How important has music been/is in your life?

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davewhite04

Valued Senior Member
I listen to about 6 hours of music a day, it puts my mind in a better place.

My taste is everything.

It has been a life saver so many times too.

Music is part of me, that puts me in a clearer headspace.

Is it really the one thing we can use to bring the world together? Yes, but the idiots in charge take no notice of lyrics.
 

I worked with a man who had C&W music playing constantly
which distracted me
annoyed me
and then,
I realized that he worked faster with fewer mistakes when he had his music
and, when I heard his music
I did not mind it.
and, I smiled
 
sculptor said:

I worked with a man who had C&W music playing constantly
which distracted me
annoyed me
and then,
I realized that he worked faster with fewer mistakes when he had his music
and, when I heard his music
I did not mind it.
and, I smiled
Click to expand...

Yep, it focuses you, I meditate to it.
 
I do my work (web content dev) to music. So that can be 7 hours a day. I can run out of music pretty quick that way, so I tend not to listen to music during other activities such as sailing, work-shedding or yardening, like other people do.

I take good advantage of Spotify's suggestions to being me new music I might not otherwise go looking for, and occasionally I'll add enough songs from some group I've never heard of that I'll just play their whole repertoire. That's how I've come to know "The Tallest Man on Earth", "The Waterboys", "The Shins", "James", "Ben Howard", "Florence and the Machine", etc.
 
Not sure what my life would be without music. I play piano, a bit of guitar, banjo, blues harp, and one sad month trying to get proper sounds from a sax. Spouse and daughter are both professional musicians and it's been a privilege to hear them join others in making classical, folk, bluegrass, rock, musical theater, and liturgical music. I can't even begin to number all the good things music does for your brain and your heart. Instruments that have lived under our roof: piano, organ, bassoon, oboe, English horn, guitar, bass (electric), banjo, violin, cello, coronet, drums, synthesizer, and zither. Hey, I ended with Z.
 
Yep, Prometheus gave us fire but which greek god give us music?
Apollo according to Greek myth and we can all agree I think, that the Greek gods most certainly exist.
 
TheVat said:
Not sure what my life would be without music. I play piano, a bit of guitar, banjo, blues harp, and one sad month trying to get proper sounds from a sax. Spouse and daughter are both professional musicians and it's been a privilege to hear them join others in making classical, folk, bluegrass, rock, musical theater, and liturgical music. I can't even begin to number all the good things music does for your brain and your heart. Instruments that have lived under our roof: piano, organ, bassoon, oboe, English horn, guitar, bass (electric), banjo, violin, cello, coronet, drums, synthesizer, and zither. Hey, I ended with Z.
Click to expand...

Massive impact on you there!

Ibought my daughter a piano when she was 4ish, a mini cute one. She must of loved it she went to play piano, she can play guitar too, get's that of her uncle Brian.
 
A lot less listening to music here than playing it - perhaps an hour each evening, very unprofessionally and the kinds of music I play are quite limited too but infinitely variable. Nylon acoustic guitar and a one string 'box bass' aka tea chest bass (like a washtub bass) - lotsa fun and I like to think it is good for my brain.

Listening can be anything from Beethoven (Violin Concerto, Isaac Stern on lead violin is fantastic) to the understated excellence of JJ Cale or mixed jazz or Beatles or Django and Stefan or Yes(songs) with Chris Squire's bass playing especially leaving me stunned in amazement every time - did he really DO that? Live?
 
So far it seems like music not only plays a crucial part, it apparently good to stay home, share the music with a loved one. It has been crucial for me during rough times that everyone faces in their life sometime.
 
What I love about music is all the different levels it can take you to.
First and foremost, listening. Before you can play, before you know anything about chords, scales or structures.
What I would give to be a child and hear music for the first time again.
Then for me singing which came naturally, I was lucky.
Then playing and learning about how it works.
Singing in a choir, nothing like that, especially in large church.
Playing in a band, nothing like that either.

Watching your kid go through all of those levels is something else.
Especially when he likes a chord or little run, the same one that caught your ear as a teenager.

Then there is the association music gives you.

Brian Wilson died recently and everyone is talking about "God only knows."
That beautiful song takes me to different places, relationships.
"Waterloo Sunset," does similar.


"Nantucket sleigh ride" by Mountain is Sunday dinner with mum in the 70s because "Weekend world" was on the TV (UK) at the time
The "World in Action" theme is haunting and makes feel ten years old again.

Bach, Mozart, Debussy, Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky take me to a place l invented in my head. I cannot describe it words adequately, if I still believed in heaven that place would be close.

Then there is Deep Purple. That's another thread!
 
Pinball1970 said:
What I love about music is all the different levels it can take you to.
First and foremost, listening. Before you can play, before you know anything about chords, scales or structures.
What I would give to be a child and hear music for the first time again.
Then for me singing which came naturally, I was lucky.
Then playing and learning about how it works.
Singing in a choir, nothing like that, especially in large church.
Playing in a band, nothing like that either.

