Love of classical music

Music is such a powerful medium and so varied in its composition and the language that it speaks from classical to rock, blues, jazz, folk, country and many more. Music is many things to many people, it can sooth the soul or make it fly with the eagles, it can motivate, inspire, bring powerful emotions to the surface, it can heal a broken heart or mellow rage. It can represent good, fear, sorrow, purity, evil, love, joy. It gives us the power to dance, sing, run, skip, and even vacuum. Imagine ballet without music,  a movie without a sound track, Star wars with no music, oh please, it lets you know who the bad guys are, when the good guys are winning, when love is in the air, when danger is looming. Music is the language of emotion, it touches us at an emotional level, we feel music and it stimulates the senses and lifts our spirits.

I was raise on classical music with all the greats including Beethoven, Chopin, Mozart, Mendelssohn, Bach, Brahms, and Dvorak to name only a few. It was not until the beetles had broken up in 1970 that I discovered rock music and by then it was too late, classical music had touched my soul, especially Beethoven. Regretfully, I have not listened to classical music very much for about 20 years and I am sorry to say I have grown a hard crusty shell, but after only a few months of listening to Beethoven, Mozart, Bruch, and Chopin that shell has started to melt away and my heart is mellowing and I am starting to feel again. There is no doubt in my mind that music has the power to heal the heart and touch the soul and move the spirit.

Classical music is meant to be listened too, the way you watch a movie or a play. Sit down in a quiet room in a comfortable chair and play it at the volume that it would be live, even better listen to it live, a full blown orchestra playing say Beethoven’s 5^th, 7^th, or 9^th symphonies is just incredible. Sit back and let it soak in, let it massage you heart and soul, it is that therapeutic. It can be played as background music at a dinner party, while reading, writing, sleeping, meditating, and making love.

It can focus the mind too. A few months ago at work I was struggling with a technical design for a large and complicated computer system. I was frustrated that I was not able to focus on it or get into it. In past projects like these would consume my every thought but this project had none of that and I began to think I was off my game. Then through some sequence of events I started to listen to classical music again and almost immediately the flow started, the juices started to run, I was focused, grounded and in one day put more continuity into that design than I had in the previous week.

Music is subjective; each one of us has different taste. We use music for different reasons, whatever the reason, whether it touches, motivates, inspires you or simply makes you want to sing or dance. Find your music; find the sound of your soul and what touches you, for this is the gift of music. Music is personal to each one of us, and when we find the music that resonates within we have found the sound of our soul and its harmonic frequency.

I admire those who compose music and applaud those who play it. Thank you.