May162020
David Ritt: Wind Chimes

In this, the Spring of the coronavirus pandemic, I sit on the catio with my wife and our cats Buster and Emily, and listen to our pentatonic wind chimes. When the wind picks up enough, they convert the wind to music, producing an infinite variety of pitch, volume, and rhythm.
Their eight notes are, from bottom to top, A, C, E, G, A, C, D, and E. If you’re not familiar with the pentatonic scale, go to a keyboard instrument and play any five adjacent black keys. Pentatonic pitch sets have the interesting quality of sounding melodic in any sequence.
The chimes are one of my oldest possessions. They were made by a percussionist in Tacoma, Seattle’s southern sister. Unlike most wind chimes, they are in tune with each other. For a musician, that makes the difference between pleasure and torment.
The chimes are tubular steel, originally strung on small loops of fishing line. Over the course of my various moves, the fishing line gave up the ghost, so the chimes were relegated to a cardboard box, ringing only when jarred, an unsustained clank like a spectre out of Dickens.
Several years ago, my friend Ron offered to restring them for me. They now live happily on the catio - a shelter in place for Buster and Emily to enjoy the outdoors without risking the hazards of cars, raccoons, and coyotes, and without posing a danger to songbirds. I wonder how the cats perceive the ringing. My brain interprets it as music, albeit chance music. I doubt that Buster and Emily feel the same, but we don’t speak each other’s language, so I’ll never know.
Ron is gone several years now. When I think of him, I remember his voice booming the words “Not! Necessarily!” He often used that phrase when questioned by conductors in symphony rehearsals. He was a percussionist, a job which included playing the chimes. On windy days, he still does.
Travis Gore WebsiteDecember 22nd 2020
Michael Crusoe Chats With Let's Talk Off the PodiumJune 22nd 2020
Arts March for Racial Justice and EquityJune 15th 2020
The Stranger: a Message to the City From the Seattle Symphony HornsMay 19th 2020
David Ritt: Wind ChimesMay 16th 2020
Luke Fieweger: My Quarantine Playlist Is Letting Me DownMay 12th 2020
Augustin Hadelich & Efe Baltacıgil Play Handel-Halvorsen PassacagliaMay 6th 2020
The Stranger: a Message to the City From David RittApril 23rd 2020
SEATTLE SYMPHONY AND SEATTLE SYMPHONY & OPERA PLAYERS’ ORGANIZATION REACH NEW AGREEMENTApril 17th 2020
All by Myself for Horn Sextet | Seattle Symphony HornsApril 16th 2020
Schubert Piano Trio | Nathan Chan, Kelly Kuo and Andy LiangApril 15th 2020
My Spirit Be Joyful - Seattle Symphony Brass QuintetApril 11th 2020
Seattle Symphony and Opera Players’ Organization (SSOPO) COVID-19 Press ReleaseApril 10th 2020
Some Beautifully Played Bach for Oboe and PianoApril 9th 2020
Song for Health - Seattle Symphony Low Brass (Remote)March 31st 2020
Bach in Quarantine! Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring March 29th 2020
The Stranger: a Message to the City From Demarre McGillMarch 26th 2020
Remote Music Teachers in the Seattle Metro AreaMarch 24th 2020
Nathan Chan and Andy Liang Play Verklärte NachtMarch 23rd 2020
Seattle Symphony Horns Social Distance Over the RainbowMarch 21st 2020
Resources and Help for Freelance MusiciansMarch 19th 2020
The Stranger: a Message to the City From Nathan ChanMarch 19th 2020