I am not a scientist. I enjoy the rhythm of physics, the logic of it, but it has never been my strongest area. I am not going to tell you that the sound waves produced by the vibrations of the violin string are the right frequency to soothe the brain. I am not going to tell you that an understanding of beat and meter will improve a small child’s future GPA. I am not going to give you a list of all the physical benefits of dancing. Music is a thing that I know, however, and I know the effect that it’s had on my own life. I truly believe that it is beneficial to emotional health.
Have you ever had a heart so full of feeling that it feels as if it must escape into your throat and be pushed through your vocal chords and emerge from your mouth as song? I have, and I know it doesn’t have anything to do with your skill as a vocalist or whether you know a song to fit what you’re feeling. I couldn’t tell you for sure, but I like to imagine that this is how we first invented music. Something about it is integral to humans. Maybe we remember the songs of angels, from when we were closer to God.
I recently heard someone speak persuasively in favor of parents forcing their children to play an instrument for five years. She backed her argument up with statistics about the grades and test scores of children who played contrasted with children who didn’t. I think there is something to be said for the effect of music on children’s development. However, all I can say for certain is that sitting down at the piano and playing nocturnes and folk songs is a comfort that I wouldn’t give up for the time to prove its worth.
Music has a way of being able to speak when words simply can’t. Something about a simple minor chord has more poignancy and pungency than all the sad and melodramatic words that spill out of a sorrowful heart. The light, staccato passages of Mozart can sometimes make me laugh for their sheer silliness. And some of Chopin’s nocturnes are so full of nostalgia that they can almost bring me to tears. Music has power, plain and simple. Power to unite and to express and to remind. And it’s not only a power for the skilled. Sometimes it’s as simple as blasting pop music with your sister next to you in the car with the windows rolled down. Music is a part of life. Let’s utilize it to the best of its ability.
