When words fail, music speaks...........(H.C.Andersen)

She closed her eyes, sat down on the floor, and listened to the music.

The mellow sounds from the trumpet washed away her sadness, the beautifully constructed harmonies from the piano warmed her soul, and the intricate and magnificently woven melody lines played by the saxophonist made her forget about her loneliness.

The music made her feel as if she was among friends, friends that understood her and welcomed her into their world.

Since the death of her brother, music had become her best friend. She had no words that could adequately express the pain and sorrow that she felt, so she said nothing. What she did do was seek solace in music. 

She listened to Billie Holiday, Bessie Smith, Tchaikovsky, Mozart, Bach, Puccini, Debussy, Miles Davis, Lois Armstrong, whatever she could lay her hands on, and as she allowed the music to wash over her, she felt consoled. Consoled because their music convinced her that they also knew the pain of loss and heartache.

For some of us, music is perhaps a bit like wall-paper; it's there but you pay it little attention to it, for others it may be more of a social thing; something preferably done together with others, some of prefer music in the background while we work on something; aka it energizes us, some of us prefer music we can dance to, we have music at funerals, weddings, commemorations, etc.etc. 

Come to think of it....in today's whizz-bang technological world...when is there not music of some sort connected to what we are doing?

Words, in my view, are mere approximations, which as I see it means that we often have different opinions, interpretations, and definitions of a lot of words.

So, what exactly is music?

After listening to Rachmaninoff's piano concerto number 2 in C minor, she could hardly breathe,

it was one of the most beautiful things she had ever heard, but what made it so? she wondered.

Actually, she thought, what exactly is music? Until that moment, she had never really asked herself what made music,.... music, but the thought once she had thought it, began to haunt her.

Although she played the piano and had done so since she could reach the keys, she had no theoretical knowledge at all, whatever she played, she played ''by ear''. She sat down at the piano and started to play....without knowing why, she just knew that after this chord, comes this other one, if it doesn't, it sounds wrong. But why? There must be rules of some sort, she thought, rules that tells me what goes with what. I think I need to find out what those rules are so that I can also write beautiful music, she concluded.

Music: a combination of sounds, or: a combination of rhythm, melody, and harmony, or: an organized combination of sounds and silences, or: music is sonorous air, or: music is....[insert here your fave kind of music]..........music is sound, and sound is vibrations.....

Most of us have very strong opinions about music....

''Jazz? I hate jazz, there's no order to it, everyone just play's whatever they like.''

''Classical music? Are you kidding, it's boring.''

''Blues? What, some ol dude whining about his life? Nah, way too depressing.''

''Country music? What, all that boot-scooting, yodeling, yeeha music? Nah, that ain't music, that's talking with some chords on a giitar in the background.''

''Folk music? that's just like country music without the yodeling.''

''Pop music? Are you kidding? That's just some stupid lyrics with a thumping bass.''

''Rock music? That's just some long haired hippies strutting themselves about.''

"Rap music? Is that even music, I mean, it's just some angry guys spitting out words no one can make any sense out of.''

Etc.etc.etc.

And on it goes......

Regardless of our opinion on what music is, music is an important component in most of our lives, so much so that anthropologists and sociologists are yet to find one culture throughout the human history that does not include music in it.

(Some even suggest that before there was language, there was music.)

Finally it arrived. With trembling hands she opened the envelope.

''We are happy to advice you that your application to the conservatorium has been successful.

Please contact the administration for further details, and good luck.''

Yes! Yes! I am in!!!  This is it, this is what I want to do with my life, I want to be a composer and musician. She could barely contain her excitement, she felt jittery all over, and she felt that music, her best friend and comforter, had once again managed to come through for her.

She ran into her bedroom, sat down at the piano, closed her eyes, and just played.

''Music does a lot of things for a lot of people.

It's transporting for sure.

It can take you right back, years back,

to the very moment certain things

happened in your life.

It's uplifting, it's encouraging,

it's strengthening.''

(Aretha Franklin)

''Where words fail, music speaks.'' (H.C. Andersen)

Taste in music, is in my view very subjective; what may put one person to sleep, may invigorate another and so on, regardless, music evoke emotions in humans, what kind of emotions they may be, depends on how we experience a particular piece of music.

Those in the know suggest that music has the potential to: help us relax, help us fall asleep, help lift our mood, bring comfort if we are feeling down, assist our memory, and so on...

Johnny Depp has this to say:.

''Music touches us emotionally where words alone can't.''

[ps: Have you ever listened to an album by the name of ''Kind of Blue'' by Miles Davis?

If not, then I recommend you give it a shot. It was ranked no 12 on The Rolling Stone 500 all time best albums in 2003.]