Music tells a story through sound.
Many kinds of stories can be told through music, drawing from the full spectrum of emotions that can arise from within us. Emotions can arise in a blink of time, such as fright in a dramatic instance of the unexpected. Emotions can also arise gradually, such as a sense of peace felt from a relatively long period of calmness.
Music has an amazing power to evoke familiar emotions. It does this not in the same way as when we revisit emotions by, for example, looking at a photo album. Music brings back familiar emotions through abstract story telling, which subconsciously reminds us of our past joys, pains, peace, or tension.
That music tells a story does not necessarily mean that it has a clear plot and cast of characters. Nor does life itself have a clear plot and a constant cast of characters. Music still tells a story, even if it has some of the same randomness that we experience every day of our lives. Music tells a story, through sound, because it reminds us of the emotions in our lives.
Musicians are story tellers, who remind the listener, and themselves, of life’s many kinds of emotions.
Think of some music you recently played, or sung, or composed. What stories were you telling?
5 responses so far ↓
1 Col Lew // Mar 28, 2008 at 10:00 am
Hi Folks,
I am a visitor to your site, and have enjoyed meeting your Althea. I also have an Althea in my background. She is a wonderful 6 ft highly intelligent Antiguan woman. No musician, but interested in everything in life. We have shared many adventures together. More about that later. What you may ask is a retired Special Forces officer doing visiting a music blog? Well, I have a degree in music; have been a church music director and pianist/organist for more than 50 years. I write and arrange music for our choir, and for our senior citizens. Inconsistent with the image of a blood and guts Rambo type personality you say! Not really, we are all many personalities. I knew this officer well, even after retirement he led a James Bond type of life, sans women. Life goes on. We are all many different people during our lives. Enough of introduction, I’m writing to relate an experience I had during the unpopular Vietnam War.
During my several assignments to Vietnam, I always carried with me a Hawaiian Baritone Uke. A great little musical instrument, and easy to play and teach. During one of my assignments, I was Intelligence Officer for 2d Brigade, 1st Infantry Division. I used to play and sing for the troops while in base camp. (A little aside for those of you who have been called sissy, nerd etc.) As a young major I was also called the same. Unfortunately for the name callers, I was/am a marshal arts expert and at age 73 my hands are still registered as a lethal weapon). Back to the story. There were many VC infiltrators among the work force at the base camp. Since I speak Vietnamese, I got along well with all the workers, even the so called enemy. Eventually a Vietnamese man came to me and asked me if I would go to his village to sing and play. Well, I’m no dummy. I knew the risk, but I also am a Christian, and I recognized the opportunity that presented itself. I agreed to go.
I was to exit the gates of the military compound on Friday evening at 1800 hrs (6 PM). I would be met by a guide, in this instance the man who had invited me. We walked until we were out of site of the US compound, them the guide told me I would have to be blind folded. I agreed. We were met by a man driving a Lambretta (3 wheeled motorcycle with cab). I will skip how I figured out where we went. About an hour later we arrived at the village. I was un-blindfolded, and greeted by the village chief. After we dined I was entertained, then asked to perform. As best I could, I sang some Vietnamese songs translating rather roughly. I sang many American folk songs. The Vietnamese were astonished by the concept of home presented by the Stephen Fosters songs, and asked many questions. I then sang several American religious songs, and again fielded many questions about God, religion, and worship forms. We became close friends, and I visited the village many times. No, I never revealed the location of the village, and yes, I got a ton of intelligence from my visits. Most of the village was simply poor Vietnamese just trying to survive, and some of the men were VC. While it seems like a paradox, it was just the way life was there at the time. The point is. While I could speak passable Vietnamese, I could not reach them. The language of music and the genius of Stephen Foster did. We bridged a huge gap.
There are many asides to this story which I cannot go into here because of time restraints, like how I got out of eating the honored portion of monkey head, and how we provided the village with an elephant for food.
I greatly appreciate those of you who take the time to compose you thoughts and feelings in music. Some of you are geniuses, and some of you are passably good, but all of you can improve and communicate your thoughts. Please don’t give up. In my case, it saved many lives. I was able to prevent the village from being destroyed, and was able to teach several of the children how to play the Uke. We also were able to re-tune a local string instrument so that they could play it like the Uke. I have done the same thing in Antigua West Indies, West Africa, and many other places.
Respectfully
Col Lew
US Army Retired
US Special Forces
US Foreign Officer Specialist
2 Everyday Mark // Mar 28, 2008 at 10:20 am
Hello Col Lew,
“I was able to prevent the village from being destroyed, and was able to teach several of the children how to play the Uke. ”
This is a stunning story about the positive influence of music. I should say no more, so that others have more room to respond.
Thank you for this inspiring story about music.
Sincerely,
Mark
3 Kayode Olaniyan // Jul 28, 2008 at 9:12 am
Just got hooked to your site in a bid tocompose songs for an opportunity I got to enter a studio 2nd week of August, ‘08. I have learnt, but would like to learn better.
Any time I am given the opportunity to sing in my local Church, I always flow in a higher realm of the Spirit. The congregation always confessed that they are blessed through my song ministration, I just need to keep it up. I am a Yoruba, in the South West of Nigeria, Africa. My phone: +234802 557 5068,
E-mail address: laokeys4u@yahoo.co.uk
Expected to read from you soon. Thanks.
4 kaylee // Nov 27, 2008 at 12:23 am
I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don’t know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
kaylee
http://www.thinkpadonline.info
5 Corny // Aug 4, 2009 at 5:03 pm
I found this site via a search for storytelling with music - this was exactly what I was looking for and the blog seems very interesting, so I’ll visit it more often
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