What is it about music?
It’s like a drug, coursing through your bloodstream, affecting your mood from the inside out.
Music can calm a racing heart….
Music can put a smile on a somber face….
Music can force the body into rhythmic movement….
What is it about music?
The sounds, the rhythm, the melody, the vibrations, the tune, the beat – music speaks a language unlike any other.
Music can be soothing….
Music can tell a story….
Music can create energy and enthusiasm….
A musician is an artist who paints with sound. Their creations come from a vulnerable place. When they allow us to experience their music, they are speaking, from their soul to ours.
Music comes in as many different genres as there are flavors of ice cream – and the possibility to create something new is endless. Whether you whistle, hum, sing, head bob, toe tap, or full out dance to the music of your choice, one thing is certain – music elicits a response!
Just like a child’s taste buds develop and expand over time, one’s propensity for different music types evolve as well. Music has played an integral role in my life, more so than I realized, until I decided to take a brief walk down memory lane.
My introduction to music was falling asleep each night to my mother singing to me. Once I got my feet under me, I would twirl, skip and dance to Carol King, Frank Sinatra and a variety of show tunes.
My school years consisted of ballet and jazz classes, singing in the school chorus, and flute and saxophone lessons. By high school, I regretfully decided that dancing to and creating music wasn’t ‘cool’ – so I stopped. This is when I fell in love with listening to music, simply for the sheer enjoyment of it. The Who, Jackson Browne, The Doors – I know, I’m totally dating myself!
Thanks to some awesome, music loving roommates, my college years were consumed with an eclectic repertoire of music. That was long before we had ‘playlists’, so we relied on making our own mixed tapes. I still have a few of those in my memory box, but unfortunately I no longer have any equipment to play them on. Listening to pre-recorded music is awesome, but having the pleasure of experiencing a musician perform live in concert is most definitely doubly-awesome! My college favorites included The Talking Heads, B. B. King and The Grateful Dead.
I got caught up in the post college rat race of getting a job, paying bills, and trying to ‘find myself’….and somehow I lost my connection with music for quite a few years. But at the birth of my first son, I rediscovered my need for music, when I spontaneously began singing him the very songs my Mom had sung to me. It wasn’t long before Barney’s ‘I Love You’ and Raffi’s ‘The Wheels on the Bus’ became the most frequently listened to tunes in our household. Our home quickly filled up with music, and included everything from children’s songs to classic rock.
In the blink of an eye, we had teenagers! With that, came iPods, iTunes, iPhones – music, music everywhere! I have a vivid memory of being a teenager and battling with my parents over what music we would listen to on the car radio. To say they didn’t like my music choices was an understatement. I remember thinking “I will not be one of those parents”.
You’d probably think my playlist would be drastically very from my 14 and 17 year old boys, but it’s not! They have been generous in sharing their love of current music and I’ve been open minded and accepting of most of it. The common question we ask as we’re about to cook, play cards or just hang out together is “Your playlist or mine?”
Music has been like a best friend – always knowing exactly what I need in the moment, and always there for me! I’ve gone under anesthesia to James Taylor, done a flash mob dance to the Black Eyed Peas, sat anxiously through a 2 hour dental appointment to John Mayer, survived a grueling workout to Eminem, boogied on the dance floor to Donna Summer, driven down the road with all the windows open to Bruno Mars and written countless blog posts to Natasha Bedingfield, The Script, Adele and Train – just to name a few.
Let MUSIC be your addiciton!
I had forgotten how much I LOVE being a part of a live performance until this past weekend. While singing and dancing (and smiling from ear to ear) at the Maroon 5 concert on Friday night, I paused and noticed how grateful I was for the sheer bliss I was feeling! I’ve definitely added ‘going to concerts’ to my LOVE LIST!
Let MUSIC be your medicine!
Let it comfort you when you’re sad, let it partner with you when you want to dance, let it hug you when you’re lonely, let it take you back to the ‘good ole days’, let it connect you with your kids, let it sooth you when you’re anxious, let it tell you a story, let it make your soul sing!
This YouTube video is a PERFECT representation of how music can make us feel – worth watching more than once! I have to forewarn you that Grandma lets a 4-letter word slip out of her mouth at the very end.
with Joy & Gratitude,
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