“Huh? What’s that kind of title doing in a musical blog? Isn’t music about making sound?” Which is, correct. What kind of sound? The sound that we need. “Silence is golden” is a famous saying, and many people do practise it in their life. But again, what does it have to do with music? Before getting to that, I’ll just tell a story first.

My friend and I were once invited to go to a social gathering. The organiser managed to have a band playing. It wasn’t a top-notch band. However, in some cases, we may find a stand-out or two among the not-so-superb players. So, we saw this stand-out drummer. Well, so we thought, until at the end of the tune, he seemed to be showing off his skills by doing an excessively long solo… until his bandmates shouted, “STOP IT!” Boy, that was awkward.

A musician should know how to play effective notes. That includes being effectively silent. Every note should be well played, even though it’s only subtly played. Good musicians are not interested in showing off. They are more interested in making beauty, even if that means they should pause and be silent and let the others do the painting. And when they sound a note, they’re painting beauty. One who isn’t necessarily a highly skilled player can do this. It may be limited, but it is better than unnecessary sound done by skilled players.