EPTI am sure all of us have had a moment where we were so moved by a song we had to choke back the tears. Who doesn't get goose bumps when they hear their countries national anthem sung, really, really well? A good pink floyd album will make anyone feel spacey and distant. And I challenge someone to listen to Hootie and the Blowfish's "Let her cry" without feeling sorry for the man in the song
. For those that want their day ruined!
Whats so powerful about each of these songs is the lyrics. In the US national anthem, the lyric that sings "and our flag was still there" coveys exactly the pride and resilience that the lyricist (in that case a 19th century poet, but lets not get caught up on specifics :p) wanted the listener to feel. Its Hootie's lyrics about his tortured love that makes us feel for him, not the actual music. The difference is in a contemporary song the artist often tells you exactly what they want you to feel. A song about dancing makes you want to dance. A song about love makes you want to love. And so on.
The greatest music though, in my opinion, conveys an equally powerful message with no words. Music itself is form of expression as powerful, if not more powerful then words. To often in modern music the actual music is not able to able to "speak" for itself.
Somewhat recently I have been getting more and more into classic music. In particular Beethoven, who is by far my favorite composer. I find that a lot of people have a heard time with classical music, and I think its because the music doesn't tell them what to feel. There is no lyrics to guide your attention or emotions. You have to really listen to it intently to understand and appreciate it.
There are other, more legitimate factors that keep people away from that genre (personal taste, the formalities of the time that are hard to relate too, whatever). But what you see in classical music that you rarely, if ever see from modern music, is a chance for the music to stand on its own and be judged purely on those merits. In beethovens symphony number 5, the heavy and deep "Da da da daaaaaaa" is incredibly powerful and intense; something that is understandable in all languages. I was playing Mozart's "Requiem Mass" for myself, and my girlfriend happened to be in the room. She said she thought is sounded really sad, which I find amazing. For those that don't know Mozart's Requiem Mass was the last thing he ever wrote; he never completely finish it. Ironically its about death.
Recently I had this kind of powerful musical experience with Bethovens Piano Concerto no. 5. In particular, the second movement of the piece "Adagio Un Mosso".
As I listened to this piece in particular, I felt myself being carried away. It was an awesome experience... I was truly immersed into the music.
It started in my head. A warm tingling sensation, like hot water drizzling down my face on a cold day. It started in my head, prickling my face and neck, and then spreading down my shoulders, out to my finger tips and through my body. I felt my heart and chest swelling, feeling lighter and lighter... until I thought I would float away. I found myself smiling softly and swaying to the music. I hung on each note. As the keys of the piano striked and danced so did I. Then, suddenly, when the strings and piano swelled together, I felt tears well behind my eyes and fall down my cheeks. In a word it was bliss. Truly amazing.
I wanted to share this with someone. Everyone. And to encourage people to seek out music like this. To try and branch out a little from something mainstream. Not neccessarily classical music, there is great music from every age and every part of the world. More importantly to find music that moves.
