Some sounds do not belong to instruments.
They live just after.
Or just before.
The echo the piano makes when no one is touching it.
The hum of a string not struck
but shaken by something nearby.
The part of a voice
when the singer forgets they’re being heard.
Sometimes the most important sound
is the one that wasn’t played
but was felt
in the hand that almost moved.
There is a kind of music
that only exists
inside the listener.
I’ve heard more truth
in the seconds between chords
than in the chords themselves.
Because those seconds
aren’t performed
they leak.
And maybe that’s where the music
stops pretending
and becomes real.
Jul 2, 2025
Jul 2, 2025 at 6:15 PM UTC
Some sounds do not belong to instruments.
They live just after.
Or just before.
The echo the piano makes when no one is touching it.
The hum of a string not struck
but shaken by something nearby.
The part of a voice
when the singer forgets they’re being heard.
Sometimes the most important sound
is the one that wasn’t played
but was felt
in the hand that almost moved.
There is a kind of music
that only exists
inside the listener.
I’ve heard more truth
in the seconds between chords
than in the chords themselves.
Because those seconds
aren’t performed
they leak.
And maybe that’s where the music
stops pretending
and becomes real.
