A Little Day Music

All my life, I have studied that thing we call 'music'. I have found it to be beyond definition, without bounds, utterly incomprehensible and completely amazing. That is probably why I love it. But in studying I have found that there are many misconceptions about music that are commonly passed around as fact. These so-called facts have become the basis for many people's lifetime perspectives on music, and form the philosophical foundation for generations of unsuspecting children to build upon. So, with the greatest care, I would like to share a little of what I have learned in an effort to debunk some of the myths about music that are prevalent today.

Many people are told at a very young age that they 'cannot carry a tune in a bucket'. It is usually a music teacher that reveals this unhappy 'truth', and the child takes those words with him to the grave. Those are the first words out of his mouth whenever music is mentioned, and the child is forever banished from the ranks of 'the musically gifted'. I can think of no greater musical tragedy than that. The truth is that there is no such thing as 'tone deaf'. A person can be deaf, yes, but if you have ears that work and can speak, you can also sing. I didn't make this up. These are the facts. But do people believe me? Unfortunately, no. People would rather believe that they are not capable of producing music. I guess it's easier than practicing.
“It takes yeeeeeeeeears to become a musician”, people will say. I suppose that this is why people start their children in piano lessons when they are very small. They want them to have enough time to get all those years behind them so they can be a musician before they are very old. Ugh! Little children are natural born musicians. They sing, dance, imitate, improvise and jam at an extremely young age, if they are allowed to. The problem arises when parents want music in neat little packages that you can turn on and off whenever it is convenient. But the truth is that children need to make noise and lots of it, in order to be able to make music. Children can be taught music when they are young because they haven't yet 'learned' that it takes years to learn, or that you have to play it 'just right' for people to listen to you. People rarely learn instruments or singing after they are grown up, because they think it takes a long time to learn, that you have to have a teacher, and that it is too hard. On top of that, they won't even try to play or sing unless they can do it perfectly. It's pitiful, really. People who are otherwise intelligent and thoughtful, acting like two-year-olds and saying, “I can't!” By the time I was eight years old I could read pretty well, so I picked up a piano book and read it, and learned to play the piano, as did my mother and grandfather before me. It didn't take forever, in fact it only took a few days. After that I just played more music so I could get faster. No mystery, no magic, no teacher, no long time.

If you think that music is a gift, you would be right. But if you think that only some people have that 'gift' you would be wrong. Everyone, even the deaf, have the gift of music. The gift of music was given to the world as a whole. There is not a soul on the planet that doesn't experience that gift in one way or another. The mistake people make is in thinking that music is some sort of elite club that can only be joined by the 'talented', the 'gifted' or the prodigy. Nothing could be more counter-productive. Music is for everyone. It is not a spectator's sport. Those who think that they can experience music when they only listen to it are like those who are content to see the Grand Canyon on television. It's nice to see it that way, but it is no comparison to being there. If you are a 'listener-only' musician, take a second look at the musician inside you. Somewhere you will find that little child who wanted to make noise. Let that child out, make some noise and LIVE the music. Music is life. Life was meant to be lived, music was meant to be made. Dancing, art, poetry, literature, and love are all music, but watching them is only the beginning. It's like watching swimmers but never getting wet. Jump in with both feet and get all wet. Once you do you will never again be content to just watch. Then you will take your place among the great musicians of the world: all of us!