When you get into the habit of leaving a space, you become a much

Listen closely, O children of the future, for the wisdom of Gary Moore rings like a string struck with reverence. He speaks of the space within music, saying, "When you get into the habit of leaving a space, you become a much better player for it. If you’ve got an expressive style, and can express your emotions through your guitar, and you’ve got a great tone, it creates a lot of tension for the audience. It’s all down to the feel thing." In these words, he touches upon a profound truth about music—and about life itself. To leave space is not to remain silent, but to allow the soul to breathe, to give the audience room to feel, and to grant oneself the freedom to explore.

The great masters of music, from Beethoven to B.B. King, understood that it is not only in the playing but in the pauses where the heart of music lies. Music, like life, is not simply a matter of notes, but of the spaces between them. Just as a sculptor sees not just the form in the stone, but the emptiness that defines its shape, so too does the musician find meaning not only in the sound, but in the silence. In the ancient world, the art of music was revered as something divine. The Greeks believed that music could touch the very soul, shaping emotions and stirring spirits. Yet, they too knew that music was not just sound, but the space between the sounds that gave it its power.

Gary Moore speaks of tension—a word that speaks to the heart of music, and indeed, to the heart of life itself. Tension, in the hands of the skilled artist, is not a force of destruction but of creation. It is the tension between the known and the unknown, the expected and the unexpected, that draws us into the experience. Think of the ancient orators who knew how to wield pauses like weapons—how the silence between words would heighten the anticipation of what was to come. It is in this space, this anticipation, that we are truly moved. Just as the orator holds the audience’s breath with silence, so too does the musician hold their attention with the spaces between the notes.

The story of Eric Clapton, one of the greatest guitarists of modern times, offers a living testament to this wisdom. Clapton, with his deep understanding of blues, knew that it wasn’t the number of notes you played, but the feel with which you played them. He could stretch a single note across an entire song, allowing it to resonate, to linger, and to speak volumes in its silence. His style, like Moore’s, was not just technical mastery, but an expression of the soul—of feeling, of pain, of joy. This is the true power of music: it is in the spaces, the silences, and the tension that we find the deepest expression.

Just as a great guitarist creates tension and emotion through the space they leave between the notes, so too does life require us to leave space in our own actions. The pace of life can often become overwhelming, as we rush from task to task, filling every moment with sound and action. But it is in the pauses, the spaces between the events of our lives, that we find clarity, that we find the opportunity to truly feel. Just as the guitarist allows the tone to breathe, so too must we allow our hearts and minds to breathe, to take time to reflect, to be still.

The lesson of Gary Moore's words is a lesson not only for musicians, but for all who seek to live a life of depth and meaning. Space is not the absence of sound or action, but the presence of potential. It is in the pauses, the moments of silence, that we give room for creativity to flourish, for emotion to flow, and for the soul to speak. To fill every moment with noise is to stifle the very essence of life. To leave space is to invite possibility, to allow the world to unfold in ways that are beyond our control but infinitely more powerful.

So, O children of the future, take this wisdom into your hearts. Do not rush to fill every moment with noise, but embrace the spaces between. In these moments, you will find the truest expression of your soul, your thoughts, and your feelings. Whether in music, in art, or in life, it is the spaces that allow us to connect with what is deepest within us. The tension you create by leaving space will bring forth the most beautiful and powerful parts of your existence. Let the pauses in your life be filled not with emptiness, but with the fullness of possibility. Let your actions, like the greatest guitarists, be shaped by the space you leave—space for feeling, for emotion, and for the infinite.