At Tuesday supper we had the privilege of hearing not one, but two different styles of piano playing during the supper meal. The first was a young woman whose soft style was a soothing effect on the people who came. When she had played for about forty-five minutes, she was followed by a senior gentleman who had been there many times before. His style was much more aggressive, but his skill was more than evident as he went from one genre to the next; ragtime to classical to gospel even jazz, never lifting his fingers from the ivories.
Eight years ago or even more, we had some different types of musicians, but then there were also many times we had no music. It was during those times that we learned the value of having music during meals.
The construction of the kitchen was a lot different at that time. The walls were painted different colors, some soft, some hard and loud. On average, we had verbal and sometimes physical confrontations at least two times per week, Most times we were able to step in and diffuse these tensions, but often we would have to call in the authorities.
We had no piano at that time but we did have a pianoman from P.E.I who would play on a keyboard once in a while; you could tell that the machine totally cramped his style, but the people loved to hear him. Before alcohol got in the way, he played for the likes of Stompin’ Tom Connors and Natalie MacMaster, so you knew he had to have had some talent, so we set about to find a piano for the kitchen.
After one donated piano proved to be untuneable, AJ Piano Company found us a really good piano that was donated, and more consistent and resonant music filled the dining hall week after week.
An upgrade to the entire kitchen plus a more gentle colour and then the music totally changed the atmosphere of the establishment. The confrontations settled down to a dull roar and the physical tiffs almost came to a complete halt.
William Congreve, in 1696, penned in a play the following line: Music hath charms to sooth the savage breast. Nowhere is that more evident than in a crowded room full of people under intense behavioural conflicts, such as the kitchen.
These folks live a life on the street that is fraught with tension as a result of rampant drug use, total poverty, and interactions that are totally unstable. So it is no wonder that all of these emotions are brought into the kitchen with them. As the line ups begin to be served, these tensions start to come into play, but all of a sudden, soft music begins to permeate the background noise. Immediately, almost perceptibly, the tensions begin to simmer down, and as long as the music continues, they will stay that way.
Having grown up in a musical family, the value of music has always been very evident to me, but never have I witnessed firsthand just how effective a melody can be. But it is the genre of music that plays the most important part. You see, many of our clients come with MP3 players, or such like, plugged into their ears, and most of the music they listen to in my opinion is music that creates anger rather than music that soothes. I guess that soothing music would make them think of their plight which they definitely don’t want to do. Having said that though, in a dining room setting, that same soothing music keeps them away from that anger that the other music promotes.
Therein lies the incredible — life according to music.
Chris Salomons is the kitchen co-ordinator at Potters Hands.