Growing up, I remember two distinct sounds, the sound of my ancestors and the sound of assimilation. My mother being an immigrant from Jordan, a strict culture rich country, loved to play loud Arabic music all the time. My father on the other hand, immigrated from Lebanon, a country that idolized western culture, loved to play a pantheon of western music. As a child I loved it, because music was the only real constant in my busy and ever changing life. It was a way for people around me to express how they felt. I knew as a child that there was so much more behind music, it gives us the power to communicate, bond, and grow as individuals. Music becomes an integral part of our past, present and future.
My childhood years were influenced by songs and music from my father's side, such as Pink Floyd, Metallica, Alice in Chains, and Roberta Flack, just to name a few. While going to school I realized that the music I listened to had an impact on the people I befriended. Which inspired one of my longest and still standing friendships. I remember days that I'd go over to my friend's house, or she'd come over to mine, and we'd play Michael Jackson songs all day while dancing to them trying to imitate Michael Jackson himself. We'd sit there and change from artist to artist or genre to genre just dancing and laughing our days away.
As I got older and started to become curious with my ancestry, my mother arranged for me to go on a trip to the Middle East. It was the perfect way to become submerged in the culture and music. While staying in Jordan, I remember the specific sounds, melodies and tunes I heard. People there use music to celebrate every occasion, just like we do here in the west. Whether it was music coming from someone's stereo or music being played on an instrument, there was music constantly filling my life. When relatives played music, I felt all the love and joy they wanted to express. They'd sing and dance to the music while smiling and laughing. The laughter, smiles and joy from my family stuck with me. I can still hear it, and recall the happiness in their faces. When I came back to the states I had felt a little odd listening to Arabic music around some of my friends. Some didn't like it, while others just tolerated it. It made me feel like Middle-eastern music was a secret link or language between me, my family and my ancestry.
At this point in my life my taste in music is very eclectic. I constantly find myself listening to different genres of music, some from different cultures, while still being accepting of other types of music as well. I have come to the conclusion that music is a form of expression, a language by itself, regardless of what part of the world it comes from, or what type of instrument its played on. Music is the non-verbal language used by my soul and many other souls to express our emotions. Music can explain how a person feels singularly and it can also reflect the overall mood or atmosphere of a situation.
Music is a pull towards my inner self. It's something that I can go to, to express how I feel about something. If I feel my heart pull towards a happy song, I know that I'm happy with everything going on or something is making me happy. It triggers a slew of happy memories and totally affects my mood. My thought process works with every type of feeling/emotion/ situation such as heartbreak, love, bliss, tranquility, hurt, understanding, etc. Music is my heart being poured out through melodies. It is a way for me to express how I'm feeling without communicating. If you saw my playlist, you would see me: you would see all of my heartbreaks, my happiness, my inside jokes, my memories, and the people that I love. Music is everything to me and music is every emotion inside of me.
That's a great article!
As a musician, I can definitely say that the more personal the song, the more it connects with other people since it has an artists emotions poured into it.
All the songs in my band's debut album are personal experiences turned to poetry, turned to music.
Upvoted & followed ✨
Ah thank you so much! Again im all about lyricism and meaning behind songs. Thats really awesome, I also write poetry myself. What's your bands name so I can check you guys out? Following back!
There you go:
https://steemit.com/music/@hardikv/i-have-something-to-say-are-you-listening-debut-album-release-after-14-years-my-journey
I had written this when the debut album came out on all stores. The album is in Urdu and Kashmiri, so not sure if you will understand the language.
Though you might find some Arabic influences in a few songs so it might be interesting for you.
Also every song link has a personal experience that I've written. Do check it out.
You can also scroll through my blog to find more music ✨
Always wanted to learn urdu. Im still learning arabic.
Do listen to the song and let me know what you think! :)
Have fun on Steemit ✨
Thank you!! Will do!
I totally agree with you but for me i think music is my identity.. sometimes you can just tallk to someone after you hear what music they are listening to.. you basicly know how to talk to them.. because sometimes its defines who you are
Thank you and I totally agree with you. Music definitely is an important aspect of who we are and how we can decipher how to talk to others. It can express how another person is feeling, as well bring people together if they love the same genre. I recently was at a Metallica concert and met a lot of lovely people there!
word. dope view point
I upvoted this and also resteemed :)
Thank you so much!!! Will follow!
Thank you! Followed you back :)
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Your post was mentioned in my hit parade in the following categories:
follback me pleas :)
done!
I LOVE this post! As a musician, this perfectly summed it up. :) More people should look at music this way. I think the world would change.
Thank you SO much! I agree!
Music is food for the soul, its universal and its all over in nature, in my spear time i produced my own music and believe me , it put my mind in a higher dimension, i'm relax and focused on the journey ,, thanks for sharing and i will post a few of my tracks here soon
That is something I can totally agree on. It feeds our souls and heals us! I attempted to produce music however the equipment is quite costly and it does take a lot of time. I'd love to hear some of your music! Also if your into rap by any chance look into Joyner Lucas (songs id recommend: "I'm sorry" , "The life of a $100 bill") as well and The Underachievers (again songs id recommend: ("Gold soul theory" , "The Proclamation") ! There music is amazing!
