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Musical Musings

» I find [music] more desirable than awkward silences or thunderous cacophonies.

It’s almost 5am Saturday morning, and Joe’s serenading me with his guitar. He’s playing a medley of melodies ranging from the melancholic to the mellow. He seems engrossed in being totally random about it all.

I wonder what’s going through his mind as I type this. I wonder if he’s been trying to tell me something all this while. Maybe I’m just too tired - or thick - to notice. Or maybe he’s just playing coy; jual mahal, they call it in Malay. Who knows for sure? For now, at least, I’m just content to listen to him play, sitting by his side.

I wish I’d been more musically-inclined when I was young. I envy the way he strums on his guitar almost nonchalantly, digits flying across the chords. I can only imagine my own hands do the same. “I used to practice three hours a day,” Joe says, reading my draft awhile before lying back on his bed, plucking the strings and making wonderful music again.

How different would I be if I had learned to play some sort of instrument back then? Right now I can only appreciate music in the commonest, simplest sense - the most I can do is interpret the underlying themes and meanings from song lyrics. I don’t really have an ear for music: I can’t read notes, can barely tell one tune apart from another, can’t carry a tune of my own (with instruments), and can’t compose works of my own.

But I love music nonetheless. I find it more desirable than awkward silences or thunderous cacophonies, and I definitely wouldn’t enjoy life as much as I do today without some form of music or other.

Speaking of which, I’ve not heard Buddhist scriptures for a long time. I miss the soothing contemplative sounds of scripture music…

Anyway, I’ve always thought - and still do - that music is food for the soul. ‘You are what you eat’, they say; hence those who listen to music are more likely to ‘get in the mood’ of the particular song they’re listening to at the time. Christian music is upbeat and catchy, glorifying the good of the Almighty, and their immense faith in His grace. Emo music draws you into the storms of your soul and spirit.

But some of my favorites are Maksim Mrvica’s orchestral tunes: they always convey many, many emotions, from joy and sorrow, to anger and calm. Strange how his music reconciles seemingly opposite emotions then intertwines them to create deep, moving songs. His works never fail to stir me, and I listen to them every chance I get.

If music is really food for the soul - some people I know are very, very hungry indeed. They probably have never eaten for the whole of their lives. I wonder how I could reach out to these friends of mine. Music helps quite a bit, I find. Maybe they could use a little help of their own.

~verus rara avis~

2 mad rant(s):



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  1. Albert said...

    I enjoy alternative rock and metal music from 10 Years, Breaking Benjamin, Chevelle, Evanescence, System of A Down, The Rasmus, Three Days Grace.....They usually play dark and angry music. It lifts up my spirits. My parents think it's noise.*laugh*

    ~multum in parvo~  

  2. joe said...

    dude, y would i b playing coy?? haha  


 

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