The Oriental vs The West (Keys Version)

(The only art piece that I drew which had the keys in it lol) 

I was meddling with the keyboard the other day when I noticed something oddly familiar about playing only the white keys, and likewise, only the black keys.

Maybe it’s because I’ve been hearing about the whole East-versus-West discussion for too long, or maybe it’s just my very limited keyboard skills, but the white-key combinations instantly reminded me of Western classical music, while the black-key patterns carried a distinctly Eastern, almost traditional sound.

As I kept experimenting with different mixtures of black and white keys, it genuinely felt like I was listening to the intersection of East and West. Though, to be fair, most of it didn’t sound very harmonic until I finally played the proper notes together to form a cohesive chords. 

While my sister’s reaction to this revelation was, “Cathy, you do realise they’re only sharps and flats?”, I’m choosing to hold on to the melodic memories I’ve attached to those very “sharps and flats.”

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