Music as a means of communication
- an essay on Jane Campion's The Piano -
    "The voice ye hear is not my speaking voice but my mind's voice. I have not spoken since I was six years old." With these sentences begins Jane Campion's masterpiece, The Piano. We are immediately presented with the main character of the film, the strange and wilful Ada McGrath, mute since the age of six. At the end of this commencing monologue, which takes place inside Ada's mind, she admits: "The thing is, I do not consider myself silent. That is because of my piano." Because of her piano Ada McGrath does not need to speak. She can express every range of emotion with the help of her music. Is this a realistic image? Can music, as an artform, be used to express human emotions? As a form of communication? With these questions in mind, I set out to delve into The Piano from a Theory of Knowledge-point of view.

    "It's like a mood that passes into you."
                                                            "Auntie"
Already the very first time I am presented with Ada's playing I am flabbergasted. What is this? Is it classical music? Is it Chopin, Liszt, Debussy? It is neither. Nor can it be defined as waltzes or mazurkas. Michael Nyman has created a very special kind of music for a very special kind of character. It carries an immense beauty, but it is blurred and undefined - it is light and swift at times and then like a sudden weather change it becomes forceful, passionate and intense. It is indeed music that expresses emotions. Yes, Ada must be defined as an artist. She paints in many-coloured tones. But need one be an artist oneself to interpret her work? This is a question that is a bit more difficult to answer. The man her father has just married her to - Stewart - makes a vital mistake when Ada and Flora arrive at the beach of New Zealand. He leaves her piano behind. In doing this he is, in a way, cutting off Ada's means of communicating her emotions. And, as Ada acknowledges in the beginning, "silence affects everyone in the end". She is forced into a muteness which concerns not only her voice but her feelings as well. A half-excuse must be given for this his treatment of her though, as he has never heard her play. He cannot apprehend, from only having met her ten minutes ago on the beach, the full significance the piano plays in Ada's life. But later on, when he has heard her playing, he stioo cannot see the emotions expressed by it. Perhaps he is wilfully blind to it, as it does not fit into the life he wants to lead.
    Others see it though, even the most caricaturely drawn character "Auntie", the old Scottish woman who drags around Nessie in her company, seems to have an apprehension of the piano's significance, even though it provokes the statement: "to have a sound creeping around inside you is not at all pleasant". And then of course we have Baines, who takes Ada down to the beach again and is captured by her playing. He himself is not an artist, despite this he seems to be aware of the piano's full meaning. It is a clever thing, the way he lures Stewart into selling the piano to him - because this way, the only place where Ada can fully express her emotions, is at his house.
    Here, though, begins the moral implications of the film: who deceives whom? Is Ada the first one to deceive when she is drawn into the relationship with Baines - or is she actually the victim of deceit? I must admit that for me Ada was long the victim. Indeed many, not to say all, women who lived during the 19th century were more or less victims. They were held back - by society, by their fathers, husbands, brothers etc., and unfortunately many times by their mothers, sisters, and even themselves. They were never allowed to grow as human beings, but should remain girlish all their lives - Nessie is a type example. But Ada is not like this. Indeed, she gives a new meaning to the words "silent revolution". She is deceived by her father who marries her to a man she has never met. And in some respects, this man, Stewart, starts off with this deceit himself - in wanting her to be his wife without ever having met her. This shows a lack of concern for her as a human being - though what he does to her as a woman is quite acceptable using the 19th century Bristish moral code.
    But I do not view Ada as a victim any longer. She shows a strength, which in a woman is called headstrongness but in a mind would be called purpose-mindedness. She tries to follow the 19th century moral code by obeing her father and going off to marry Stewart. But this moral code is not really hers. Instead she follows her heart, and what leads me not to think of her as an immoral creature is simply that she does not show any remorse. Had this moral code truly been hers she would have been anxious, weighed with regrets and fear of having committed a sin. But Ada shows none. So how can I judge her by moral standards that are neither hers nor mine? That would indeed be hypocracy.
    With Baines Ada learns to communicate her emotions without fleeing into the secure well of music. For the piano, as I perceive it, is not solely a means of communication but also a means of protection. It is a protection against a world that has treated her so harshly that she has refrained from speaking. Music is "safe" because it can be interpreted in a multiple of ways - words have a much more limited range of meanings.

So, as you already must have guessed, my answer must be yes. Yes, it is a realistic image, although it is so highlighted here that it might first appear exaggerated, and yes, music can and should be regarded as a means of communication - maybe not instead of words but to use when words are not enough. It is healthy for us to realise that our spoken language can only express that much - and that the rest is images, music, colours and tones. Art is so important because it broadens our way of thinking - of sensing - and indeed our perception of the world.

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