Music outside of speakers

In the past couple weeks of classes, I've been getting a really cramped feeling when I'm sitting in my room.  I feel like I just need to get up and do something.  Last Thursday, I took to taking a walk around 11 p.m. just to get out of the room and have some time for myself.  What I found was way more than anything I can get by vegging out, playing Rock Band. 

 It was so enjoyable to just be still and listen.  To hear the wind finding its way through the leaves, the squirrels scampering from bush to bush and tree to tree, cars crawling down the street a ways off.  In recent, I've become more aware of my surroundings and what sounds come with it.  One awesome instance occurred last night.  I was laying in bed, trying to fall asleep, and off in the distance a train rumbled by.  Every few seconds it would blast its horn and I realized something - the horn isn't just one solitaire note.  It is a series of notes, some more subtle than others.  But the ending result isn't an annoying cover-your-ears sound.  It's a harmony - each note takes its role and falls in place with the others.  The sound is actually quite enjoyable.

It's things like this that allow me to appreciate life a little more.  This sounds very cliche, I realize - but it's true.  To be able to realize that there is more, way more to life than getting to classes on time, worrying about grades that will affect my GPA which may affect job placement later on, whether I'll have time to take a nap later, what I should wear that day...  Outside of me and my irrelevant thoughts, there is so much more going on in God's beautiful creation.  I just have to stop and realize that.

Music is everywhere.  Take time and listen.

My Brain on Music

Currently, I am reading "This is Your Brain on Music" by Daniel J. Levitin.  It is a slow progress (I'm lucky to get ten pages in one sitting) but it's extremely interesting.  I haven't even reached the meat of it yet, but what I have encountered has really taught me some bizarre things about music and how we think.

Levitin was talking about the range of sounds that we can hear and he brought up the point of how limited our hearing is in relation to the entire sound spectrum.  At this point in my reading, I got sidetracked and started to think Imagine what things would be like outside of our human selves.  I mean, think about it.  There would be so many more sounds that we could hear, so many more colors visible, not to mention sound w

aves and thing of that nature.  It's all very fascinating to think about.

Back to the book - it is a very scientifically based book, thus making it a challenging read if you're not paying attention, and Levitin goes into depth in the beginning to do a basic explanation of the concepts of sound, such as pitch, volume, harmonics, rhythm, etc.  Even these basic principles (which he points out have all been invented by our brains) have been interesting to read about.  Later in the book, he gets into topics such as why we are attracted to certain types of music, why jingles get stuck in our heads, why we emotionally attach to music when we listen as teenagers.

I'm excited for the adventure that is in front of me.

photo courtesy of flickr.com

The Talented Mr. GIllespie

If you've seen a video or been to a concert of a "hardcore" band, then you are most likely familiar with a sweaty, hair-flinging frontman, screaming his brains out either with or without a guitar in hand.  In the case of Underoath, who have recently released their highly anticipated album Lost in the Sound of Separation, their "screamer" Aaron Gillespie can't hold a guitar - his hands are occupied by his drumsticks.  Think about that for a sec

ond.  He's busy keeping rhythm in the most complicated way he can think possible, all while screaming as loudly into the mic to the left of his mouth.  When I play my guitar and sing, it can be hard enough just to sing and keep the corr

ect picking rhythm.  Gillespie has a thousand piece drum set to keep track of!  Alright, maybe slightly less than a thousand, but not by much.

And what's more... he is blind in one eye!  And what about his only good eye?  Colorblind.  So depending on which eye is blind, when he turns to the mic, he probably can't even see half the drum set.

He's not done.  Not only is Gillespie busy touring the world, but he is also the lead singer and drummer of his side project, The Almost.  The Almost has a softer, more melodic sound than that of Underoath and is not as widely known.  I am personally a bigger fan of The Almost.  I can only take so much screaming at once.  There songs are also easier to play on guitar which is good news for me.  My favorite song is a toss up between Amazing (Because it is) and Dirty and Left Out.  All in all, Aaron Gillespie is the man.  He's only 25 but is extremely accomplished as a musician and it is wasn't knowing people in the business that got him there - it was raw and under-appreciated talent.

picture courtesy of flickr.com

More Than Just America

If you've never experienced world music, you need to.  It doesn't matter where specifically around the world, but just get outside of the Western norm.  I am currently taking a World Music class and have come to find it extremely intriguing.  Music outside of what we know is so much different in so many way.  I don't want to go into a classroom lecture here, but it is so interesting how different cultures view music in a different eye.

