Music To My Heart
Last night I watched a tribute band to George Michael. As I sat there listening, I realized that many of the songs are over 30 years old! 30!! How did that happen?
Let me set the scene for you, the venue was a gorgeous opera house packed to the rafters, the seats nearly all full, the audience a huge percentage of women ranging from 45 to 55 and beyond! On stage is a 5 piece band, and a singer that is George Michael's twin, in appearance and voice.
All the old favorites were included, I could not believe how I remembered the lyrics! I sang along, and I even stood up and danced, and so did the rest of the audience! A heartfelt thank you was said, to the singer that gave us all this beautiful music.
Last night, made me think what music means to me. Why was I feeling all kinds of emotions? What did these songs bring to my life? How did music shape who I am today? Does music actually play a bigger role in our lives, then we give it credit?
I had a myriad of emotions wash over me as the concert went on. I felt nostalgic for a time went by. I remembered my teenage years and the free spirit I used to be. It brought back a time in my life, where my only care was meeting up with friends and what outfit I had to wear. It reminded me that, I had a pretty cool high school and college experience.
Hand in hand with that, it brought back the emotional ups and downs of those awkward years. The not knowing who I am, the broken friendships, my broken heart, the extremes in emotions. Ranging from euphoria one day to total despair the next.
It was probably a rare moment, when I actually listened to every word in a song. Each song spoke to a different moment in my life. I understood that music is threaded into every aspect of my life. Present and past.
As a youngster I did my homework to music, I had the radio on for long periods of the day. I shared new songs with my girlfriends, and we would replay the same track over and over again. That memory, brought with it, my mother's face as she started bellowing said songs at the top of her lungs and telling me categorically to put that song off, before my stereo had a deliberate accident.
In college, we danced many a night away, at parties and in clubs. We infused our study breaks with music. We supported the college band and attended every performance. We went to far off places to attend concerts. We had a constant background of songs for all those years.
As I grew older and older, I did most everything to music. I work better to noise anyway, and what better noise then the music I enjoy? I drive to music, I cook to music, I am writing this to music, I entertain to music, I do everything that just little bit better, to music.
Now, that my children have their own preferences in music, I enjoy new music with them. I have introduced them to mine, and they actually like it! We now do things together to music.
The truth is, even if we don't play an instrument (I don't), and we are not heavily involved in a music related industry, we all have a tune or two that evokes memories. We all have a song or two, that reminds us of love gained or lost. We all have a favorite band, who's music changed our life. We all have a music record that we could not stop listening to over and over again.
Music is intermixed into the fabric of our lives. Music has the power of influencing our emotions, our mood, our energy level even. Scientists have proven that listening to music can make you happier, reduces stress, gives you better physical performance, makes you less depressed, improves sleep, makes you eat less, it makes you smarter, and boosts memory! After all that, we all need music and loads of it in our lives! Turn up the volume and indulge!
Here is what I have learned: I love music, I love a mix of music, I include music in my day, and I may even include some dancing (when no one is watching)! In my life, I have to agree with the scientists music makes me happier more pepped up and ready to handle the world. Songs bring a smile to my face, or at times make me cry remembering those sad times. George Michael and all those 80's artists hold the soundtrack to my youth, and boy, what a soundtrack that was!
I had a myriad of emotions wash over me as the concert went on. I felt nostalgic for a time went by. I remembered my teenage years and the free spirit I used to be. It brought back a time in my life, where my only care was meeting up with friends and what outfit I had to wear. It reminded me that, I had a pretty cool high school and college experience.
Hand in hand with that, it brought back the emotional ups and downs of those awkward years. The not knowing who I am, the broken friendships, my broken heart, the extremes in emotions. Ranging from euphoria one day to total despair the next.
It was probably a rare moment, when I actually listened to every word in a song. Each song spoke to a different moment in my life. I understood that music is threaded into every aspect of my life. Present and past.
As a youngster I did my homework to music, I had the radio on for long periods of the day. I shared new songs with my girlfriends, and we would replay the same track over and over again. That memory, brought with it, my mother's face as she started bellowing said songs at the top of her lungs and telling me categorically to put that song off, before my stereo had a deliberate accident.
In college, we danced many a night away, at parties and in clubs. We infused our study breaks with music. We supported the college band and attended every performance. We went to far off places to attend concerts. We had a constant background of songs for all those years.
As I grew older and older, I did most everything to music. I work better to noise anyway, and what better noise then the music I enjoy? I drive to music, I cook to music, I am writing this to music, I entertain to music, I do everything that just little bit better, to music.
Now, that my children have their own preferences in music, I enjoy new music with them. I have introduced them to mine, and they actually like it! We now do things together to music.
The truth is, even if we don't play an instrument (I don't), and we are not heavily involved in a music related industry, we all have a tune or two that evokes memories. We all have a song or two, that reminds us of love gained or lost. We all have a favorite band, who's music changed our life. We all have a music record that we could not stop listening to over and over again.
Music is intermixed into the fabric of our lives. Music has the power of influencing our emotions, our mood, our energy level even. Scientists have proven that listening to music can make you happier, reduces stress, gives you better physical performance, makes you less depressed, improves sleep, makes you eat less, it makes you smarter, and boosts memory! After all that, we all need music and loads of it in our lives! Turn up the volume and indulge!
Here is what I have learned: I love music, I love a mix of music, I include music in my day, and I may even include some dancing (when no one is watching)! In my life, I have to agree with the scientists music makes me happier more pepped up and ready to handle the world. Songs bring a smile to my face, or at times make me cry remembering those sad times. George Michael and all those 80's artists hold the soundtrack to my youth, and boy, what a soundtrack that was!
Thanks for sharing. I agree! For me, listening to Fairuz for an hour, recalls 40 years of every human experience possible. But within that hour, I find myself often smiling.
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