Music is an amazingly powerful tool; its vibration brings out emotions to excite, uplift, and carry you down memory lane. Its energy stirs your inner vitality. For me, the magic of music is how its warm aura can heal your soul, and raise depleted energy.
I love the connection of music & dance. Back in my younger days, my friends and I would regularly go to “Reggae, Dancehall and R&B events. As we stepped through the door, the vibrational energy of the music would take effect. The mid, low and high frequencies flowed out, bounced off the walls and arrived at your ears, pounding your body with its zest. Striding over to the bar, you take your drink and move through the crowd to source your spot, it then becomes your musical abode for the night. Aligning my back close to the wall, was the place I needed to be so people couldn’t see how I danced from behind. I was shrouded in shyness, friendly, but not so confident.
DJs would holler words on the mic, in pulse with the music, giving an extra layer of spark. A collection of uptempo, and laidback songs played throughout the night. Sound waves connect through electrical impulses. Once I truly connected to the music, my thoughts then changed to, “I don’t care how I look, I feel good.” When the slower reggae songs came on, musical alliances were formed. Guys would sway up to women, asking them for a dance. The shy me mostly said no, I preferred dancing solo. That was many years ago, I’m no longer a shy person.
Here’s an example of how my shyness has disappeared.
A few years ago I went to a show to see Vieux Farka Toure, a great artist who’s the son of legendary Ali-Farke-Toure.
I knew the layout of the performance area as I had been to the venue before when I went to see Seckou Bambino, an artist from Guinea Conakry. A nice venue, but a seated theatre. Knowing the type of energy Vieux’s music emits, I knew I wouldn’t be able to stay seated for long, It started bothering my brain, “How am I supposed to sit down to energetic music.” Once everyone was seated, Vieux and his band came on stage, and the energy of the music began pumping through me.
After a couple of songs, I knew I couldn’t stay seated any longer, I just needed to move my body. So I stood up breezed over to the side walk-way down near the front and started dancing, I was the only one standing & dancing on the side-walk. After 5 minutes, a woman who was sitting at the front, looked over at me, saw me dancing and came next to me and began dancing. Within 10 minutes, five more people joined the space and began moving their bodies, it was hypnotic music that all of us couldn’t resist dancing to. As Vieux reached his last few songs, he spoke to the audience and said, “I know this is a seated area, but please, for the last couple of songs stand up next to your chair and dance.”
My belief is “people at live events feel energy from the band, and when a band sees the audience enjoying their music, the energy from the crowd transmits back to the band, which in turn, shines more energy back through the music”.
Vieux Farka Toure has become an artist whose shows sell out fast, his songs emit powerful energy.
As I write these words, I remember how shy I was back in the day. The person who needed her back against a wall, doesn’t care who sees her now. I have to release the energy from the music which is installed in me.
(Musical Memory is magical!) I love how a particular song can remind you of a place, a person or a time in your life, or kick off a mountain of memories.
Each person perceives music in their own sweet way. Lyrics attach to various experiences; maybe for some people it can be about someone they loved or lost. The melodies draw on our emotions, and the rhythms pump through our flesh.
I am a free spirit, who listens to music from all over the globe. There are songs that have made my eyes drop tears, even though I have not known the language of the words. “Music touches my soul”. Listening to lyrics from an unknown language is not a barrier, because music is about feeling. When a person feels low and they listen to songs they feel in tune with, it can uplift their spirit. There was a time during the Covid pandemic when I felt low, YouTube presented me with a singer I had never heard before. (I will review his music one day.) Along with his band musicians, they were participating in a live recording show. His tone of voice was beautiful, he sang in two languages, and both resonated with me. The music moved through my spirit, and a particular song made me cry, I felt a shift in how I felt, as I was feeling a bit low through some of the pandemic era. There have been many songs over the years, that have made me feel like that, a musical source of medicine.
Music and the happy feeling it brings, helping with dopamine, endorphins and oxytocin, which in turn can balance out the Serotonin to calm stress and anxiety. Dancing along with the music boosts those levels further. So, if you happen to read this post, and one day ever feel low, put some uplifting music on and let it transport you to the happy inner peace.
Music is Healing
Havana White