As I have ruminated over my first two posts, I have thought, "so what?" Why would anyone care about my thoughts about music or my Mom, or anything else for that matter?
Here is my question: is there anything that I have learned about music that may help other musicians, or people trying to seek some truth in music? My thoughts on this dwell in two areas: the things that I've studied a lot or taught on a lot. For instance, the importance of Beethoven's symphonies or Bach's fugues on Western civilization. The second area is the stuff that I can't quantify, haven't expressed with words, don't know quite how to say:
Why does music affect us the way it does?
What are the keys for a musician to be able to tap into the emotional power of music?
These are the things I think this blog is here for. This is what I'm going to use this blog to try and answer. I'm not a scientist, I'm not a psychologist. If you want a perspective from either of those places, read Oliver Sachs, or anyone else who has a better idea of the physiology of sound waves reaching the ear, or the psychology of how they affect the brain.
I'm a musician. I'm a musician with a particular insight (not unique to me) from my own experience into the spiritual nature of music and the soul. This is my starting place; this is the approach I will take in trying to open up hearts on these topics. I hope they give you something to think about, and I hope they provide something of interest.
Happy New Year!
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Hi Stan! I told you I was going to poke around! Look what I found!
ReplyDeleteI read all your posts and couldn't really decide which one I should comment on, so I picked this one as it just seemed "right".
I love the sentiments - if for no other reason than to express yourself - you should continue to blog about music...and ponder it...and of course, participate in making it!
While I don't actively participate in music anymore, I do appreciate it every chance I get. Listening to certain pieces of music I am MOVED. An exhiliration that is unique and fulfilling. Exactly as you said - good music is my church and I believe closer to God somehow. It's very personal. There is nothing like it and it is hard to describe, but I like where you're going with it!
So now I'll just go be your stalker for another 10 minutes and listen to some of your music that I saw on Facebook videos! :-)