Tuning Slide 5.20- Music: A Great Gift

Weekly Reflections on Life and Music

Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without.
― Confucius

It is the season when we think about gifts- getting and giving. Music has been a gift for me since I was young. I cannot remember a time in life when music wasn’t there. It’s fun to listen to; it’s fun to make music; it’s fun to share the music with others.

What an all-around gift.

As I was sitting down to write this holiday week’s Tuning Slide I wondered what Google would do with a question about music? So I asked:

What’s so special about music?

Life Hack said:

Enjoying music is unique to humans. Unlike food or sex, music isn't necessary for our survival, but it is extremely rewarding and pleasurable. It taps into the same parts of the brain that pleasure from sex and food does. Music floods the brain with a chemical called dopamine.

Moving down the list of Google-provided questions and links, I came to another answer for the same question from Muzo:

Unlike other pleasures in life, music has no intrinsic value, but with so many different genres it can reach out and move so many different people in all kinds of ways. Many say it causes intense emotion and overwhelming joy within them, influencing mood and actions, thoughts and feelings – which is why the power of music should never be underestimated.

The next question from Google was similar and gave me a little more information:

Why do we like Music?

A post on the BBC said:

Using magnetic resonance imaging [two scientists] showed that people listening to pleasurable music had activated brain regions called the limbic and paralimbic areas, which are connected to euphoric reward responses, like those we experience from sex, good food and addictive drugs. Those rewards come from a gush of a neurotransmitter called dopamine. As DJ Lee Haslam told us, music is the drug.

Next I found the question:

What role does music play in our lives?

The Creative Music Blog gave me this answer:

In the course of history, music is the greatest creation of mankind. Creativity in the pure and undiluted form is the true definition of Music. Music is an important part of our life as it is a way of expressing our feelings as well as emotions.
Some people consider music as a way to escape from the pain of life. It gives you relief and allows you to reduce the stress. Music is a powerful therapy that will make you calm down and in the moment of joy, it will make you cheerful.
Furthermore, it develops the mind and boosts your self confidence. Music plays a more important role in our life than just being a source of entertainment.

And one more came up:

Why do we need music?

Quora answered it for me this way:

Music helps us to find ourselves. It can reach our feelings and even change them. For example, music is able to reduce stress, caused by the outside world made stress, which is felt every day. Music can help to reach the deepest spots in our minds, for example, our memories, emotions.

I know that there are many researchers who dig into these questions. I know there are many writers who try to describe it. Perhaps novelist Kurt Vonnegut was right when he said:

Virtually every writer I know would rather be a musician.

I am fortunate enough to do both, which is why I keep writing this blog and playing my trumpet. I have been intrigued and moved by music and writing since I was very young. They have both given me countless upon countless opportunities to be happy, to be awed, to be frustrated, to be relieved, and finally to be filled with spirit.

So I will end this with a final quote, this time from the ancient Greek Plato:

Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.
― Plato

It answers all the questions I’ve asked, and any other that we could make up. Do I need music? Yes, I do. And I am honored to have been given the gift to share with you (in words) and others with my trumpet.

And to all of you- may the blessings of a joyous season lead you deeper into your gift of music.