Paine presents ‘Sounds of Spring’ at library
Marc Paine of Bella Vista is presenting “Sounds of Spring” at the Bella Vista Public Library, in which he will play music on a variety of flutes.
Paine fell in love with music when he started playing in beginner band in the fifth grade. Being discouraged from playing the flute by his father, Paine played the saxophone and later the trumpet. He was not necessarily in love with those instruments, but did love music and maintained an interest in the flute that he decided to indulge about four years ago.
He began playing the bamboo flute and loved it, he said. He joined Charles Whitford, who headed up the Bella Vista Recorder Consort and began playing the recorder with others. It was an informal group, and there were only three to five members at the time, he said, and the pandemic had a negative effect on membership. In his 40s, Paine was the youngest member in the group and wanted to reach out to others to get them interested in playing the recorder, thus the decision to present public performances, he said. He explained the recorder is meant to be played in groups because its simple sound becomes more complex when there are layers of instruments playing.
Paine plays several different flutes including the Japanese Shinobue and Shakahachi, the Chinese Xiao and Dizi, the Xindi (a kind of Dizi), the Baroque traverso, the Irish flue, the pennywhistle, the ocarina, the Native American flute or world flute and the B flat marching fife or Civil War fife.
He said he likes to learn about the time period and the style the music was written in. He finds it interesting that music from the Baroque period sounds different on modern instruments than it would have sounded to an audience of the time. He explained the instruments of the time period would have been slightly out of tune with one another, which composers could use to create certain effects. Modern instruments are all in tune with one another, meaning those effects are lost when Baroque pieces are played on them, he said.
The traverso is his favorite of the flutes he plays, he said. The easiest one for him is the Native American flute, and the hardest, in his opinion, is the Japanese Shakahachi.
He spends an hour to two hours per day playing, depending on how much spare time he has. He added he would rather play the flute than watch television. Playing is challenging due to the fact that he suffers from asthma, however, he added the recorder does not require much air to play. He suggested anyone with asthma or COPD consult their physician before attempting to play an instrument. He meditates regularly and uses the flute for meditation. He plays honkyoku — a Buddhist form of meditation on the flute. He said the musical piece follows a specific form, similar to how a sonnet does in poetry.
Paine is a licensed psychotherapist and has lived in Bella Vista for about six years.
He commented, “All my hobbies have been creative but not original. I like calligraphy where I’m not making new art, it’s a discipline. Martial arts, where I’m not making art, I’m learning a skill. The music is there, I just have to do it. I have tremendous respect for composers, but that’s just not me.”
Regarding Baroque music, he said the pitch is generally a little lower than modern music, and audiences can notice the slight difference.
“People can hear music in Baroque pitch and appreciate the difference,” he said. “I think people underestimate their ability to hear pitches. That illustrates that people have a better ear for music than they think.”
Paine’s remaining performances at the library are 2 p.m. on Thursday, March 23, and 5 p.m. on Thursday, March 30.