What Is Music?
What is music? Such an easy question. Someone strumming on a cat string, beating a cow skin, or blowing a horn of some type. Physically, yes. But that’s not what music is.
In reality, music has nothing to do with instruments, voices, hands or feet.
For those of us that work a “9 to 5”, the rule is to be there at 9am. The goal is to make a living, buy a car, or whatever you decide. While hopefully we get more out of our jobs than just cash, the rule is put into place to achieve the goal.
In the same way, a guitar, drum, voice, or other instrument is put in place to express what is inside us: Emotion. And when emotion is expressed through music, you get every aspect of humanity played out on ivory keys.
There are two points you need to leave this article with:
1. Music is emotion.
2. You are a musician.
#1 – Music is emotion. Pause from reading for 10 seconds and think of the most powerful musical emotion you have ever witnessed. (pause) If you’re having trouble thinking of some, here are a few that moved hearts:
#2 – You are a musician, or a singer, a performer, or an artist. Why? You have emotion. “I can’t sing my way out of a wet paper sack,” you say. Me either. But my kids don’t know that. They think I’m the best singer they’ve ever heard. Again, why? Because I sing with emotion. I share what I feel with them through music, through song. “Jesus Precious Jesus” will always mean the world to them because I taught it to them; I showed them what it feels like to have passion from the heart and, hopefully, be somewhat on key.
Fact: If you have emotion then you are an artist.
In conclusion, some people work all week so that they can “celebrate life” for 2 days on the weekend. What if seven days a week you could feel like that? That’s what music does; it allows you to deeply feel at any time. Pop in your headphones, turn up your car stereo, or just sit and sing.
Power, sadness, grace, anger, passion, fun. All music. All emotion. All you.