What comes to your mind when you hear the word “music”?
Does it remind you of a cooing birdcall? The soft lullaby that your mom used to tuck you in with? Sad violins that sound like puppies crying? Electric guitars that get your blood pumping? Cart-wheeling piano notes that remind you of a frustrated cat chasing a happy-go-lucky mouse up and down a staircase? Battle-hungry drums like those that played in your head when you found out your favourite TV show had got cancelled mid-season?
You might have noticed that there is music in all situations of your life. Especially when you’re happy, sad, angry or afraid.
It’s almost like there’s a soundtrack to it. What does that tell us about what music is and what it does?
Soundtrack of lifeWe have an inner world inside of us. You know that, right? This inner world is sort of like a model — a mental copy — of all that we have seen and experienced in the outer world. If you want something done in the outer world, you have to flesh out a prototype using the ‘lego blocks’ in your inner world first.
Now, think of music as a spatula with which you stir the milkshake of your inner world. Yum. Think of music as the wind that creates ripples on the surface of your mental pond and informs you about your emotional climate. And once you know your emotional climate, you can impress all your friends because you won’t walk around so confused all the time.
And if you know how to use it right, I believe music can change your inner world to exactly how you want it to be. Just imagine what you could do with that sort of magic. The possibilities are endless! And here parents want you to be a boring old engineer when you grow up. Sheesh.
But let’s face it; you never thought so deep when your favourite song started playing. And that’s the beauty about music.
You probably just felt like tapping your feet, or breaking into a jig, or telling your best friend to “check out this song because I swear you’ll love it!” or maybe you just felt like sitting in a corner somewhere, quiet and curled up all cosy with the song. If you felt like any of those things, or even responded in any way at all, you already know all you need to know about music.
But in case you’re still curious, keep reading… and listening!
“Music can change the world because it can change people” — Bono