The Power of Music
What Makes Music So Powerful?
Good music moves through your mind, rolls around, pops the toe, loosens your jaw, and ah! Feels so groovy! Melody can soothe your aching heart or calm an angry hurt. You know, that tune comes on the radio after a bad day at work and it lifts your mood to happiness. Or a song with hard percussion and screaming guitar reminds you - I will not let this day win!
Music is a cure for illness, an aid to love, energy to move you through the best day or the loneliest night. There is a song for every mood and every occasion. Couples in love and children who need to sleep feel the power of music.
A simple series of notes can join the hearts of a million unique people. It is universal and timeless. Why? The most intuitive part of the human heart is called to react to the expression of emotion that music displays. This reaction to the composition - simple or complex - inspires the soul, stimulates the brain, and creates beauty. Just do an internet search for scientific proof of music and emotion for all the stats!
Melody runs up and down, around and through; it’s never stagnant. Like a river, that flow has the energy to wash away the grime of anger or infuse the heart with love. Its power courses beyond sight and touch, and past our senses of taste and smell. Scientists will tell you scent is the strongest trigger for memory, but a lover will always remember the song playing when love came knocking!
Do you remember?
Music of praise makes the human heart feel eager. Listen to a Gospel choir sing, clap, sway, and try to deny the presence of God. Songs of acclamation can lift the soul to supernatural heights of joy and love. Make you beg for forgiveness and convert to charity before the song is done.
Saxophones, trumpets, and bass drums grab your stomach and move your hips arousing a sensual strain within. Up the tempo and swing between the unexpected rhythms of a groove from past times. Bass chords recall a deep, earthy, organic feel that makes a lonely heart grieve its aloneness, and then, when jazz hits the call and echo of the blues, well, just pour another shot of whiskey and let the notes resonate in your blood!
The primal urge to belong, whether to a gaggle, a brood, or a family is addressed in country lyrics of trouble and hard times. United in a broken heart, a beautiful woman, or a man’s best friend, we are comrades. Take to the dance floor with twirls, mirrored steps, and slides and suddenly you belong! You are part of a group of dancers bonded by a common ditty. Whether pop, rock, or country dancing is the natural response that music relies on to keep the flow moving.
What’s a protest without an anthem? The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind of grassroots growing into forests of redwoods demanding attention. Nothing unites a movement like a chorus of “Sing a Simple Song of Freedom”. Demands for peace, equality, and unity all need a common cry. The song mobilizes the movement forward with purpose. The melody can be folk, classical, or rock but it tells the world, without confusion, that change is required.
Marching bands can unite a community under the spell of patriotism as they move in unison to “The Star Spangled Banner.” We join the band in a swell of pride and link with our forefathers who gave our republic freedom and democracy. The drums beating at a football game command the fans to jump to their feet as they champion the home team to victory. The Native Americans knew the drum beat represented the heartbeat of Mother Earth, transcending time and space, sounding out respect for nature, healing, and successful hunting.
From the beat of our mother’s heart and the sound of her voice, each human is born with a rhythm, a steady march to carry us. This influence is what unites all people and gives music its power. Celebrations, heartbreak, falling in love, and bonding with others are all made better when wrapped in music. The soundtrack of our life’s journey inspires our soul and lends itself to a spiritual communion with all humanity.
I write this essay in honor of my Dad who taught me to recognize the beauty and power of music. I hope you have a place in your life for music, too.
Bit by bit, that’s all she wrote…