If music be the food of love, play on;
Give me excess of it …
William Shakespeare
I really have no regrets in life, but if there was one thing I wish I could do that I can’t it would be to play an instrument or to sing.
Music works with the rythms, the harmonies, the vibrations of life. Music has the power to touch our bodies, our hearts and our souls. The beating of the heart, the grinding of the hips, tears of joy or sadness or the soaring of the spirit in flight.
I acknowledge YouTube is not a great medium for sharing music, but I’m going to do it anyway. I found it hard to limit the music I wanted to share as there is just so much.
Music that touches me
For this week’s ‘Something For The Weekend’ I’ve picked 4 very different pieces -- all of which touch me in one way or another.
Music related posts
And here are a few music related posts from some of my favourite blogs:
Kim at Perfectly Cursed Life asks what music would you want at your funeral
David at Raptitude writing a great post about The Beatles
Postively Present on the lessons learned from a Kings Of Leon concert
Have a wonderful weekend!
Thanks so much for mentioning Positively Present in this post. Music is one of the most important things in my life. Though I took piano lessons for many years as a child, I cannot play very well (I’m not even sure if I remember the notes!) and I certainly can’t sing (though my parents would strongly disagree with this, which I think is hysterical, because really, I swear, I’m tone deaf). I would LOVE to be able to be in a band or to be a solo artist, but, unfortunately, that’s not in the cards for me this time around. However, that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy music! I don’t go a single day without listening to music. It makes every day better and ebbs and flows with the moods I am in. I cannot imagine life without it. Thanks again for mentioning PP and for posting the 4 videos. Wonderful!
And now I’m going to ask the inevitable question, because I’m a rah-rah hyped-up motivational type: what had you decide that you couldn’t play an instrument or sing?
Ha ha, good point, Chris. Hope you don’t mind chipping in, just that I like your challenge, not so much for Ian but for myself. I try to be careful about saying “I can’t” yet it sometimes still slip out, and it’s nice to have someone around to catch it.
I’ll wait to hear Ian’s response!
PS: Ian, the listener is part of the music equation, so you are partaking in music too, just in a different way!
Hey, thanks for the shout-out Ian. I am in head-over-heels in love with music.
Of course you can play an instrument. You just don’t know how yet. When it comes to skills, “can’t” means “won’t.”
Have a good weekend.
I couldn’t imagine life without music.
@Positively Present Your description sounds exactly like me! Except my parents would definitely say I can’t sing.
@Chris Thanks for the question, even though that wasn’t really the main point of the post
Ther are several parts to the answer.
First of all I had several childhood ‘incidents’ where I was publicly humiliated for the unusual, non-regular notes that my singing voice produces. At the age of 11 of 12 you tend to believe your mother and your music teacher when they tell you not to sing because it’s unpleasant to listen to (‘horrible’ was the exact word used). So yes, I did have a limiting belief about it for many years.
I got over it and managed to replace it with a neutral belief. I love to sing. I do sing. Loudly. I get a lot feedback that it’s pretty untuneful so I tend to sing when I’m alone, with people I want to annoy or with close friends/family who can tolerate it. I have no doubt I could train my voice. I also have no doubt that it is not one of my natural talents so came to the sad acceptance that I will not become a famous opera or rock singer (though being able to sing isn’t necessarily a quality needed to be a rock singer).
As for playing an instrument. I can strum a guitar. I could learn to play, and could probably master it technically. But I will never play an instrument in the way Jacqueline Du Pre played the cello. I would have liked to (it would be the guitar though) but I believe there is natural talent and feel for the music that can’t be taught or learned. That’s what make the great artists great.
So I stand by the statement ‘I can’t’. I just don’t think there’s any choice.
@Daphne Did my reply to Chris satisfy you? I know what you mean about ‘can’t’. But I do think it is appropriate for me and singing!
@David I can play (or I could if I wanted). But I don’t think I can play in a way that moves the soul. I would need decades of therapy and motivational coaching to change that believe!
@Mocha Dad Me neither (welcome btw!)
Ian, that was a good reply. Now I know how to answer if someone challenges me to draw. When I was 9, I drew a most beautiful chilli with every seed outlined. It was my magnum opus, the pride of my 9-year old heart. And my school teacher failed me for that piece. Ever since then, I haven’t drawn because I thought I couldn’t and so my enormous talent was laid waste
If you saw my scrawls now you would probably agree. Even Chris would probably agree!
Your teacher has a lot to answer for! I’m happy to have found another person who proves there are just some things we can’t do!
Oh, that first piece was exquisite.
There was something in her playing that, for me, was beyond artistry. She could make the cello sing and cry and laugh. I was reading a little about her and find it so sad that she had to stop playing at 28 because of MS. I’ve heard that piece played by others and they are just not the same. Exquisite is a good word for it!