We just finished our discussion on Indian music (from India, not cowboys and indians) and have now moved on to the music of the Middle East.  What I found most interesting, and surprising, is where music stands socially.  Music in the Middle East is viewed almost exactly the opposite of how it's viewed in America.  In our Western culture, music is held in high regard.  If you don't think so, look around...it's everywhere - TV, restaurants, stores, our vehicles, etc.  In the Middle East, music is for the most part looked down upon.  They feel that the purest music is a chant of the Koran.  Other "legitimate music" (Khandan) could be chanted poetry or music for weddings.

What's interesting is that as soon as an instrument is brought into the picture, the music becomes Musiqi, or "illegitimate music".  And the more skilled you are at your instrument, the more you are looked down upon.  One belief of this awkward (remember thought, it's awkward to us, normal to them) hierarchy of music is that our voices are God-given and therefore pure, while instruments are man-made and cause music to become tainted.  Some of this Musiqi is actually illegal in a public setting.

It's unfortunate that music is seen that way.  If a musician has been gifted with the ability to become an incredible musician, let that gift be known!  I don't want this to be a rant about why Middle Eastern music should reconsider their views, but I find it very interesting.  I don't think that we look anywhere besides our CD collections for other signs of life in music.  Music is all over and we should experience that.  In my next post, I want to actually show some of these instruments that make other cultures stand out.  It's quite fascinating.

Why the Title?

So today in our Media Writing class, we were sharing our blogs and someone correctly guessed as to what my blog title comes from. This made me realize that I have yet to explain why I named my blog "Sing Like You Think No One's Listening." Several of the blogs I see have simple names such as "Bob's Blog" or "In the Kitchen," both of which are obvious as to what they will be about. Bob is probably going to tell you about things going on in his life and the latter may show us how to cook something new and exciting." Sing like you think no one's listening" is the first line to the chorus in Straylight Run's "Existentialism of Prom Night."

It benefits my blog in a couple ways. First, my blog is heavily about music so my title being a lyric just seems appropriate. And not just any lyric, but a lyric about music. Second, I love just that - what it's about - the meaning of the line. I try to "sing like no one is listening" in a lot of what I do, not just while in the shower or in my car. If I am passionate about something (my faith, music) then I go all out regardless of what outside influences surround me.

Oh, and you can't forget that the song is just amazing.

Well, that clears that up.

Photo courtesy of band's MySpace page.

New Kids Aren't Too Old For Music

New Kids on the Block, the teen heartthrobs who sold 70 million albums in the 80s, are at it once again. The quintet launched their new album, "The Block," just yesterday (September 2nd) and will kick off their world tour on September 20th in Montreal, Quebec. Apparently, 15 years away from the biz was a bit too much for them.

I don't really know how to react to this. My initial reaction, which I will explain momentarily, was, "Seriously?" coupled with a sigh of disproval and a head shake. Now that I've thought it over, my reaction is more along the lines of, "Whatever" and a feeling of apathy. For some reason, I reacted negatively. Perhaps this is just because my knowledge of them (through pictures and stories) made them out to be a bunch of style-less goofs. But not so much anymore (notice the sleek, clean-shaven, business man look). I'd say a bigger reason I was turned off by them was because they made plenty of room for N'Sync and Backstreet Boys. Those guys were cool...at a time when yo-yos and Gigapets were also in.

But now, I say, "Hey, go for it." Honestly, it isn't as if I'm going to monitor their success - or lack there of. They have written plenty of new songs, so it won't just be a greatest hits tour. I've never really listened to them, so I can't criticize. Overall, I just kind of a get a chuckle from the whole thing. Go NKOTB!