Another run, another great episode of Jeremy Vine’s Being Human. This time solo percussionist Evelyn Glennie set out her thoughts on what it means to be human, and I was excited by her mention of curiosity:
Curiosity plays a large part in what defines us as human beings… This sense of curiosity is my main stay. I have found other ways to feel and sense sound using my body as a resonating chamber. I have achieved my hopes and dreams of becoming a musician due to my innate sense of curiosity. I’ve learned to hear by lip reading, and I’ve learned to use my body to feel sound, as if it were a giant ear.
It took a few hundred metres to get the image of running along the road dressed up as giant ear out of my mind, but how brilliant that Evelyn was curious enough to explore listening in other ways that we now can enjoy the amazing sounds she creates and performs to audiences all over the world, in whatever way we hear.
Whilst looking around Evelyn Glennie’s website I found her blog and a post entitled ‘Are you coming from the heart?‘ She talks about many things, including her experiences of “breaking down barriers, shedding concerns and dispelling doubts about my own, and others, ability to enjoy and participate in music”. It’s a hugely motivating read and I would encourage you to read it too. The post ends with Evelyn’s inspiring words:
I would say to all of you who are in doubt if you believe it can work even if it means adapting or exploring other ways of doing something then put your heart and soul into it and it will happen.
The first comment below the post is a wonderful tale of a teacher inspiring their student that they “can’t say they can’t do it because they don’t know they can’t do it” and just to practice. Good advice for all of us!
Click here to listen to Evelyn Glennie on Radio 2’s Being Human series.