It’s been a bit of a week around here. Nothing major or out of the ordinary – just life. I’ve mentioned before in this space that I haven’t been playing or singing since COVID shut the world down, and the Twilight Zone feeling of the passage of time has deeply ingrained itself in me.
I know I will get back to playing, to singing, to writing but I’m pretty OK right now with observing the world around me. What I see – and hear – encourages me in many ways. I’ve got two teenage sons who both have music playing almost all the time. The younger of the two has a HUGE range of styles and time periods in his playlist and it makes me smile when I walk by his room and hear the Beatles, Santana, Billy Joel, Bon Jovi, Joan Baez, The Who, Elton John, Guns N’ Roses, Tom Petty or Eric Clapton. The older of the two tends to lean toward new releases, and I love it when one of his songs grabs my attention and I am drawn to it.
My daughter, on the other hand, has been playing the soundtrack from “The Greatest Showman” over and over, and from it she is drawing a lot of joy – but also comfort in strange and lonely times. This is Me. A Million Dreams. Re-write The Stars.
Even at this time when we can’t share and blend voices due to the health risks it may or may not present, we can lean on music and find something that speaks to us. A song that will pull us or carry us or dance us through our days (good days and less-good days) and on to the next thing.
Maybe today, in the sunshine and summer warmth, you’re feeling good. There’s a song for that. Maybe as you sit with your coffee and contemplate the sky and the passage of the clouds, you’re feeling reflective. There’s a song for that. Maybe you’re having a tough time for any number of reasons. There’s a song for that. Or maybe what you need is something louder than sound – take and embrace silence. There is a time for that too.
For me, cleaning the house goes well to an 1980s playlist. I like to cook to classical music in the winter or gospel in other seasons – but most often nothing at all these days. When I walk, it’s often something I recently heard that is stuck in my mind and sets the pace – but I never listen to music when I walk. I just hear whatever ear-worms are in my head. (this week, “Get Out The Map” by Indigo Girls – no thanks at all to my sister…. grrrr…)
A rambly blogpost from my summer office (see photo above). I’ve been connecting with other music professionals who share my heart for enabling people. Soon I will share a post with some of the things they’re getting up to and how they might help you develop and grow in various areas of good sound. In the meantime, I’m off to the dog park – it’s summertime, and the living is easy.
Shine on, folks.
