The Significance of E Sharp

The back wall of Taft's choral room is decorated with a mural of the music to Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. It was painted several years ago when Capital Arts Entertaniment filmed a scene from American Pie Presents Band Camp in the room. (I confess that I have not seen that cinematographic masterpiece but I am sure that it is a classic filled with complex character development and subtle literary references. I will therefore put off viewing the film until I have ample time to devote to all its artistic qualities.)

Despite the no doubt many fine aspects of the movie, there is one major flaw that haunts me every time I enter the choral room. It is found in the music written on the back wall. I can overlook the cutesy scrolling of the staff, or even the little artistic touches given to some of the rests. BUT, the key signature to Eine Kleine Natchtmusik is wrong! Mozart's little gem is in G major which requires a signature of one sharp - F. Despite the fact that I gave the film company the correctly notated music, the artist replaced the F sharp with an E sharp!

E sharp! Sacrebleu! What was the philistine thinking? It ruins the whole wall, makes a mockery of Mozart, and thumbs its nose at over 200 years of music theory! Blasphemy! Sacrilege! Burn the boorish boob at the stake!

Of course, there was no key using just E sharp in Mozart's time, so at best this is an outrageous anachronism. Further, it betrays a complete lack of musical education on the part of the artist, not to mention that it permanently displays the artist's inability to copy accurately.

When I pointed out this atrocious blunder to the artist, he seem unconcerned. To him, it was a minor oversight (forgive the pun). The little number sign was just a tad too low. No big deal. What's the fuss? For him, the symbol had no significance other than design. I was clearly overreacting.

I tried to explain the issue to him: The opening two measures are in the tonic - on a G major chord. In the simplicity that is Mozart's genius, he balances that statement with an answering phrase on the dominant chord - what should be D major. But without the F sharp, it becomes D minor. That not only sounds bad, but throws everything out of whack! Talk about bad Feng Shui! Talk about bad karma!!!

It was no use. No theoretical, historical, or artistic explanation could convince him that it was worth his time to correct the error. But I fear that there is more at play than just the blunder of an ignorant artist.

Here is the real problem. When we don't appreciate the significance of something; when we don't understanding a thing's function; when we don't recognize its importance or value to others; we fail to comprehend its true meaning.

Music notation signifies something deeper than just it's literal musical translation. A slurred phrase or a staccato passage means more than just a way of playing the notes. The markings refer to a musical gestures that have specific meaning within the time period it was written. Notation carries in it emotional and artistic subtleties that a sensitive performer understands and transmits to an audience.

When we as performers fail to grasp or convey this deeper meaning, we do the music a disservice. When an audience doesn't catch this deeper meaning, they are deprived of the complete musical experience. As musicians it is our job to illuminate the score's artistic qualities in a way that is true to work, the composer, and the musical language of his or her time. As educators it is our job to guide our students to an awareness of the artistic nuances of this musical language.

So, the E sharp remains on the wall. I grudgingly use it as a teachable moment for my class - "Who can find the flaw in the music on the back wall?"

There is, however, even a greater lesson here that goes beyond music into the realm of language and culture. How much do we fail to understand of people and the world because we misinterpret or undervalue the symbols (words, gestures, etc.) used to communicate? What appears insignificant to us can embody deep meaning and great importance to others. How adept are we at getting past the literal meaning of a symbol and internalize it's full value? And how sensitive are we to reading the extent to which others really understand us? Do we just assume that because we've said it that it is comprehended?

So now, considering all of the above, the E sharp carries new significance to me. I guess meaning can be found in serendipitous mistakes too!