Make music like no one is listening
Hello you frosted flake.
Depending on when you read this, I will be either getting ready for/ playing in/ or reflecting on my performance in our annual holiday concert with the National Capital Concert Band (NCCB) here in Ottawa. And so in anticipation of this concert--- as well as the upcoming long drive to New Brunswick for the holidays, during which I will be spending hours regaling myself with broadway musical arias-- I have been thinking a bit this week about creating and enjoying music.
Virtually everyone has some sort of connection to music-- either by playing an instrument, using their body to make music (singing, percussion, etc...) or just by being a listener who loves the art form. I am so lucky to be able to play regularly in a band, and I love singing to myself (and to the dog). But truth be told, I am not a very sophisticated 'listener' of music. People who know me well can testify to the fact that if given a choice, I actually have pretty terrible taste in music. Ironically, as someone who plays in a band, I am not a big concert-goer and rarely attend live performances. Around the house, if I am not listening to podcasts, I listen almost exclusively to broadway musicals, with some of them having been on repeat in my playlist for decades. If I do listen to musicians, I tend to turn to the artists I grew up with in the 80s and 90s, or to music I was introduced to by friends throughout my life, instead of trying to find new songs myself or nuance my playlist to my current mood. Don't get me wrong: I love hearing new music-- old, modern, instrumental, choral, international, traditional, anything-- and I have a huge appreciation for the talents and artistry of those who play well. But I rarely seek out a song or artist to learn or hear more.
In short, I love music-- it is an enormous joy in my life-- but when it comes to listening, as long as something melodic is happening, I am usually pretty inspired and content.
Admitting to this actually makes me feel a little exposed. Some people are VERY invested in what they listen to, and someone's lack of musical discernment can be a real turn off. More generally, a person's musical tastes can signal where they fit in the social order, how they relate to their peers, or even what they value and believe about the world. People can also have very evocative and edifying experiences listening to music-- myself included. It is not that I don't get a ton out of getting lost in a beautiful song. But for me, ultimately, listening to music is an experience of receiving, an act of appreciation and communion.
However, creating music is something else. While I also don't have a ton a discernment in terms of what I produce (especially when it comes to singing to the dog-- sorry Leah and Abe), I get a more profound sense of connection and personal fulfillment from the experience of being musical myself. Whether in a group or by myself, the act of making music helps me feel more dialed in to the world around me and inside me. Indeed, not to be too hyperbolic/ esoteric, but sometimes making music feels a bit like I am tapping into string theory and the quantum realm. When done well (or even poorly-- again sorry Leah and Abe), making music produces vibration and energy that can at once both amplify and transcend the present moment. I feel this vibration sometimes when I am hitting the gorgeously resonant low notes on my bass clarinet, for example, or belting out the crescendo of a favourite song in the privacy of my car. And I looooooooooooove that feeling.
Whether it is the meditative experience of playing an instrument, the power of musical repetition (which for me can also refer to the repetition of practicing music with the band, or listening to the same musicals again and again), the catharsis of singing, or being part of the "we" by playing in a band and contributing to the creation of something that is more than the sum of its individual parts-- making music is one of the most uniquely beautiful and connected experiences a human can have.
So this holiday season, I invite you to warm up those vocal chords, dust off those guitars/ recorders/ cow bells/ trombones/ pianos, turn up your car radios and make your own kind of music...
...and then get ready for all those good vibrations!
But wait! Is all this talk of musicality (and being trolled with Marky Mark songs) feeling a bit too intense on a sunny Sunday morning? Then please enjoy this video of a modern song played over top of old dance footage. I have shared it before, but the song by Bruno Mars is super toe-tapping, and the blend of old video and new audio is irresistibly charming.
Still too much realness? Then check out this old footage of two sisters from Kentucky in the 1960s playing banjo and singing together (thanks Leah). It's not exactly a ringing endorsement for my place in the social order, but I do love a good banjo...
From one music-loving person to another, I am glad that we can harmonize together. I hope you enjoyed this dispatch, and have a melody-filled week!
Until next Sunday,
The Earnest Platypus