Uncommon Measure

by Natalie Hodges

Korean-American author, mental health/burnout, music and science

A virtuosic debut from a gifted violinist searching for a new mode of artistic becoming.

How does time shape consciousness and consciousness, time? Do we live in time, or does time live in us? And how does music, with its patterns of rhythm and harmony, inform our experience of time?

Uncommon Measure explores these questions from the perspective of a young Korean American who dedicated herself to perfecting her art until performance anxiety forced her to give up the dream of becoming a concert solo violinist. Anchoring her story in illuminating research in neuroscience and quantum physics, Hodges traces her own passage through difficult family dynamics, prejudice, and enormous personal expectations to come to terms with the meaning of a life reimagined—one still shaped by classical music but moving toward the freedom of improvisation.

Author letter and Discussion guide

About the author

Natalie Hodges has performed as a classical violinist throughout Colorado and in New York, Boston, Paris, and the Italian Piedmont, as well as at the Aspen Music Festival and the Stowe Tango Music Festival. She is a graduate of Harvard University, where she studied English and music, and currently lives in Boulder, Colorado. Her first book, Uncommon Measure: A Journey Through Music, Performance, and the Science of Time, was longlisted for the National Book Award, shortlisted for the Saroyan Prize, and named a New York Times “Editors’ Choice.”