HEBREW AS SHEET MUSIC

[Choir Loft]

I and my wife attended a harpist concert at our temple last shabbat.  Harpist Steve Rees addressed the congregation with a fantastic story.  I'll try to get most of it right when I tell you about it.

Mr. Rees, a former nurse, became aware of the soothing properties of harp music upon his patients.  Eventually he decided to learn the instrument and explore its musical qualities for himself.  After conquering the intricacies of playing the instrument, he became interested in qualities of the Hebrew alphabet.  He traveled to Israel and interviewed everyone and anyone who would sit down and talk to him.  Initially he was looking for something like ancient sheet music, but didn't find anything even suggestive of such a thing.  He did find clues that indicated Hebrew itself might provide a method of recording music.  Mr. Rees reminded us that the origins of Hebrew were pictographic.  Certain letters referred to objects and sounds.   The sound quality kept him interested.

So Mr. Rees built himself a 22 string harp and labeled each string for a letter of the Hebrew alphabet - from aleph to tav.  He experimented with it and after a while discovered that letters make up words.   Not much of a leap you may think, but the musical association meant that tones could be grouped as cords.   Hebrew letters represented notes and Hebrew words represented cords.  It wasn't long before he made the next association between cords and cord progressions.   

In all of this, Steve Rees strongly believes he has been guided and inspired by the Master of the Universe, our blessed Lord Y'shua to play Hebrew AS SHEET MUSIC.  Mr. Rees has discovered that he isn't the only person in the world making this discovery.  "The Lord seems to be releasing this knowledge to us everywhere," he said.

Rees treated us with the songs of David recorded as psalms and even two that were recorded by Moses.  They were beautiful!  It was an absolutely amazing evening and I still get goose bumps as I write this to you.  When the psalm is played on the harp from the original Hebrew, and accompanied by singing in Hebrew it will knock your socks off.  I can understand now why Saul was advised to request concerts from David.  The music really does sooth a troubled mind.  I know because I've heard it myself.

www(dot)calmingharp(dot)com

His email address is: steve(at)calmingharp(dot)com

It gets better.   I know nothing of musical theory, so when Mr. Rees stated that there are six basic frequencies I have to take it on faith that he's correct.  Rees said that he used the template of the Tabernacle to associate the frequencies.   First through the east curtain is the sacrificial altar.  That was frequency #1.  Proceeding west the next piece of temple furniture is the Lav - frequency #2.  Inside the Holy Place and on the south side is the Menora, which he figured was frequency #3.  Then comes the table of showbread and the alter of incense just before the veil of the Holy of Holies.  Those pieces of furniture were #4 & #5.  Inside the Holy of Holies, the Ark of the Covenant was #6.  Mr. Rees mentioned something about the mystical properties of frequency 5.8, which just happened to be the Menorah.   His theory becomes Twilight Zone stuff at this point and I'm not sure about any of it.   I just thought I'd pass this info along to you at this time.   

I'm not a musical fellow as far as creativity is concerned, but I know what I like and I know what resonates with my heart.   This is good stuff.   Really.

and that's me, hollering from the choir loft...