Watching your kid go through all of those levels is something else.
Especially when he likes a chord or little run, the same one that caught your ear as a teenager.

Then there is the association music gives you.

Brian Wilson died recently and everyone is talking about "God only knows."
That beautiful song takes me to different places, relationships.
"Waterloo Sunset," does similar.


"Nantucket sleigh ride" by Mountain is Sunday dinner with mum in the 70s because "Weekend world" was on the TV (UK) at the time
The "World in Action" theme is haunting and makes feel ten years old again.

Bach, Mozart, Debussy, Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky take me to a place l invented in my head. I cannot describe it words adequately, if I still believed in heaven that place would be close.

Then there is Deep Purple. That's another thread!
Click to expand...
I'm finding it interesting to see how many people in such a small sample group all relate happily when music is on the thread. You've led a very colourful life Pinball, would be nice having a pint with you. My mate was in Manchester last week.
 
Ken Fabian said:
Nylon acoustic guitar
Click to expand...
You might enjoy silk and steel strings, like Ernie Ball makes. Less time spent tuning than with nylon. Also easy on the fingers, with easy deflection. Washtub or teachest basses seem like enormous fun - I've seen them also made drawing a steel wire through the bottom of a metal bucket, both plucked and bowed.

The hammered dulcimer (which operates on the same principle as a piano, so technically is a percussion instrument) is one I would like to learn. But they don't come cheap so it's got to be a serious commitment. Goes back to around 700 BC.
 
davewhite04 said:
I'm finding it interesting to see how many people in such a small sample group all relate happily when music is on the thread
Click to expand...
I've heard (so many times, so it feels truthy) that science, math, and music all use closely related brain areas, and have noticed that science groups usually have a fair number of musical people. Richard Feynman IIRC traveled to some remote Asian locale to study throat singers. Einstein was crazy about violin, owned several. Brian May, of Queen, became an astrophysicist. Etc.
 
Pinball1970 said:
Nantucket sleigh ride" by Mountain is Sunday dinner with mum in the 70s because "Weekend world" was on the TV (UK) at the time
The "World in Action" theme is haunting and makes feel ten years old again.
Click to expand...
I liked the way that song used the old Scottish The Parting Glass as one of its instrumentals. But probably the news show theme was from the closing bars. We had a news show here that played the driving percussive 2nd movement from Beethoven's Ninth, closing credits.
 
davewhite04 said:
I'm finding it interesting to see how many people in such a small sample group all relate happily when music is on the thread. You've led a very colourful life Pinball, would be nice having a pint with you. My mate was in Manchester last week.
Click to expand...
Next time you are in Manchester let me know, It's a great city!
Pity you were not around in the 1980s/90s.
For music, classic rock we had UMIST, Jilly's, the Phoenix, 42nd street, Brick house, the Ritz and my personal favourite, The Banshee.

It is not as cool as Amsterdam or as beautiful as Prague or Edinburgh or as historical as Rome BUT, our history is significant.

We have Liverpool next door, that great city gave us the Beatles so we can never compete with that either.

What Manchester is should be a thread!
If we have some Brits here they will know (also science, they did some important stuff here regarding research on the structure of the atom and Alan Turning did work on proto computers also)
 
TheVat said:
I liked the way that song used the old Scottish The Parting Glass as one of its instrumentals. But probably the news show theme was from the closing bars. We had a news show here that played the driving percussive 2nd movement from Beethoven's Ninth, closing credits.
Click to expand...
I'll check that!
 
TheVat said:
I've heard (so many times, so it feels truthy) that science, math, and music all use closely related brain areas, and have noticed that science groups usually have a fair number of musical people. Richard Feynman IIRC traveled to some remote Asian locale to study throat singers. Einstein was crazy about violin, owned several. Brian May, of Queen, became an astrophysicist. Etc.
Click to expand...
Fascinating. Aye. Brian May I know of. Dawkins a big musical fan. All scientists must of listened to a bit of Barry White or even Shaking Stevens...
 
Pinball1970 said:
Next time you are in Manchester let me know, It's a great city!
Pity you were not around in the 1980s/90s.
For music, classic rock we had UMIST, Jilly's, the Phoenix, 42nd street, Brick house, the Ritz and my personal favourite, The Banshee.

It is not as cool as Amsterdam or as beautiful as Prague or Edinburgh or as historical as Rome BUT, our history is significant.

We have Liverpool next door, that great city gave us the Beatles so we can never compete with that either.

What Manchester is should be a thread!
If we have some Brits here they will know (also science, they did some important stuff here regarding research on the structure of the atom and Alan Turning did work on proto computers also)
Click to expand...
Manchester is one of the only cities in the UK i haven't been to. Liverpool was a good night out.
 
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