Music is for...

[john]

Hi Gang

 

I thought a discussion topic on what music is for would be interesting.

 

The idea is simple. You start your post by completing the sentence “Music is for...” as a statement, which you then back up by laying out your case. You can also complete the sentences “Music is NOT for...”, “Songs are for...” and “Songs are NOT for...”.

 

So, for example Music is for entertainment. I would then go on to explain why I think it is for entertainment.

 

let me get the ball rolling:

 

Music is for connection and the mass sharing of emotion.

 

There are times when crowds of people bond around certain emotions. It could be your favourite team winning a championship, it might be an election win, or it could be about grief or even guilt or compassion. Nothing bonds like music. Anthems are all about just that. Add words to express the ideas to unify around and music that supports the overriding emotion and crowds of people share a group experience, a connection that can be hard to forget. In fact it is a level of connection that once tasted can be yearned for and sought out throughout life. Football fans world-wide love a sing-along for good reason. It helps bind them together, connecting them to their fellow fans.

 

Even charity or cause based singles can function in this way. People want to connect. They need to. They like to look around and know that the people around them are feeling the same thing they do, the same deep emotion.

 

I think it’s often why writers write. They have something inside to express. They might, or might not, write it for other people, but most writers tend to want people to see them, to identify with them, even connect with the, through their music. To write something that communicates who we are, what we think about and what we feel about it... is an experience that is hard to explain... but it is addictive.

 

One of the fundamentals of music is it’s role in communication. It is undeniable. It connects us and it helps the emotions of the writer(s) to be communicated through out all listeners, helping them to share the emotions evoked by the song or piece of music...

 

 

[Mahesh]

Music is for learning about yourself.

 

 

The more time I spend here on my journey with music, the more I realise how music has been a journey also of self learning. Sure, on the "surface", music can seem like a language of notes, movements of sound, expression of an idea or story or to make a statement etc., But the very ability to explore such concepts and creative decision making needs understanding of yourself.

 

As a singer, I'm learning to use my body as a wind instrument to manipulate pitch, volume and tone and then articulate/project meaningful words through it simultaneously. It is an acoustically peculiar process. To relate that process to my body is to relate it to myself. I need to understand differences between sensations and tag them to later choose the appropriate muscle co-ordinations that FINALLY produces the "correct" sounds. In this way I am pushed to understand myself, the body.

 

I need to keep my mind open to observe, analyze and make decisions either in realtime during a performance or in a more honed-in process like a studio session or even when you are training.  By keeping the mind open is to keep it transparent and quiet and available for the next task. If I'm distracted by the intimidation of the high note I'm just about to hit, I wouldn't have that moment to trigger the appropriate sensation in the body for that note. Singing is very connected to the body that way. The mind is very good at conjuring thoughts that are irrelevant to the task at hand. This behaviour is to be tamed and for that you would have to understand how your thoughts behave. In this way I'm led to understand myself, the mind.

 

I need to keep a steady focus or a clear awareness while working on the things mentioned above. Why? To build experience through repition and jamming. Only when your awareness is unbothered of the task at hand cuz it has done it a thousand times already, you can let it wander to other things. This is where your creativity gets honed. You get to freely explore your emotions and stories because the 'task' of singing isn't a task anymore. It's a game.

 

Learning to make the right creative choices is as important as the skills that enable it; awareness or focus through your journey is extremely important. In this way I'm encouraged to understand myself, awareness.

 

[Steve Mueske]

Music is a means to transform or augment an emotional space

 

I listen to different forms of music in different contexts, same as most people, but the music I most enjoy listening to (and creating) demands focused attention. Yes, I enjoy playlists on Spotify, YouTube, etc., where I listen primarily to songs with more traditional forms while doing other things.

 

I love thinking about sound; a "song" in what I call an organic framework is just the frame in which it has being (is heard / serves as a catalyst, etc.). Ideally, for me, music should exist on its own terms, appear in a form that cannot exist apart from how it was formed. It is a kind of revealing, a way of showing what is possible with organized sound. From a creation standpoint, it comes from the same place poetry does, in the push pull between listening and active creating.

 

Why? Because this is what my experience of musical art is. It's a continual process of discovery; It requires a constant state of learning, problem solving, curiosity, investigation. 

 

 

Edited April 18, 2021 by Steve Mueske