So I went to Berklee College of Music. I loved my four years there! I felt like it was almost cheating at college because of my wonderful experience. Who wouldn't want to wake up each morning to listen to or play music? Part of that experience of listening was directed at analyzing and breaking down songs by ear so that they could be recreated or just understood on a deeper level. I got really good at it and very used to it. But everyone that has something they are good at knows that once you know how to do things so well and almost automatically, it is hard to turn your brain off. It is hard to unsee the mistakes. It is hard to just sit and enjoy sometimes. And that is how I came to realize the truth behind the saying "ignorance is bliss." It really is bliss when your brain is not actively thinking about the chord changes, or how cool that cadence is, or what time signature they used, or OOOOh listen to how they brought that theme back! My brain can go on and on.
Fast forward to life after college and my brain is still analyzing on the fly and listening to all of the intricacies. Today I was at the gym, I do small group training at a personal training studio, and because everyone knows that I am a musician they are always highly interested in my opinions on different artists and songs and genres. Today one of the other gym-goers had a song they thought was the right type of high octane to start off the day and wanted me to listen. As I was listening I thought i was coolly listening to the song when my trainer decided to be funny and was like "stop that!" Wait! What was I doing??? Apparently, my face gets lost in the music and it is very obvious that the gears in my head are turning. Hahahaha! Wow! Who knew that it is written all over my face?! He then proceeded to ask if I can just listen to music to listen to it or if I always go into analytical mode. I'm not sure, but when I think about it, I oftentimes will just sink into analyzing a song. Maybe I'm just connecting on a deeper level? Or is there something really wrong with me?
I don't know...but all I can say is that I appreciate the music so much more because I can connect all of the intricacies together. I know what the composer may have been trying to say with the way he made the notes move or the chords he chose. I can feel what they may be feeling. I feel connected to the music and I don't think that is a bad thing. That's how my father taught me to appreciate art and I don't think I will ever go back to that unknowing state of mind. That deeper connection can draw us together and help us communicate when words seem to fail us. That's what music is. We don't all have to have gone to a music school to appreciate music, to feel it to its very core. Next time...think about how the lyrics may be saying more. That artist is giving us a glimpse into their complicated emotions and life. Will you journey with them or get lost in the world of unknowing?
