Happiness, the enigmatic mistress/master of human beings through the eons, is actually not as elusive as we thought. It turns out we can possess it any time we desire. How? Music.
Music is, in my way of thinking, as close as we will ever come to achieving nirvana. Just think about it. What else can bring a smile to your face quicker than a tune that tickles your cerebral cortex? What can put you in a time and place that makes you feel better than music? What can bring a group of people together faster than a beloved tune? There are many times when my day is made when the perfect song played on the radio (for you Millennials, randomly played on Pandora) or suddenly popped into my brain seemingly unannounced.
In our town, this happens often. A place I love to go to hear music, Uptown Bill's, is better than going to a bar for an attitude adjustment. I particularly like when musicians play there often and you become familiar with their repertoire. Such is the case with the great Dave Moore. I have heard parts of his set list nearly a dozen times, but those songs never gets old to me. He has such a way with words and in the phrasing of lyrics and I look forward to how he will sing the tunes every time and what liberties he may take as he goes.
With others, it is how they mess with their instrumental parts of their tunes. Whether it is Bob Dylan or a jazz trio, I love the surprise of how they keep their songs sounding fresh through an alternate tuning, beat, choice of instrumentation or when they slyly insert a bar of a popular tune in, it just tickles me.
And that in a nutshell is what makes us happy. The new with the old, the unexpected twist and turn with the fuzzy familiar, the soundtrack from our lives that tickle our brains and take us back to a place and a circumstance that forever tattooed the music into our souls.
Yes, I know, music can make us sad, too. Some songs bring back longing and loss. But, when you consider that it also brings back a memory of someone you held as dear to you, isn't the brief reunion worth the momentary tug of your heart and lump in your throat? Sadness and happiness sharing the stage, doing their duet, and exiting as your frown turns the corner and rises to sweet remembrance. So worth it!
Happiness through music; you can get it for a song.
Music is, in my way of thinking, as close as we will ever come to achieving nirvana. Just think about it. What else can bring a smile to your face quicker than a tune that tickles your cerebral cortex? What can put you in a time and place that makes you feel better than music? What can bring a group of people together faster than a beloved tune? There are many times when my day is made when the perfect song played on the radio (for you Millennials, randomly played on Pandora) or suddenly popped into my brain seemingly unannounced.
In our town, this happens often. A place I love to go to hear music, Uptown Bill's, is better than going to a bar for an attitude adjustment. I particularly like when musicians play there often and you become familiar with their repertoire. Such is the case with the great Dave Moore. I have heard parts of his set list nearly a dozen times, but those songs never gets old to me. He has such a way with words and in the phrasing of lyrics and I look forward to how he will sing the tunes every time and what liberties he may take as he goes.
With others, it is how they mess with their instrumental parts of their tunes. Whether it is Bob Dylan or a jazz trio, I love the surprise of how they keep their songs sounding fresh through an alternate tuning, beat, choice of instrumentation or when they slyly insert a bar of a popular tune in, it just tickles me.
And that in a nutshell is what makes us happy. The new with the old, the unexpected twist and turn with the fuzzy familiar, the soundtrack from our lives that tickle our brains and take us back to a place and a circumstance that forever tattooed the music into our souls.
Yes, I know, music can make us sad, too. Some songs bring back longing and loss. But, when you consider that it also brings back a memory of someone you held as dear to you, isn't the brief reunion worth the momentary tug of your heart and lump in your throat? Sadness and happiness sharing the stage, doing their duet, and exiting as your frown turns the corner and rises to sweet remembrance. So worth it!
Happiness through music; you can get it for a song.
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