Music
Music - combinations of sounds, artistically strung together to express ideas, concepts, and feelings. For some, a specific piece can instill excitement, creativity, and stimulation, yet to others it is nothing but loud chaotic sounds designed to scare off birds, rodents, and small animals. Some will appreciate the softer sounds of a piece, experiencing the passion portrayed by the composer, while others will only find boredom.
I learned sometime ago the effect of music on the human psyche, or more specifically on mine. There are days where my mood lends me to a specific style or performer. There are driving songs, thinking songs, working songs, and songs to allow me to escape. The wonders of technology have progressed to the point where we can copy or ‘rip’ the songs off our CD’s or buy them directly off the Internet. We can decide what style we want, what emotions we want to generate, or what energy levels we wish to tap. We can create personalized CD’s combining songs and styles at will.
I use an MP3 player while working out on an elliptical exercise machine. The songs are selected based on beat, rhythm, and duration, and stored in the order I want to experience them to help maximize my workout, the final song is from the ‘Last of the Mohicans’ movie soundtrack; an intense piece and I match its pace. I shut my eyes and I am no longer at the gym, I am in a world where I have no boundaries, moving through a forest, sliding past trees at a high rate of speed, the sunlight flashes as it peers through a canopy of leaves. The song reaches its crescendo and starts to taper off to a long soft rhythm, with just enough time to cool down. Within minutes the music is done, as am I. Stepping off the machine, I am thankful for the ride.
Psyche goes beyond humans. We have a very vocal dog. Paden will sometimes express himself with heavy sighs when irritated or bored, and an equally intense “purr” when he is content. The latter often heard while he basks in sunlight. We often have music playing in the background, usually jazz, accented with an alto sax. Sometimes we play the haunting Celtic music of “Enya,” producing an immersing calm, covering one from head to toe. During a recent evening, as we relaxed, reading and writing, the multiple “purrs” released amid the songs signified our dogs’ approval of the evening selections.
In reality, all music has a place. There are styles we grow to love, and then there are styles some of us can easily live without. They cross cultures, countries and continents. From the primal sounds of beating drums, telling stories with intermittent consistency, to the symphonies of the great composers. From bellowed polkas, twangy country, and hardened rock to the repetitive rhythms of disco and its cousin – rap. Music, if listened to with an open mind, and more importantly an open heart, can ingratiate itself into our being, and into our very soul.
Music can affect moods, attitudes, and feelings, changing, even temporarily, how we perceive the world around us. It can manipulate emotions, thoughts, and sensations, pulling passion from anyone who allows themselves the opportunity to experience it. Whatever the music, Country, Classical, Rap, or Rock, how we score the experience is up to us.
One of my life’s enjoyments is sitting in a coffee shop and writing. Labor Day I sat at a Starbucks and pecked out a paragraph or two. Suddenly I am aware that something is out of place. It’s the song coming over the sound system, tugging on an old memory, like a youngster tugging on a shirttail. I recognize the song and in my amazement I lean across the communal work desk and ask the stranger on the other side, “Are they really playing Led Zeppelin in Starbucks?” He looked perplexed for a second, then a smile fed by awareness, preceded his agreement. Led Zeppelin, a rock group started in the late sixties and considered by some to be the founders of the musical styles known as “hard rock” and “heavy metal.” Heavy Metal! Yet, here at Starbucks, in-between those with the day off, those who are on break, and those that are working, flows notes and words, sharpened by steel guitar, striking drums, and unique singing, all of which comprises the Led Zeppelins’ song “Whole Lotta Love.” One wonders what Led Zeppelin would have said, if asked at the beginning of their journey, if they thought their music would ever be played in coffee shops.
By keeping music as part of our lives, we set ourselves up to adventures we might have missed. We are given tools to reduce stress, encourage passion, and sharpen focus. We open our world to an endless variety of new experiences. When we embrace music, we create a friend with which to reminiscence, friends that sometimes reappear in the most unlikely places.
I learned sometime ago the effect of music on the human psyche, or more specifically on mine. There are days where my mood lends me to a specific style or performer. There are driving songs, thinking songs, working songs, and songs to allow me to escape. The wonders of technology have progressed to the point where we can copy or ‘rip’ the songs off our CD’s or buy them directly off the Internet. We can decide what style we want, what emotions we want to generate, or what energy levels we wish to tap. We can create personalized CD’s combining songs and styles at will.
I use an MP3 player while working out on an elliptical exercise machine. The songs are selected based on beat, rhythm, and duration, and stored in the order I want to experience them to help maximize my workout, the final song is from the ‘Last of the Mohicans’ movie soundtrack; an intense piece and I match its pace. I shut my eyes and I am no longer at the gym, I am in a world where I have no boundaries, moving through a forest, sliding past trees at a high rate of speed, the sunlight flashes as it peers through a canopy of leaves. The song reaches its crescendo and starts to taper off to a long soft rhythm, with just enough time to cool down. Within minutes the music is done, as am I. Stepping off the machine, I am thankful for the ride.
Psyche goes beyond humans. We have a very vocal dog. Paden will sometimes express himself with heavy sighs when irritated or bored, and an equally intense “purr” when he is content. The latter often heard while he basks in sunlight. We often have music playing in the background, usually jazz, accented with an alto sax. Sometimes we play the haunting Celtic music of “Enya,” producing an immersing calm, covering one from head to toe. During a recent evening, as we relaxed, reading and writing, the multiple “purrs” released amid the songs signified our dogs’ approval of the evening selections.
In reality, all music has a place. There are styles we grow to love, and then there are styles some of us can easily live without. They cross cultures, countries and continents. From the primal sounds of beating drums, telling stories with intermittent consistency, to the symphonies of the great composers. From bellowed polkas, twangy country, and hardened rock to the repetitive rhythms of disco and its cousin – rap. Music, if listened to with an open mind, and more importantly an open heart, can ingratiate itself into our being, and into our very soul.
Music can affect moods, attitudes, and feelings, changing, even temporarily, how we perceive the world around us. It can manipulate emotions, thoughts, and sensations, pulling passion from anyone who allows themselves the opportunity to experience it. Whatever the music, Country, Classical, Rap, or Rock, how we score the experience is up to us.
One of my life’s enjoyments is sitting in a coffee shop and writing. Labor Day I sat at a Starbucks and pecked out a paragraph or two. Suddenly I am aware that something is out of place. It’s the song coming over the sound system, tugging on an old memory, like a youngster tugging on a shirttail. I recognize the song and in my amazement I lean across the communal work desk and ask the stranger on the other side, “Are they really playing Led Zeppelin in Starbucks?” He looked perplexed for a second, then a smile fed by awareness, preceded his agreement. Led Zeppelin, a rock group started in the late sixties and considered by some to be the founders of the musical styles known as “hard rock” and “heavy metal.” Heavy Metal! Yet, here at Starbucks, in-between those with the day off, those who are on break, and those that are working, flows notes and words, sharpened by steel guitar, striking drums, and unique singing, all of which comprises the Led Zeppelins’ song “Whole Lotta Love.” One wonders what Led Zeppelin would have said, if asked at the beginning of their journey, if they thought their music would ever be played in coffee shops.
By keeping music as part of our lives, we set ourselves up to adventures we might have missed. We are given tools to reduce stress, encourage passion, and sharpen focus. We open our world to an endless variety of new experiences. When we embrace music, we create a friend with which to reminiscence, friends that sometimes reappear in the most unlikely places.
posted by G. Steven Nolte at 10:18 PM
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