Tuning In

Listening to the radio this week, I heard a musician, Nitin Sawhney talking about his travels around the world. He said an interesting thing about his guitar which I want to paraphrase and remember and maybe think about later.

Being in tune with yourself is like having a guitar. You play on your own and it sounds fine when it’s in tune with itself. However, when you want to make music with other people, like in a band or an orchestra, your guitar has to be tuned in to match up with their instruments.

It’s not enough to be in tune with yourself any more if you want to play as part of a group. Everyone’s pitch has to match. People, said Nitin, are like guitars. You have to tune in to the people around not just to make harmonious music but also to socialize and play together in broader terms.