We are in a concert hall. The busy hustle and search for seats are still ongoing, and above the hall, a sound cloud of noises spread out, composed of conversations of the gathered people. The members of the orchestra start tuning their instruments, and their sounds overpower the others. The audience is tense with anticipation, and the arrangement of dissonances results from the simultaneous “tuning” of many instruments. And then suddenly, silence occurs.
This is the first pause, even before the music begins. This is the silence that prepares us for what follows. The longer it lasts, the tension noticeably increases. The tension is interrupted by applause for the conductor’s appearance, and then again, silence follows until the orchestra starts playing.
This is how every concert begins, in more or less the same way: with a pause. It means that every musical event implies silence. Only then does the music resound, and it’s over with silence.
However, even in the musical piece itself, we always encounter it again. Pauses are an essential compositional tool and fulfill multiple tasks: they create rhythmic breaks, emphasize musical phrases, create tension and anticipation, and allow the performers to breathe and rest. Pauses are not merely the absence of sound; they are an integral part of the music, shaping its structure and dynamics. no analysis, silence of all voices, shaping the end, but above all catching one’s breath – not just for singers and wind players, but also for listeners.
Take a moment to notice how your breathing and heart rate adjust to the musical piece you’re listening to. The magic of music lies precisely in its ability to bring us into completely different emotional and physiological states. It can motivate us to be active – that moment when you might want to dance – but also to be calm, slowing down our heart rate and breathing.
That’s why respecting the pauses is so important. If a pause is too short or too long, it literally disrupts the harmony of the whole. We are overwhelmed by feelings of detachment, breathlessness, chase, unbearable tension.
Some musicians and composers even say that the notes they don’t play are more important than the ones they do play. These “unplayed” notes are indicated by pauses, and each note value is assigned its corresponding pause. Sometimes it’s almost incredible how much is happening in such a pause. i.
Music, with its pauses, follows the laws of nature. Between each breath and each heartbeat, there is a small pause. Nothing in nature develops constantly and linearly; everything is subject to change, cycles, and rhythms. Only we humans sometimes forget about this. Therefore, let us not underestimate the pause!