Of all the pleasures and interests we share as fellow humans, there can be nothing so powerful, inspiring and inviting than music.
Have you ever stopped to wonder how many different categories of music there are? Some of the most obvious are: Pop, Classical, Folk, Jazz, Country, Blues, Rock and Roll, Reggae, Indie, Easy listening and Hip hop.
All types of music, for all types of people, for all occasions, giving all types of moods.
Music for celebration, relaxation, inspiration, grand occasion – you name it, it’s available. It provides for different cultures, traditions, its origins spans centuries and generations.
Some is old, some is new, some forgotten, some rediscovered mixed and matched to find a new audience. What kind of music suits you? Do you enjoy music at all?
Take Classical Music for example, Benjamin Zander puts his audience into 4 categories:
- Those who love it.
- Those who think it is ‘Ok’ in the background.
- Those who don’t like it at all.
- Those who are tone deaf. (Well that’s what a lot of wives say about their husbands!)
He then goes onto explain that no one is tone deaf otherwise we wouldn’t be able to change the gears in our car, or know the difference between and American speaking to us or an Italian. This is on YouTube by the way.
It got me thinking – if there are 4 types of audience in just classical music alone, maybe the same 4 categories exist in all other types of music? What if all of us fall into the ‘not interested trap’ in any one of the music categories – maybe we are missing out on an opportunity to expand our enjoyment?
Few people fail to come up against music at some point in their day. Whether its Adele’s very moving rendition of ‘Someone Like You’ at the Brit Awards, listening to an old Frank Sinatra number or the backing track to a period costume drama on TV, music lives, moves and breathes life into our very existence.
Shakespeare wrote: “if music be the food of love – play on”
It seems funny to think of music as ‘food’ – or does it?
Isn’t that a wonderful thought? That music is actually ‘feeding’ us at any given time?
In a busy world when time to relax can be precious – make sure the music you feed yourself with is appetising, nourishing and satisfying.
Anything which feeds your ‘love bank’ has to be worth eating!
Here are some tips for your music menu:
List a few categories you enjoy listening too e.g.
- Ø Relaxation
- Ø Inspiration
- Ø Celebration
- Ø Healing
Make sure you have several up to date favourites for each category and keep them handy. A ‘food’ for every feeling, nourishment for the soul.
It’s the medium that links people of all ages, colour and creed alike. It’s there to be enjoyed. Anything that’s bringing you pleasure, is healthy for our well being.
Take time and enjoy the magic of music. Play with it, experiment, revisit old favourites or try something new.
You’ll be glad that you did.
Have a great week.
