April 22, 2016 (Friday)
Some of the recent blogs have been about music and my conclusion seems to have been that I like the old music better than the new.
I did not write about all kinds of music, just popular, country and religious. There are many kinds of music, and I like nearly all of them, old and new. If you read any of the recent blogs about music, you might think I am contradicting myself in saying such a thing. Maybe I am, because it’s hard to put all of one’s thoughts into one little article.
I did not mention classical music in any of those blogs. I love it, especially the old masters like Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Mozart, Brahms, Grieg, and others. Some of the modern composers seem to want to do something with music that does not harmonize with my untrained mind.
Rushing to the other end of the musical spectrum, I have to admit that I’ve learned to enjoy some of the rock music. My biggest problem with most of it is that I don’t understand the words, and that’s partly due to my poor hearing. If it’s a piece of music that I enjoy, I can get the words from the internet or from the “closed captions” on tv. Sometimes I am surprised by how good the words are.
While I generally prefer the older music, I gladly listen to the new as well. I guess it could be said that I like all kinds of music. I like some songs better than others, but I enjoy most of them.
Sometimes I wonder if human beings are the only species that enjoy music. After thinking it over, I’m not sure about that. We had a cat that Wanda returned to our kids in Houston. He was in a little cat cage in the back seat and was howling for mile after mile, until Wanda selected classical music on the radio. He settled down and seemed satisfied with that music. When dogs howl, are they trying to harmonize? And don’t birds have their own form of music? All answers are up for grabs.
I do know that music speaks to the spiritual side of our nature. I’m thankful for it. It’s a gift from God.
I’ll never know what makes that grass so tall
I only know there ain’t no love at all
Without a song.”