When I was a child I thought all there was to life was going to school, hanging out with my friends, listening to the latest music on my “beat box” and singing in the choir. Life was that simple…simple indeed. Now that I’m more experienced, I realize music has played more of a significant role in my life than I ever thought it would. Through music I’ve met some of the most interesting people in the world. I’ve met great teachers who were genuinely interested in their craft and student success. I’ve met people that would go on to do great things in the music industry. These experiences have taught me some of life’s most valuable lessons.
I learned music was not relegated simply to the notes on the page, and that music is about the story. I learned music was more than gospel, rock and rhythm & blues. I learned to embrace difference. I learned classical music and music sung in other languages are just as exciting and inspirational as songs sung in my native tongue. I learned honing one’s craft is essential to standing out in a sea of great performers. Most importantly, I learned character is built not in being given responsibility, but when given privilege. When I embarked upon this journey I was oblivious to fact these experiences would expose every weakness, strength and struggle. Little did I know it would challenge everything I ever believed. Experiences soon became a mirror reflecting my ideas, insecurities and assumptions. Funny thing, on the surface music is just a medium by which we share stories. But on a philosophical level music has the potential to save lives.
Think of a family of wrinkles on an elderly woman’s face resting in a nursing home recovering from an illness that has swept away her independence and cognitive ability. As she looks at a few coins in her hands, she proceeds to put the coins in her mouth mistaking them for her favorite meal. As she sits on the side of her bed staring at the coins she is suddenly prompted to reflect upon her life and all the things that once brought her joy. Among those things she remembers a song; a song to which she’d always listen as she picked tomatoes from her make-shift garden. Suddenly as the first note rises to comprehension, melancholy is lifted from her face like the excitement of a groom lifting his bride’s veil. She mysteriously looks down at the coins, places them on the bed and starts to sing along. She is remembering joy!
Tags: elderly in nursing homes, great teachers, how character is built, ideas insecurities and assumptions, importance of music treating illness, more than gospel, most interesting people in the world, music as a medium, music has the potential to save lives, music in nursing homes, music is about the story, music therapy in nursing homes, remembering joy, rock and rhythm & blues
