“A painter paints pictures on canvas. But musicians paint their pictures on silence.” ~Leopold Stokowski~
How true is this?
Read the words carefully. Let them sink into your consciousness. Let the words paint the picture in your brain and let the meaning come to the forefront.
Imagine the painter getting this canvas ready, getting the paint and the brushes, setting up the easel. Once he starts working, you can seen the effects of his work. Stroke by stroke, line by line, an actual, visible picture forms right before your very eyes. Little by little it takes form in front of you. This will be a work that will be visible forever once it’s done to the artist’s satisfaction .. which is rarely the case. An artist may think that there is never perfection.
On the other hand, the musician has only silence to work with. His mind is full of sound, notes, rhythm, measures, feelings, emotions. There is no visible canvas. There are no visible “tools” that he can use. He depends on his ability to transmit to the listener what he has in his head, mind and soul. Like the painter, he uses his hands as a means to express an end.
The musician “shapes” the notes he has in his mind in a “space in time”. The emotion comes out but it can’t be seen. It’s only felt. After he’s completed his work of art, there is no visible product. There is no canvas, there is no painting. There’s only silence again.
The effect that remains is the same as the feelings that the “work of art” has inspired in the heart and soul of the listener and the one who sees.
It Is What It Is 