My daughters’ bedroom is on one side of the house and the living room is on the other side of the house. And I spend a portion of my afternoon in a room halfway between the two extremes: sandwiched in the middle.

In the middle of what? In the middle of music: music being produced at both ends of our home. In the bedroom is my oldest daughter practicing her violin; she has been playing for several years and is doing extremely well. I am hearing all sorts of runs, arpeggios, double stops, triple stops, a favorite cadenza and other melodious inventions and combinations which are a joy to hear.

At the other end of the house, in the living room is my younger daughter practicing the piano. She is a beginner, still in her first month of lessons. But she is doing very well. Her teacher has been assigning her five songs each week. And she is progressing steadily, although not without effort. As a beginner she is learning many things: the mechanics of playing the piano, body position, hand position, finger position. She is being introduced to musical notation; she is reading and reproducing notes and rhythms; she is learning to keep a steady beat. She is acquiring a new musical language, “What is an interval?…An interval is the distance between two notes.” In addition to all this, she is learning English.

And I? I am sandwiched between. Is the air filled with discordant noise? Cacophony? Surprisingly, no. To my ear it’s very pleasant; I think the reason why is that the variety of sounds greeting me from opposing points on the compass are the result of real creative work being accomplished. The sound of hammer and saw at work is similar, although not as melodic. I can feel and sense the intensity of music being read and interpreted – even through closed doors. I know these young people – my daughters – who are struggling independently with the music before them. It is them and the music – alone together. They are working, acquiring, conquering and creating; that’s a lot happening! And I? I am a silent and unseen witness, sandwiched in the middle.