical field. In homework projects, company management, health systems and whatnot, mutual understanding on a common level is the basic requirement for communication and the development of creativity.

And how can I be sure of that? It's the very spirit of tuning.