A couple of days ago, I wrote about how music builds self confidence. Today, I’m going to focus in on another important factor that music brings. Feeling. No matter what instrument you’re playing, music isn’t always happy or sad. It’s sometimes both emotions (and much more) in the same piece of music. Our role as musicians is to interpret the notes on the page and whether that is in a solo or an ensemble, translate it to the audience, as well as ourselves.
I regularly tell students that there are layers to music. There’s the rhythmic aspect of it, the note aspect of it, lyrics (if there are lyrics) and phrasing (the rises and falls of music). And I’ve heard musicians get these parts down excellently….but there’s still something missing. It falls flat. It’s missing that feeling that the musician brings in their interpretation.
As musicians start out, obviously, the basics are the primary focus. However, I try to bring in this feeling aspect of making music as early as possible. Whether it’s just dynamics, or shaping the rises and falls of phrases, these are early starts to try to bring about that connection to the feeling of the music. Music makes those deep, unexplainable connections inside of us. It’s why specific songs give us goosebumps or change our mood from happy to sad to somewhere in the middle.
When we connect to our feelings through music, it gives us another way to be able to understand and process our feelings outside of music. I can’t tell you how many times when I had a rough day, I’d sit down at the piano, play music, and after a song or two, started to feel so much better. This is so important for all of us, no matter what our age.
So, if you’re not taking music lessons, I’d encourage you to consider it. Music gives you many, many tools in how to process through and deal with life.
