The other day I was driving home and up ahead I saw the train-crossing lights start to flash....great, I thought. Just great. I came to a stop, pulled up the handbrake, settled back in my seat and prepared myself for the long wait. I was the second car in the line-up and the train started to pass in front of the line up. Then I heard the familiar sound of the train whistle. And I hummed along to the key it was in...and picked out the harmonies that were in the sound of that whistle.

It suddenly occurred to me that this is something I've done all my life. Even as a child, I would hear the sound of a car horn, and I would pick out the harmonies and hum along. Same with any other mundane sound that I'd hear in everyday life. Sometimes I'd experiment....the washing machine would be on the rinse cycle and I'd hum the root note that the machine was creating, then I'd sing a harmony in a major, then a minor key.

It has always fascinated me how many notes there are in an average day. That train whistle just served to remind me that hearing harmonies comes as naturally to me as breathing.

Does anyone else do this?