Listening changes with expectation.
There are certain melodies we recognize almost instantly. Amazing Grace is one of them. When a wind chime is tuned to its notes, what we hear is not the melody itself, but a gentle suggestion of it.
I recently received an Amazing Grace wind chime. It has six cylindrical tubes of different lengths (the longer the tube, the lower the tone), tuned to the opening notes of Amazing Grace.
Curious about how the chime was arranged, I began experimenting with it manually. I found that if the tubes are struck in a circular motion, the melody can be heard. It is somewhat difficult to do, as the spacing between the tubes and the striker is small, so other notes often get mixed in. With some patience, however, the melody can be sounded clearly.
Amazing Grace – opening notes (struck):
Producing the next phrase (“how sweet the sound”) is not possible with these notes, since additional tones would be required. The closing phrase of the hymn, —“was blind, but now I see”—can also be played on the chime.
Amazing Grace – “Was Blind, But Now I See” (struck):
When the wind moves the chime naturally, the notes sound at random. The melody itself is never heard—only suggested.
Wind chime in its natural setting (with creek in background):
However, simply knowing how the chime is tuned changes how I listen. I listen more closely, with a sense that the melody might emerge. It seems to me this is what sets a chime like this apart from others that don’t suggest a melody.
The breeze does not play the hymn. It simply moves through the notes. The rest is something we bring in with our listening.