Common Language

Air

One of my friends always says, “Music is my air.” She says she can’t live without it.

This might sound a little silly at first, but I really believe that music has a lot of power. The right song at the right time can cure a bad mood, or relieve stress, or feed anger, or bring on tears and sadness. For me, music lets me feel like myself when I’m tired or stressed; it helps me to relax and unwind. Of course, there are a few songs that hold special meanings to me; songs I associate with close friends, family, and important events in my life.

However, some of my favorite songs can communicate emotion without any preconditions. These are the songs that touch something common to everyone, some fundamental facet of the human condition that we all share. For example, Frank Ticheli’s An American Elegy is a fairly simple song, but even while sight-reading it I remember the enormous emotions it generated, loss and sadness, then somber triumph. I feel that the real power of music is the ability to move people, regardless of their background.

There are also certain songs that have something special in them that I call “clarity of soul.” It’s hard to describe in words, but I define it as somehow putting all of yourself into something, without reservation or regret, with good intentions. It’s not limited to music, but I see it in a few of my favorite songs, like Train’s Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me) and The Killers’ All These Things That I’ve Done.

I suppose I don’t know where this post is going; it’s not terribly interesting from a musical standpoint. I’m done anyway, so it doesn’t matter.

Tags: air, communication, emotion, power of music, stress