Why We Need Music in Our Lives

Summary

Music is an essential part of life, serving as a therapeutic, unifying, and introspective tool that enhances our capacity for life and helps us connect with ourselves and others.

Abstract

The article "Why We Need Music in Our Lives" emphasizes the pervasive role of music in everyday activities, from routine tasks to significant life experiences. It suggests that a lack of appreciation for music might indicate a lack of vitality. Music acts as a protective barrier against life's stressors, allowing for a focused engagement with the present moment. It is described as a soul-nourishing force that can displace negativity and foster a sense of wonder and respect for life. The article also posits that music education, beyond its cognitive benefits, is crucial for self-discovery and memory, serving as a reminder of personal and collective identities. Engaging with music, whether through listening or playing, is likened to a form of meditation that can be more enjoyable than pharmaceutical interventions for mood management. Ultimately, the piece advocates for the intrinsic value of music and encourages active participation in and support of musical endeavors.

Opinions

Music enhances various aspects of life, from the mundane to the profound.
An affinity for music is seen as an indicator of one's vitality and capacity for life.
Music provides a sanctuary from the chaos of daily life, offering a space for mental and emotional refuge.
Engaging with music can lead to self-discovery and serve as a reminder of one's identity.
Music education is valuable not just for intellectual development but also for personal growth and remembering who we are.
Playing or listening to music can be a meditative practice that focuses the mind.
Music is presented as a natural and enjoyable alternative to synthetic mood-enhancing drugs.
The article encourages readers to actively engage with and support musicians and the music community.

And no, it is not to brain-up our children; it is not to turn anyone into a mathematician.

1. Music goes with everything — from morning shower, to homework, to making love, to warding off road-rage. There is Sinatra and Ziggy Marley, The Raconteurs and Cannonball Adderley. There is hip-hop and gamelan and ska. There are local jazz trios in restaurants, and a Saturday afternoon jam at a Blues club. There’s volume. There’s Spotify if you’re cheap. And there’s no excuse.

2. Music is a good indicator of capacity for life. If you don’t like music, you are probably dead; check your pulse, or ask someone to do it for you. Use it in your online dating profile to weed out people-to-avoid.

3. Music creates a living wall between you and the crazy-making stuff. When you’re sitting on the right side of a band, on the other side is the office and the laundry and the bedroom, and the rest of your life…and all you need to think about is the notes and maybe the voice. And when to clap to say thank you. *

4. Music is root canal filling for the soul. Take the small notes and begin to push it into the corners (souls have those, along with wrinkles and folds), and fill it and fill it–fill it well to avoid infection. Sometimes, most times, infection is warded off with alcohol–though if one has issues with this, music will do the job on its own. But fill and pack it in–you know how the dentist does it–grabbing your jaw, levering, bearing down… Let the music do its work. As it does, it pushes out the bad. Leaves you with some serious chompers to eat up life.

5. Music creates wonder. And “wonder is respect for life.” (William Steig, New Yorker cartoonist turned children’s author and illustrator, said these words in his Caldecott Award acceptance speech.) Music gives you reverence and irreverence, version and inversion. Respect creates integrity. Connect the dots.

6. In case you didn’t understand that last one — because I know I don’t always make sense at first — music helps you remember who you are. If you listen. That would be the “brain-up” piece right there…because thirteen years of elementary and secondary education should help you learn who you are, but too often takes you further from that knowledge. Music will take you back to that place

7. Music will help you remember others and who they are, too. This works even if you aren’t a “musician,” as in “one who can play an instrument with others who can play instruments.” (Part of how I define “musician.”)

8. Playing music alone and/or with others, or listening, focuses you. It focuses me, anyway. When I’m playing (piano or my dad’s old sax), I can’t think about anything else; if my mind wanders, so do my fingers. In this, music is meditation. It fixes my mind on itself.

9. Music is so much more fun than prozac, effexor, and the dozens of other synthetic options. If it’s not enough for you, then mix with a cocktail of dance.

10. Music is. Listen.

*buy the band a beer. Oh, go on.