Have you ever been really moved by music? This is the subject of the writing prompt today for the NaBloPoMo blog writing challenge I am participating in for this month. I haven’t used their other prompts yet, but this one resonated with me.
About eight months ago I was convinced by some of my girlfriends to join them at a Cross-Fit gym class designed for women over 45. Cross-Fit is an interesting approach to exercise…pulling tractor tires around the room, carrying around 50 pound bags of sand…well, you get the idea. The trainer is in his late 20’s and selects music from Pandora to motivate us during exercise. Taking our age into consideration, he has chosen what he calls “Ultra Golden Oldies.” This music is from the late 60’s and the 70’s and listening to it several times a week has reawakened memories I had forgotten.
Listening to this music has felt like time travel. Bennie and the Jets (Elton John) and Until You Come Back to Me (Aretha Franklin), immediately transports me to late evening drives across the Nevada desert in my Firebird, engine roaring, driving faster than I should (sorry, Mom – I know she is going to read this), with not much else to do but get lost in the music. Mason William’s Classical Gas reminds me of the hours I spent trying to perfect that song on the guitar my parents bought me when I was in high school. Does hearing a particular song immediately transport you to a place and time that is so real, so intense, that it startles you?
I grew up listening to my mom playing Glenn Miller’s String of Pearls on our piano. Every time I hear that song, I am immediately transported to childhood, watching her play a song she obviously loved. I learned to play the flute in middle school, and continued to play in the high school symphony, and for many years beyond, and I can still remember my favorite pieces of music. All four of our children have sung in choruses, and have learned to play musical instruments. Each of them have their own personal connection to music. They can sing the lyrics of just about any Dean Martin, Boz Skaggs or Bee Gee’s song, courtesy of their dad.
Music is very powerful. It can produce profound emotional and societal reactions. I would love for you to leave a comment about how music has moved you.
Until next time,
Joan
I so enjoyed your post above! I immediately went and played the Glenn Miller – and it transported me back to my childhood, with my parents listening to Big Band music frequently. My taste in music as a young woman was different; I loved Ian and Sylvia, and Carley Simon and Carole King, and Judy Collins. There are many songs of the 1970’s that make me think of my children right away. I think music is a kind of uniting force that ties the generations together.
Elizabeth,
I so agree. Thank you for your lovely comment.
November 6, 2013
I suspected you of burning up the highway in that Firebird. I am very touched by your memory of my joyful rendition of String of Pearls. See you soon.
Love,
Mom