There is no such thing as a wrong note if the composer puts it there.
I read that line when I was twelve and trying to become a songwriter. I had already been playing music for a few years, different instruments thinking that one day I could just be master of all of them. That hasn’t happened yet. Anyway, I bought myself a book once that I believe was called “Tunesmith.” I could look up who it’s by but I’m too lazy right now. Also that book lost its cover because I dropped it while trying to read it in the bath when I was young. Poor planning on my part.
For some reason the line you read above absolutely blew my mind.
In music theory, there are rules. Things that are supposed to be followed to make sure that everything sounds harmonious and works out in the end. But, when the composer writes the piece, nothing is stopping him or her from breaking those rules for the sake of whatever. A wrong note is not a wrong note if the composer decides he wants his musician to play it.
This line came back into my head recently, in a totally different context.
We as a society get so caught up in creating our own perfect lives. We live vicariously through the false reflections we see in pictures on screens that flash through our consciousness every second. We create in our heads a version of ourselves that cannot possibly live up to reality. Our own hopes and dreams are allowed to silently echo inside the walls of our brains while our hearts scream out for more, or less as the case may be.
In a moment, I saw my life before me and for once in it’s entirety, it had a termination point. I have mentioned before that I gave myself a few good cries; I gave myself a few moments to truly feel sorry for myself and question why in God’s name it had to be me.
There is no such thing as a wrong note if the composer puts it there.
Looking back as I end this awful chapter of my existence, I finally realize. Cancer saved my life. Cancer will forever be the line drawn in the sands of my time that divides the mature from the immature, the fool from the somewhat-wise, and the wanderer from the leader that I know I can become.
There are a million things that cross our desks each day that make us ask, “why me?” But why not you?
As I listened to the doctor confirm my worst fears and saw my mother cry over me, I asked myself the same question. And then I stopped asking.
I have always been a person of faith. That is not to say my particular self-faith has always been strong, but I have always known that there was a plan for me and that like it or not, it would come to fruition without a doubt. Everyone has a destiny, and everyone has reasons to believe that theirs is wrong, or that they will never see it realized. I stopped asking. I stopped wondering. I stopped worrying.
Have faith. Whether you left your windows down overnight in the rain or your body’s own cells are slowly betraying you, there’s a reason. Be still. Have faith.
There is no such thing as a wrong note if the Composer puts it there.
Dios les bendiga. God Bless.
Matty P
