Hello and welcome to a little happier. I'm Gretchen Rubin. I don't listen to a lot of music,

but even I, from time to time, will listen to music. And I was listening to something being played

by Glenn Gould. Now, Glenn Gould is one of the most celebrated classical pianists of the 20th

century. And one very striking fact about Glenn Gould is that he had this practice of humming or

singing along while he was playing. And he was often criticized for this. And in fact, often

when they were making recordings of his most brilliant performances, they couldn't strip away

the sound of him singing or humming along. So, I mean, here, have a listen.

Now, people say that this noise that he's making is a flaw in an otherwise masterful performance.

But I could not disagree more because for me, when I listen to this music, it dramatically

increases my pleasure. For one thing, I feel the presence of the person. It's not just a disembodied

piano playing. There's actually a person there who's performing with such mastery. And also, it

gives me the sense that Glenn Gould is so swept up in his passion for the music that he just can't

help himself. He knows he's not supposed to be singing or humming, but he just can't resist

participating in this music that he's playing. Some people might say that this noise makes it

flawed, but I think flawed is more perfect than perfection.

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Thanks for joining me. I'm Gretchen Rubin and I hope this makes your week a little happier.