The Capabilities of Music

Music is a baffling subject. It lives among all of the vibrations in the universe that produce sound. Just as our ears do with language, they pick up sound waves and send signals to our brains. It then gets to be perceived by us as something more. You could visit Tesla's gigafactory in Austin, and you'll find people who appreciate music. If you climbed the Tibetan mountains and walked through a monastery of Buddhist monks, you'll find people who appreciate music. Travel to the Amazon and push your way through the jungle. You might find a long-lost tribe that never had outside contact, and they will still share an appreciation for music. It's a universal thing for us. There's something inside of the human body that makes us music enthusiasts, organically.

A beautiful thing about music is that you can pick the forms that speak to you. Different genres can have different uses. And any choice of music could be seen as a racket by others with different tastes. Some people want to thrash away their pain while blasting Death Metal. Others want to go for a walk in the forest, accompanied by Latin drumming. With Rap, you can feel like the coolest to ever live. With Pop, you can suddenly have an unexpected burst of happiness and energy. With Blues, you can profoundly feel the struggle of 500 years worth of oppression. And with Soul, you can share the purely addictive ecstasy of finding new love. Some songs are just short and snappy fillers. Others need you to sit down and focus on them in order to be fully appreciated. It's perplexing to think about the range and variety of music. It has to be a reflection of the range and variety of Humans and why it's still (and probably has been forever), so common among us.

Whatever the case is, music has the potential to make life worthwhile. Bad memories can be handled more easily with songs that speak to your experience. A new achievement can be highlighted with a song that pertains to the same feelings you're having. Great lost memories can be brought back to life with the right words and powerful nostalgia can come from a single note in a chorus. The right song can make you imagine things you've never done, have you wish for times you'll never have again, and even help you push through something you didn't know you could.

It's simply marvelous that we can have such internal events. To me, the effects that music has on people can be put into a category of fascinating things to wonder about, that I'll never wrap my head around. Things like how colors are so mesmerizing to look at, or how a giant blue whale breaching the surface of the ocean can even exist. Perfectly normal and regular things can be so interesting to ponder, and it can be so hard to picture our existence without them. Oftentimes, my wondering why our universe exists at all and trying to encapsulate the reality of billions of other galaxies into my imagination is usually provoked by a beautiful song. Music, like everything else, is one of the mysteries of our reality. But it's also a tool. It's fascinating that you can find the right music for any situation imaginable. It's here to enhance both the worst times and the best times, and everything in between. I assume it's because music (as a whole), is a reflection of all our lifetimes combined. I'm sure there's now music to match any mood, emotion, setting, and time period that has ever been within Human existence.

I don't think it's a coincidence that we can make each other feel emotion through art. Art is expressive and is often a thought or a feeling that the artist had that is being portrayed. I think it's simply beautiful that we have the means to receive these thoughts and feelings through art. Or that Humans have the power to create something that has such an effect. Music has nudged me into many imagined heartbreaks and has hyped me up before nerve-wracking performances. Music that makes me feel something deep gives me a jolt of hope for humanity and reminds me that in the midst of a lot of bullshit and cluttered distractions in the world, every single person you see is the embodiment of something really miraculous and inexplicable. You have the same extraordinary capability to feel deeply that I have. Just that alone is a pure joy and is incredible to realize. That's why we should be loving each other and realizing that life, no matter what, is amazing. To be able to experience things as an individual, on a day-to-day scale, and to be able to experience things together on a global scale are both incredibly remarkable. There is something special in that and we have to keep that in mind when we go out into the world and interact with others. I know it's easy to forget because I do so all the time. However, we have to realize the potential in the man or woman sitting next to us. Realize that on the inside they are not so different from you or me. Realize the potential in unity and love (which has a real impact), that we could all share. Music helps me remember that we have the ability to do something great. It reminds me that I can have an impact on the world, whether through myself, my friends, or the cashier at the gas station. It reminds me that even living a life at all and getting to experience pain and suffering, and joy and thriving, is an excitement in and of itself. Music reminds me that I am lucky to be here, with all of you.