Stemming from Casey's post, I would like to add another layer and perhaps another perspective on what music represents to Johnson. Obviously, music has been the one consistency in Johnson's hectic life; he is able to play, teach or listen to music everywhere he goes. It is one aspect that he can carry with him whether he is "passing" as white in white society or accepting his black heritage in the south. The fact that music is so consistent and adaptable for Johnson demonstrates that it acts as the bridge between his black and white sides. When he is playing music, he does not have to choose between his races. As he stated while he was listening to ragtime, "One thing cannot be denied; it is music which possesses at least one strong element of greatness; it appeals universally" (73).
Perhaps this is the reason Johnson prefers to play music without much structure. He admits he was not a very good accompanist because his "ideas of interpretation were always too strongly individual" (19). Instead of basing his talent on "brilliancy of technique" he prefers to interpret music on his own and admits that he "always played with feeling" (18). The idea that music should be unstructured (in Johnson's eyes) further enhances the notion that music is universal. By refusing to accept the rigid form of music theory, Johnson uphold the flexibility of his art and the fact that he has the right to portray the music piece as he sees fit. Furthermore, this idea of music illustrates important aspects of race through Johnson's eyes. For him, race is equally as fluid. One moment, he can seem white; the next, he is black. However, these distinctions of are only made if one chooses to make them. One could just as easily see all colors as variations of the human race. Thus, much like music can be highly structured if it is desired, distinctions of race can also be closely drawn. However, similar to how Johnson believes that ultimately it is the person who interpret music as they wish, it is also ultimately the person who makes distinctions on race.
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2 comments:
I agree that there is a strong connection between music and race in the narrator's mind. But I think there is also one difference - he took music lessons but remained true to himself and what he believed his music should be. With race on the other hand, he accepted his label of being black and changed the way he interacted with his classmates.
He also uses music as a way to come into contact with his black heritage. He spends a lot of his time researching and experiencing all types and forms of black music in order to reproduce and manipulate it into something new. Music becomes his link to black culture and a way for him to familiarize himself with his history.
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