The Importance of Music

 I once believed I wasn't musical. I couldn't carry a tune, or so I was told. But in high school, I tried out for A Capella choir on a whim and was accepted. I sang occasionally in church. I played the piano for years. I'm currently our congregation's organist. I volunteer to play the piano at a retirement home once a week, usually easy songs that they can sing along to. I teach piano to several neighborhood children.

I don't sing any more, though. Two throat surgeries and thyroid cancer killed my voice for that. I can't stay on pitch and my voice cracks. I also lost all of my upper range. On a good day, I can sing tenor and maybe lower alto. Sometimes bass. Which I think is funny.

But music is part of my life and always will be. It has power to bring emotions up from the depths. It can bring us together when we participate as a group.

I'm sitting here listening to Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack, one of my favorites. Without the music the movies wouldn't be nearly as compelling. That's true of just about everything in our lives. Music adds dimension and color. It evokes memories. It can excite or calm or threaten or bring a whole host of other emotions out in the open.

When I'm writing or sewing, I usually have music playing in the background. Sometimes we'll get jazz or swing or disco going while we cook. I'm not picky about what genre I listen to, only that it fits the mood.

So to end, here's some epic music -