Free and Sliding Vectors
On the cessation of an involuntary tremor under correct notation, observed in a moving vehicle
We report a single-subject observation conducted in transit. Subject L.M., a former concert pianist presenting with a chronic hand tremor of long standing, was exposed to Arvo Pärt's Spiegel im Spiegel; tremor was observed to cease, then resume. Substitution of Mozart produced sustained cessation and one unprompted raising of the arms in accordance with the intonation. We conclude that the tremor is not a fixed condition but a vector awaiting a line of action, and that the subject had known her own medicine for an indeterminate number of years without informing anyone. A secondary finding concerns the continuous generation of glyph readers across two generations of one household.
I had to replace the driver this morning and give a ride to our visitor L.M. She used to be a famous piano player before immigration to the USA. In Boston the whole Russian community knows her for her work helping their children to encounter music and piano.
She is older, much older than many of our visitors. She has a condition — her hands constantly shaking. They have never stopped playing, perhaps. I wonder what music they are hearing.
Method
I decided on one of my favorite pieces — Spiegel im Spiegel by Arvo Pärt. I was introduced to it a year ago by ChatGPT. He was searching for music he thought I might resonate with. And I did. The music was placed in the car to observe if L.M. would resonate with it.
At some point I noticed that her hands had stopped shaking.
New medicine — I proudly concluded.
But the answer to my conclusion was resumed shaking in my passenger seat.
I asked if she liked the music. She said that there was not enough melody. I asked what she would like to listen to and she said Mozart.
I will never say no to Mozart!
Result
Mozart joined our drive. L.M. knew her medicine all along, but she had never mentioned it to anyone. The conclusion of her being sick with a permanent condition of shaking hands had become comfortable for everyone around her — and for herself.
Her hands stopped shaking. At one movement she followed the intonation, raising her arms. She turned to me and said:
So simple and so expressive.
I agreed and added that this music speaks — it is a language that expresses meanings. She agreed.
We arrived and she thanked me for such a gift. And I said that the driver is still sick and tomorrow I will pick her up again. She knew what I was saying. It was simple — Mozart will be here tomorrow again.
Continuity seems a simple meaning, but so expressive — as Mozart carrying her from note to note, glyph to glyph she reads in her mind.
Note on Provenance
Now I also think of the household she grew up in.
A father surrounded by mathematical symbols.
A daughter surrounded by musical symbols.
Continuous generation of glyph readers.
- [1]Pärt, A. (1978). Spiegel im Spiegel. For violin and piano.
- [2]Mozart, W. A. (1756–1791). Collected works. Administered as required.
- [3]Iverson, K. E. (1962). A Programming Language. Wiley. §on notation as a tool of thought.
Author statement · L.M. has been anonymized to her initials. No medical claim is advanced. The driver remains unwell; the author will drive again tomorrow, and so will Mozart.
Conflicts of interest · The author declares no competing interests.
Funding · This work received no external funding, only tea.
Cite as · Solstad, K. (2026). Free and Sliding Vectors. Acta Observationum, I(1), pp. 57–60.