As a former band student, as well as an active shower-singer and Spotify user, I have a little bit of experience with the wonderful creation that is music. I am positive I have spent a good portion of my days either making or listening to music. It is always around me and always has been. In fact, every single day I hear some type of music whether from the tv, at church, on my phone, or anywhere.
I have found that music can serve many purposes, and to this day I have found none that were bad. Some have called it the language of love, but I believe it is a universal language that all can understand, no matter what stage of life they are in or what they are feeling- be it love, anger, pain, sadness, joy, or anything in between.
Looking back, I have used music in so many ways. In high school, music helped me to build friendships and relationships in my life. When I joined marching band, I instantly found a second family. No matter what clique you were in or how smart you were or what clothes you wore, everyone had one thing in common, and that was to learn and perform a 10 minute show that we would put on a handful of times at competitions and football games. Somehow those few pages of notes and rhythms brought so many different people together and it was incredible. I could write an entire book about how special marching band was and everything it means to me, but this girl sums it up beautifully in her article. Overall, band gave me so many precious memories and introduced me to a new creative outlet in actually playing and making music rather than just listening to it.
"Music has healing power, it has the ability to take people out of themselves for a while." -Elton John
With the right music, you either forget everything or you remember everything. When I am feeling down and hurting emotionally, I play music. If I have had a bad day, somehow listening to my favorite song or learning a new tune on the piano can take away from that. It's a sort of distractor. Whether it's a bad grade, argument with a friend, or the sting of heartbreak, music seems to take my mind into a world with none of it.
In one of the hardest times of my life, I decided to learn a new instrument. Instead of wallowing in pain and regrets all the time, I bought a ukulele and spent my time teaching myself how to play it. I learned some of my favorite songs and excelled quickly, spending hours practicing at a time. I know I annoyed the heck out of my roommate, but I needed it and she can attest to that.
"That's one of the great things about music. You can sing a song to 85,000 people, and they'll sing it back for 85,000 different reasons." -Dave Grohl
My mom often questions why I play sad music when I'm upset. I question it too, but honestly I can't explain it. There's just something about emphasizing with a song and taking the lyrics to mean something personal to you that brings a sense of peace. Listening to music is pretty mainstream, but actually understanding and connecting with the lyrics is a wonderful feeling and doesn't happen often. You get the sense that you're not alone and that it's okay to feel the way you are feeling.
I have found that music is a way to just let it all out. Occasionally, you may find that listening to your favorite song in the car and screaming the lyrics at the top of your lungs with tears rolling down your face as you drive past all the memory-filled places is necessary to do. On the other hand, it is an incredible feeling to sing a praise and worship song and lift your hands up to God and just give it all to him, restoring your faith and hope in the one who will never leave you.
I believe that music is so influential on the brain that it can change the way you think and look at the things. Why else would it play in the background of that classic movie when our favorite character dies? What about when you go to the gym and that one song comes on and suddenly you can do 10 more push-ups then you thought you could? It's powerful stuff, I'm telling you.
No matter how many articles I write or how many entries I author in a journal, sometimes my feelings still can't be accurately expressed. But that's just it- "Where words fail, music speaks." Music is an incredible thing and I am so thankful that some people have made it their life's work to continue to shape the world through song. I know music will always be a big part of my life, even though I'll never become a famous singer or musician. Although music won't be my career path, I will never stop humming along to my favorite tunes and pulling out my ukulele every chance I get to strum a few chords.
