NOISE AND NERVES

New Zealand Times, Volume L, Issue 11655, 20 October 1923, Page 12

NOISE AND NERVES

MYSTIC —AND OTHER SOUNDS (For "N.Z. Times/') We hear a great deal about nerves now-a-days, and hardly wonder at it. Take a stroll down any of our residential streets at almost any hour of vile day, and our ears will be subjected to nerve-racking tortures. The narrower the street the more acute is the agony. Woulcl-bo vocalists abound. It does not occur to them that a want of ear, a total disregard for the music of the composition, an accompaniment to their weird shrieks—often played in another key—could not give anything other than joy to the many victims living in the vicinity. It is always a case of the effrontery of the ignorant. One often wonders if these (?) musicians, when in full blast, realise their utter selfishness. If they are capable of knowing the difference between music and noise, does it ever occur to them to pause and think between their attejupts, hour after hour, to imitate some genuine musician—that in the neighbouring houses there may be many wjjo are sick, or perhaps some who me slowly recovering .from shellshock. or other forms of war complaints, or elderly folk who perhaps have saved for years to purchase a house where they thought to have a certain amount of peace. No; we fear that they* belong to that vast daily-increasing* community who are trying to get. rid of everything quiet or refined, who only appreciate noise in any form, vulgar entertainments, loud speech, and showy dress. Unfortunately the noisy, heavy traffic—through many streets never intended for such —is more or less a necessity in our cities. But when the hard-worked bread-win-ners repair to their homes-, surely it is not too much to expect, tliaf. those who nre anxious to give appalling vocal, pianoforte, or gramaphone recitals, will not go out of their way to see that: every window and door in the house is opened wide. The attitude of unselfishness is in tad need of cultivation at the present time; bu» by a few it has been cultivated to such an extent that, rather than make any complaint* they silently bear many inflictions in the musical line, year in and year out. -LAURA JEAN VICTORY.