Invert your thinking!

When Rachmaninov composed his ‘Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini’ he knew immediately that one section stood out from all the rest. The Rhapsody is written as a set of variations, and the 18^th variation is the best known and most often played and recorded.

The attractiveness of the variation lies in many of its aspects, the colourful and lush orchestration and the gently caressing interplay between the piano and the orchestra being key among them. But perhaps the most significant aspect is the way Rachmaninov transforms Paganini’s theme: he inverts it. The musical sensation can be likened to writing your name upon a card and then looking at its reflection in a mirror. What you see is not a name but an inversion of the letters that, although expected, never ceases to be surprising and engaging.

The sensation can also be likened to looking at the following illusion:

We are immediately drawn to the lighter area and the outline of the couple. If we alter our focus, however, and concentrate upon the darker areas we begin to see something altogether different (What do you begin to see? The clue is on the label around the neck of the bottle). As with the reflection of our name in the mirror, the experience is again surprising and engaging.

Inverting our thinking is not just about turning it upside down. It is also about turning it inside out and reversing our habitual way of perceiving things.

What unexpectedly helpful insights do we gain when we start to see negatives as positives? What happens when we see and hear the other side of the story? What happens when we concentrate upon those things that others and ourselves have been ignoring? What happens when we begin at the end? What happens when we start at the bottom rather than the top? What happens when we work from the inside out or from the outside in?

Looking at the mirror image of our problems can sometimes reveal previously unnoticed facets that we can explore, exploit and perhaps even begin to enjoy.

To listen to the 18th variation from Rachmaninov's 'Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini click Here.

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