Sunday, October 28, 2012

meaning

As I sit here typing this very blog assignment, I am enjoying the very thing that is the most meaningful to my life. Music is more than a stream of melodic notes, more than bass heavy rhythms  more than a bunch of words mixed with subtle messages, more than colors or numbers, or any other way one may see it.

 Music is emotion- the interpretation of emotion, the representation of emotion, the simulator of emotion. How many times have you heard a song, that completely changes your whole demeanor? It can greatly influence behavior, thought, and creativity- all stemming from the emotions and feelings it creates.  Listening in itself, has helped me to get through some of the toughest of mental places. The ability to play an instrument, any given one- can be an indescribable experience. To be at one with something of the physical world, that is the key to the intangible is an amazing feeling. 

Lastly, music is a universal concept. A well composed piece, even in a foreign language, can convey the innermost feelings of the composer. One can determine the purpose/message of a piece without any prior knowledge of the man who wrote it, the culture, or the language in which it is performed. Language barriers do not exist. Neither do cultural ones. The strings, keys, horns, and sound of a voice can overcome this all. Music overcomes our differences. Music is life.

Sunday, October 7, 2012

how i know stuff


Name a color... any color.
Blue.
Name something that is blue.
The sky.
Why?
Why what?
Why is it blue?
Well, you see, the color is caused by scattering light. Long lightwaves move through gas easily while short ones (blue waves) are captured by gas particles. The color is given off in all directions in the sky and it looks blue to humans.
But how do you know its BLUE?

Colors, like many things in life are taught. Truth is, I don't know much. I choose to believe or accept what has been told/taught to me and this is taken for knowledge. Take colors for example; during a conversation about life, a man once asked me "What is blue?" I said a color. He then asked, " Well give me an example." I reply "The sky is blue." He then asks "How do you know that the sky isn't purple?... How do you know that long ago, there wasn't a guy who made a mistake? How do you know that he didn't get his purples and blues mixed up? How do you know that he didn't get enough people to believe him, that they too got their B's and P's all mixed up and didn't teach others?" A seemingly simple question with a profound meaning and endless possibilities. The reason I see colors as I do is because I chose to agree with society. I chose to listen to my kindergarten teacher when we went over the color wheel. And she too chose to listen to her teachers. Her parents both, most likely, chose to conform with societies perception. Truth is, we don't know much. We choose to believe a lot. We choose to agree on alot. But we don't know much.


"The average man can't prove of most of the things that he chooses to speak of" - Damien Marley