I came from a musical family. My mother played the piano and organ, my older sister played the clarinet, my older brother played guitar, my younger brother played drums, and my younger sister and I played the trumpet. I took a little saxophone in high school, only because the band director needed a sax player and I knew the fingering because it was the same as my sister’s clarinet. My mother had my two sisters and me singing just as soon as we could carry a tune. She taught us to harmonize and after a while, it became “second nature†to us. She would have us sing for hours and every time someone would come to visit, we had to sing for them. This carried on to my aunt who, every time she would see us, would call us over to a piano and say, “Sing for me girlsâ€. As we got older, we began traveling around locally, singing. We traveled up north some to Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Michigan. When we reached adulthood, we began our separate lives and the times of singing together became far less frequent. We still got together at holidays and special occasions and would do a little “singing session†when together. Sometimes people would ask us to come and sing at special events and we would go. Recently, we have done some singing in churches when we were able to get all three of us together…which was not very often. We learned at an early age how music can set a mood. I used to watch my brothers get all “wired up†listening to their wild music and before you knew it, they couldn’t sit still and wanted to knock off the whole world! I would watch my mother put on one of her Montovani albums and sit back with her eyes closed to just take it in! And then my father was a WHISTLER!! He could whistle any tune and would sometimes pull out his harmonica just to add a little variety. Music was a very important part of our family. I can remember the rainy days that my mother would have her classical music playing and how everyone wanted to “hibernateâ€. There was never any arguing when music was in the house. It was uplifting…it was relaxing….it was healing. How ironic that the thing that can bring people together, that can bring countries together, that can bring the world together is something that doesn’t even require a word. Not one single word!!! When I think of how many times I have been lead by the words or harmony of a song, I realize that music is so much more than people give it credit for being. There is a reason why when a baby is sang to, it stills and becomes quiet. There is a reason that people stop talking and turn toward the sound when they hear music of any kind. It “catches†their ear. It draws them. It is another “universal languageâ€. It can bring a smile to anyone’s face. It can bring peace to a troubled heart, even if only for a while. It can bring release when we hear a song and know the words seem to have come from our very souls. When I hurt…when I feel happy….when I feel subdued, I hear music. Music that reaches to the “inner me†and fills the need at just the moment I need it. How wonderful and how amazing! It is a natural thing and it makes all the difference in the world. Whether it is because of the music filled life I have lived or simply because God created us with a built in “receiver†for music, I hear music everyday of my life. I can’t imagine what the world would be like without music. I can’t imagine what my life would be without music! May we all take the time to put on some music, sit back, and allow it to do its work!!! What a powerful tool it is and what a magnificent change it can make in a heart!
"The Lord is my strength and song, and is become my salvation." Psalm 118:14
"And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord." Psalm 40:3
A painter paints pictures on canvas. But musicians paint their pictures on silence. ~Leopold Stokowski
Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life. ~Berthold Auerbach
And the night shall be filled with music,
And the cares that infest the day
Shall fold their tents like the Arabs
And as silently steal away.
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Day Is Done
"The Lord is my strength and song, and is become my salvation." Psalm 118:14
"And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord." Psalm 40:3
A painter paints pictures on canvas. But musicians paint their pictures on silence. ~Leopold Stokowski
Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life. ~Berthold Auerbach
And the night shall be filled with music,
And the cares that infest the day
Shall fold their tents like the Arabs
And as silently steal away.
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Day Is Done
