The Art of Music 

photos courtesy of Google

By Eli Landau

“Music can reach parts of the brain that words can’t,” is a quote by Robin Buckley from the beloved Stranger Things.  I think music is amazing because one person might be able to pour so much of their thoughts and emotions into a song, while others might be writing humorous ones, or not even have any lyrics in them at all.  Either way though, no matter what kind of songs you're listening to or writing, it’s a unanimous thought that music is a form of escapism and/or expression.  Whether you're expressing your thoughts, your humor, your sadness, your happiness, your love, your hatred, etc, etc.

And what’s great about this is that there is music for any mood that you’re in or want to be in.  If you want to raise your mood, then you just have to put on the right song!  If you want to de-escalate your mood, then all you have to do is find the right song!  If you want to keep your mood the same then just find the right song!  It’s so simple!  There are even songs that make the perfect background music so you can listen to it while still focusing on your work.

You even find music in TV shows and movies as well.  And they usually pair really well together right? It really contributes to the mood of what is going on; whether it be something thrilling, or suspenseful, or cheerful, or saddening.  Music along with a character's actions and/or dialogue can make something either immensely heart-wrenching, or insanely uplifting for the audience. 

Making music is a lot harder than a lot of people might think though.  The amount of detail and precision that goes into creating every second of it, is unreal.  Trying to convey what you want or trying to make someone laugh, is something that can’t be done well without the right instrumentals playing along with it.  Therefore, not only do you need to try and make good lyrics, but you also need the right complementary instrumentals playing in the background to complement the artist's vocals/tone.  And if your song doesn’t have lyrics, then you’ll need instrumentals that compensate for the captivation of the singers voice and will need to captivate the audience with purely only instrumentals, which arguably, might be even more difficult.

It’s crazy how the idea of something as simple as making some noise rhythmically can be so complicated.  Be it by creating it, or putting it in the background of the right scene.  Music is amazing on its own, but when it is paired with another art form it can be so much more.  

I don’t believe that many people are aware of how much music can affect someone, even if it is just in the background.  And that is why I never understand people who say “I don’t listen to music,”  Instant red flag if you ask me.  But I don’t believe that they fully understand what they mean when they say this.  I think people who say this just haven't found the right songs yet.  To paraphrase J. K. Rowling “If you don’t like to listen to music, you haven’t found the right song.”  🐾