Thanks you, and yes i do rap with a little deference , i followed u, so feel free to follow back , and i will check those artist out
Already followed you! When or if you do listen to them, let me know what you think! I'm all about lyricism and bringing it back ! Its a dying art!
Yes i found the songs ,, this guy is very deep deep,, nice track
Glad you liked them (:
he remind me of this artist Hopsin track ( the ill mind of hopsin 7 vol 5)
I LOVE HOPSIN! love his song ill mind of hopsin 5! He speaks the truth!
These guy are Geniuses with music , great we gravitate to similar music
Thanks for sharing your childhood experiences with us. Music for me is life, i'm able to narrate my feelings through the expression of music. It allows me to escape the harshness of reality when going through troubled times. I live for music and was trying to maintain a rhythm in life.
Ahhhh I can relate to this so much! When I need motivation I listen to songs to pump me up, when i'm sad I listen to something I can relate to. I also do it to escape reality for a bit, sometimes I even sketch or draw while listening. It definately helps relieve anything i'm feeling at the time. Even singing along helps, especially if im frustrated.
Music is in fact the rhythm of life! And thank you so so much for reading!
Hi @ladyq Thank you for this beautiful post. We are all the same when it come to music, it is part of our identity. In my case I grow in France and was really into rock music (like your dad) I play guitar and only play for my personal pleasure, when improvising on some back track it give me chills and i love it. It a kind of medicine, it is well known today that frequency of notes have curative effect on different organ of our body. About 18 years ago now i have move to Thailand and travel a lot and really appreciate traditional music from most part of the world specially instrumental music. On the opposite there is music like techno where i don't feel any good may be because i am a musician and i feel it missing the touch of an instrument, but it is one of the only kind of music i have problem to listen. Peace and happiness to all on a succession of beautiful melody.
First off, that's totally awesome you play guitar. How long have you been playing for & what type of guitar do you own? I have someone who plays in the house so I know quite a bit about pedals, looping, & ways to achieve certain guitar effects. However it must be hard to improvise, you know I see people like slash or steve vai improvise and it blows my mind! Also music does have certain frequencies that do in fact have a way to cure our souls. Through the way a persons voice reaches certain pitches to things like binaural waves added to instrumental music. Thats actually what I use to sleep, any type of music that has binaural waves in it.
In regards to other types of music such as techno and people like DJ's, I just think it all about how you look at the way they're actually putting things together. A great DJ will have a good ear to produce the music he does & vice versa with anyone who produces techno. Although I will admit these genres are usually my least favorite too.
Yes i love to play guitar and play it for some 36 years. I own Ibanez JS model and also one Ibanez Ergodyne with a luthite body a synthetic material used by Satriani. Satriani is my hero but sure i also love Vai and Andy Timmons, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Johnson and many other. I can see we are really close about our thinking of music. I really appreciate to know you let's be freind. Here is a link to an excerpt of Satriani concert here in Bangkok in February 2017
https://steemit.com/hot/@ricko66/joe-satriani-bangkok-thailand-19-02-2017
I follow you now
We have a gio ibanez, however he wants a gibson of course because slash is his idol. However I love satriani, always with me, always with you! I always said I wish i could go back in time to be the maraca shaker in the song lol. I will definatly watch the video thank you so much for that. Also I already followed you from the first comment . (:
Thanks and keep on rockin'
Thank you, same to you!! Sending positive & good vibes your way!!
Music is the faucet for my soul. I don't consider myself proficient at any instrument but one thing I love to do is sit back, grab my guitar or ukulele, and just let my hands find the notes. Sometimes I'll even sing nonsensical lyrics over random chords or single notes just because it feels good to release something into the space around me.
The best part about music is that you can actually feel it. When listening to something heavy or soft, painful or sweet, you can physically and mentally feel the difference (maybe not everyone, but the majority of people I have met are very susceptible to music and it's emotional effects). It is actually magic, I am convinced.
Lovely post, I enjoyed reading about your experience with culture and music. Keep jammin'!
Haha thank you so much! I'm not proficient at any instrument myself, although I did take piano classes. If you enjoy music to just sing random lyrics to, listen to the pianist Yiruma, every song title/name can be heard in the notes he plays. Its mind boggling.
Also I agree you can feel a form of relief with music due to the fact that it can be relatable to your mood at that moment or something you just enjoy listening to. It definitely does do wonders & as I stated to another user its actually proven that our brain reacts in different ways, or to be technical; releases certain hormones, to certain pitches or notes that are either sung or played instrumentally, which in turn effects the way we feel.
Also same to you. Sending my good vibes your way!
I got to say that 99% of my friendships were formed because of the music both my friends and I enjoy. Hard to imagine my life without it. And the countless fun stories and memories I have all involve music in some shape or form. So yeah, it's incredibly important.
I couldn't agree more. Thank you for reading.