Living in Harmony–The Universal Truths of Music
“Music is playing inside my head
Over and over and over again,
My friend, there’s no end to the music.”
—Carole King, “Music”
It’s a rare moment for me that some piece of music isn’t playing through my head. Some days it’s a classical trumpet concerto left over from my daughter’s days as a trumpet major. Some days it’s an oldie, circa 1960s or so, from the feel-good, fun-to-sing-along-with era. Many days it’s a folk song, some newer than others. Mind you, this is rarely what the Germans call “ear worms”—those bits and pieces of songs that get stuck in your head and refuse to come to the end of the song. I get those sometimes, too, and they are quite irritating—largely because it seems to be only the obnoxious tunes that become endlessly embedded in my brain.
Most of the music playing in my head, though, is simply background music, and as much companion as it is entertainment. Music is a favorite companion when I’m on a long trip, driving by myself. I used to just search for oldie music stations on the radio, until all the oldie stations felt the need to “grow up” and now play “oldies” from the ‘80s and ‘90s—hardly even middle-aged, and not nearly so much fun to sing along with. So now it is the CD player and an assortment of favorites that range from Peter, Paul, & Mary, to a few more modern folksy artists like Zoe Mulford, and a couple of Celtic Women CDs that allow me to entertain the fantasy that I’m a soprano and can really hit those high notes like they do. I did mention that I only do this when I’m alone in the car, didn’t I?
I match my mood to the music—if I’m feeling down, there’s nothing more appealing than a slow minor-key ballad. A little of that and I can gradually ratchet up the mood of both music and me.
I’m lucky to have been born into a family that values music. My paternal grandmother was studying to be a concert pianist around 1900 at Brenau College in Georgia. Much to her family’s dismay, she fell in love with a Georgia farm boy, had seven children (six boys!), and so that budding career never took off. But her legacy was carried on in future generations. If all the Clark cousins and siblings who sing or play musical instruments could get together, we’d have quite an impressive orchestra! My parents encouraged my sister and me to play instruments, starting with piano lessons when we were quite young. My sister continued those much longer than I did, and added violin to the mix. I took up the flute in 4th grade, and we taught ourselves to play folk guitar when I was in 5th grade. I still play the 12-string guitar they got me as a high school graduation present, and rediscovered the flute just a few years ago after a 25 year hiatus. My kids were both talented musicians through high school and beyond, with Dan on clarinet, and Merrilee on trumpet. I hope my grandson will one day find a way to carry on the tradition in this family!
What is it about music, anyway?
Music is a time machine, capable of transporting us back to a specific moment in time where a particular song became intertwined with the emotions and specifics of that instant. Simon and Garfunkel’s “I am a Rock” takes me back every time to sixth grade, when our class would dance to that song during recess. It’s a little like déjà vu—or maybe déjà entendu (already heard). Memories with songs attached are much more multi-dimensional and lasting than those without an associated tune.
Music is both mathematical and magic. You can work on the mathematics of the vibrations of each and every note to an impressive precision. And yet the numbers don’t necessarily tell the tale. I heard an old piano tuner say once that if you tune a piano “by the numbers” and have every piano string vibrating at precisely the right mathematical frequency the result is pretty awful and unsatisfying. He explained that he deliberately offsets some of those numbers, and in so doing, creates a full-bodied, beautiful sound that must have some hint of magic in it.
Research studies continue to show the value of studying music in improving everything from SAT scores to even being better able to identify and correct mistakes. Sad that some school systems consider music “fluff” that only survives if budgets can support it. “Mr. Holland’s Opus” is hardly fiction for too many schools that otherwise pride themselves on their academic offerings.
Music is a universal human connection—it would seem that people everywhere find some means of making and enjoying music. Babies are calmed and cajoled by it; the elderly otherwise lost in dementia are brought back to moments of clarity. Perhaps it is the rhythm of life—the pulsing of a heartbeat, or the easy way we naturally fall into a walking rhythm. Are humans the only ones to make music? Certainly birds sing, but do their songs represent the same kind of creativity that human music does? Maybe I’m underestimating birds!
And then there’s harmony. A song sung in unison is a beautiful thing, to be sure, but add a few voices singing in close harmony, and suddenly the music becomes richer, more vibrant, and more compelling. The “voices”—be they human or instrumental—become symbolic of the world we live in, many colors, opinions, philosophies, etc. “Living in harmony” does not begin to suggest living in unison. What a dull world that would be!
What music plays inside your head?
“Music is the universal language, and love is the key
To peace, hope, and understanding, and living in harmony”
—Mac Davis, “I Believe in Music”
© Melissa Clark Vickers 2013
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January 9th, 2021 at 8:39 am
[…] For more musing on music, see my previous blog, “Living in Harmony–The Universal Truths of Music.” […]