Response to Blog - Special Music

This is a response to Amy Rosvally's blog in which she asks what makes music special. Let me start out by saying I love music, and it is a big part of my life. I use it to praise God, to relax, to wake up when I am feeling sleepy, to exercise, to kill time, etc. Though music is a big part of my life, there are those songs that are really special to me, those songs that I have to listen to , no matter what mood I am in. To me music is special because it unlock memories, makes me think about my life (especially when I feel the song directly reflects my life) present and future (well, what I would want my future to be).

"Water Runs Dry," by Boys II Men, is one of my special songs. It is a slow, soothing song that reminds me of my childhood. It brings me back to the times when I would sit in my older sister's room and play the song over and over again to the point that I messed up the cassette. Another song that is special song to me is "God Must Have Spent A Little More Time on You," by 98 degrees (or N'sync), because it makes me think about my future with a guy who is in love with me. I think songs are special to people because it does trigger that part of the brain that unlocks a memory. Even when you haven't heard the song in a while and then you finally hear it, it brings you back to the place where you first heard it, and suddenly you are reminded of things that were locked away in the back of your mind.

Music can help you remember a special someone in your life. A special song that someone use to sing a lot or even play a lot , and it is special to you because it holds their memory. Ever heard a special song that you haven't heard in a while, and your heart just drops? It holds a memory that you forgot even happened and through this song you are like " I remember when I use to listen to this song I was a preteen in Jr High and me and my friends had a sleep over and we did this and that all night and etc ."

So this is why I think music is special. It doesn't deal with any complex elements like pitch, timbre and all of that. I think its that we hear it and it just sparks our memory. It's the key to the past. Before the music became special, those elements of music did play a part in us getting to know and grow with the song , (I mean we have to like the music initially so it can hold a deeper meaning for us later on), and then as time goes on we neglect the elements and its just our past and hope for the future that makes us keep music special. Music is a magical thing and it is also powerful because it manipulates emotions and help emotions get out. It is a complex thing, but really amazing. Since music is powerful, my question is can music be used to hurt or control people? Can it be used by others to get other people to do things they don't want to do?

The View of Music

I think sometimes we take music for granted. We don't see it for what it is; we don't see its beauty and cannot comprehend that it is an art form. Not only is it an art form, it is a learning mechanism. We use songs to help us remember elements on the periodic table, how many days a month has, even something as simple as a grocery list we didn't right down. Sit down. Think when was the last time you heard music. Not just as background noise in a cafe or a way to avoid an awkward situation in elevator; when was the last time you actually LISTENED to music. I mean sit down and felt it move you, feel it enter you and surge throughout your body.

I'm not talking about using music as a way to escape or expiate feelings, but I mean music that is felt from the soul, hanging on every note, listening to every word (if there are any) listening. Yea we go to parties and music is there and we dance to it, we blast music in our cars and we listen to the next "American Idol," belt out some lyrics, but I think that could still be passive listening. When listening to music I think out of respect for the art that it is, it needs our full attention, we need to use active listening.

Don't take music for granted, because we are fortunate to have such a remarkable artistic illusion in our world. Appreciate this artistic gift that we have , because without it how would our lives be? If there was a world without music, what would we have to fill its place?