Music is a philosophy, rich in ideas that language cannot say

[DGUtley]

Music is a philosophy, rich in ideas that language cannot say.





The present pandemic has brought us closer to ourselves. There is dissonance. The rhythms are haphazard. Contrary motions of jangling melodies confront us. We seem to be living in a maze of minor keys and open-ended cadences. We move chromatically, step by step. The array of discord challenges us. We’re searching for resolution. If this gamut of expressions seems familiar, you’re right. They are the building blocks of music. We might not ordinarily say to ourselves, let’s modulate, or let’s change key, but every day we unconsciously
conduct our lives as a musical composition, a symphonic masterpiece, an anthem, or a slice of hip-hop.

We’re used to the companionship of music. We rely on it as pleasure dome and panacea: ‘Music is the shorthand of emotion,’ Leo Tolstoy subtitles his play The Living Corpse (1911). Music’s ineffability transports us away from the mundane, allays sadness, evokes laughter, brings us to tears and rallies us to stand in unison. It confronts our fears and aspirations. When the saxophonist Charlie Parker said: ‘Music is your own experience, your thoughts, your wisdom. If you don’t live it, it won’t come out of your horn,’ he wasn’t only talking about bringing the vividness of life to your jazz, but of rendering music as your life.

This story discusses this issue...

[Cotton1]

Music does have an interesting effect on the mind. I listen to it more when I'm feeling anxious, down or isolated.

[jigglepete]

For me, one of the best feelings in the world is getting lost in a jam, feeling as one with the band...