I know I have written on music before. I'm sure you don't really want another post about it. But that is the fun about a blog...I can pick whatever topic my heart desires! and music is something my heart desires.
Modern times have brought us some incredible things...and I'm really not about to complain. But I would like to point out that being able to record music has been a blessing and a curse.
Don't get me wrong...I listen to recorded music all the time. my driving routine goes like this.
-get in car
-shut door
-turn on car (gotta warm up the engine here)
-turn on music
-buckle up
-go
seriously. I play music all throughout the day with Little K at home. I sing when I'm at work. I sing at church. I play the piano when my friends' house is empty.
But there is something about live music that is irreplaceable. Being at a quality live music performance of any kind is a divine experience. The music's intricate tendrils weave around the audience, tones and rhythms ricocheting off of any hard surface and absorbing into the soft ones. each note and instrument heard individually, while also making up a vital part of a whole piece that somehow sounds seamless. if there are voices, they ring out clearly, telling a story, lifting praise, articulating heart break.
sometimes its the harmony of multiple voices that absorbs deeply into the heart. other times it is the combined force of hundreds of voices, lifted up, singing as loudly as they can. There is no other feeling like that of being part of an army of voices, everyone knowing the words by heart, singing with abandon from a place deep in their soul.
It is in those moments that I realize, this is truly hearing music.
definitions:
listen-give one's attention to a sound
hear-perceive with the ear a sound made by someone/something
(perceive means to become aware or conscious of something; to come to understand)
i can listen to a song on the radio or my ipod...but I can't really hear it. It doesn't translate the same way.
Last weekend some friends and I went to a bluegrass festival not too far from here. Someone asked me if I enjoy bluegrass...and I didn't really know what to say. I knew i didn't hate it. I knew I was looking forward to tonight. But I also knew I didn't really have bluegrass CDs or on my ipod. When they began, I realized why.
It was incredible to listen to this group play. their fingers flying, their eyes closed, their harmonies ringing out perfectly. I was in awe of the talent present on that stage. And I would know. I spent years playing the violin, and I know how challenging the double-stops are that the fiddler was doing. I wanted to close my eyes and listen, but I couldn't bring myself to look away. I didn't want the song to end, but I couldn't wait to hear what they would play next. Each instrument caught my attention at different times, which was specifically orchestrated by the writer of their music.
In that moment, I was hearing music. understanding it. perceiving it.
When we left, one of the guys in our group went to go buy their CD. My first thought was, I couldn't buy their CD...it just wouldn't be the same! I even tried recording some of their songs on my phone, but when I went back to listen to them, the magic of the moment was gone. So I haven't listened to them since.
How could I go back to listening to music after I had heard it? Don't get me wrong...recorded music touches me so much sometimes. I've cried, gotten chills, laughed, lifted my hands, wanted to dance, fallen on my knees. So recorded music is powerful too.
...Until I hear it again live. I cherish the moments I have heard music performed live, or have sang/played music together with real voices and instruments.
And I cannot wait until heaven. No music over loud speakers. It will be live music for all eternity. People laugh about sitting around playing harps and how boring it would be. But if you really sit and hear music sometime in your life here on earth, I can almost guarantee you'll be way more excited about the amount of time you'll get to do it in heaven!
In following my no picture-less posts theme:
Me and Miss K enjoying a day together!
Modern times have brought us some incredible things...and I'm really not about to complain. But I would like to point out that being able to record music has been a blessing and a curse.
Don't get me wrong...I listen to recorded music all the time. my driving routine goes like this.
-get in car
-shut door
-turn on car (gotta warm up the engine here)
-turn on music
-buckle up
-go
seriously. I play music all throughout the day with Little K at home. I sing when I'm at work. I sing at church. I play the piano when my friends' house is empty.
But there is something about live music that is irreplaceable. Being at a quality live music performance of any kind is a divine experience. The music's intricate tendrils weave around the audience, tones and rhythms ricocheting off of any hard surface and absorbing into the soft ones. each note and instrument heard individually, while also making up a vital part of a whole piece that somehow sounds seamless. if there are voices, they ring out clearly, telling a story, lifting praise, articulating heart break.
sometimes its the harmony of multiple voices that absorbs deeply into the heart. other times it is the combined force of hundreds of voices, lifted up, singing as loudly as they can. There is no other feeling like that of being part of an army of voices, everyone knowing the words by heart, singing with abandon from a place deep in their soul.
It is in those moments that I realize, this is truly hearing music.
definitions:
listen-give one's attention to a sound
hear-perceive with the ear a sound made by someone/something
(perceive means to become aware or conscious of something; to come to understand)
i can listen to a song on the radio or my ipod...but I can't really hear it. It doesn't translate the same way.
Last weekend some friends and I went to a bluegrass festival not too far from here. Someone asked me if I enjoy bluegrass...and I didn't really know what to say. I knew i didn't hate it. I knew I was looking forward to tonight. But I also knew I didn't really have bluegrass CDs or on my ipod. When they began, I realized why.
It was incredible to listen to this group play. their fingers flying, their eyes closed, their harmonies ringing out perfectly. I was in awe of the talent present on that stage. And I would know. I spent years playing the violin, and I know how challenging the double-stops are that the fiddler was doing. I wanted to close my eyes and listen, but I couldn't bring myself to look away. I didn't want the song to end, but I couldn't wait to hear what they would play next. Each instrument caught my attention at different times, which was specifically orchestrated by the writer of their music.
In that moment, I was hearing music. understanding it. perceiving it.
When we left, one of the guys in our group went to go buy their CD. My first thought was, I couldn't buy their CD...it just wouldn't be the same! I even tried recording some of their songs on my phone, but when I went back to listen to them, the magic of the moment was gone. So I haven't listened to them since.
How could I go back to listening to music after I had heard it? Don't get me wrong...recorded music touches me so much sometimes. I've cried, gotten chills, laughed, lifted my hands, wanted to dance, fallen on my knees. So recorded music is powerful too.
...Until I hear it again live. I cherish the moments I have heard music performed live, or have sang/played music together with real voices and instruments.
And I cannot wait until heaven. No music over loud speakers. It will be live music for all eternity. People laugh about sitting around playing harps and how boring it would be. But if you really sit and hear music sometime in your life here on earth, I can almost guarantee you'll be way more excited about the amount of time you'll get to do it in heaven!
In following my no picture-less posts theme:
Me and Miss K enjoying a day together!
2 comments:
heysoos...I listened to some beautiful, God magnifying, Christ exalting music today...now I'm sitting here, missing you, looking at a silent, lonely piano that is waiting for your fingers and your heart to bring it back to life again. And I remember hearing...Amazing Grace, Wonderful Merciful, All in All, One Way, D.O.Elijah, How Deep the Fathers Love, Voice of Truth, Unbounded Grace.....just one more, PLEASE...sigh,ok... Con Que Pagaremos....(:o)...143
Karlina
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