The Joys of Music-Think Anew

Dec 26

Dec 26 The Joys of Music

“Don't worry, Be happy, In every life we have some trouble, But when you worry you make it double” go the opening lines of Bobby McFerrin’s 1988 hit song. Yet as the year draws to a close, these lyrics seem insanely optimistic if not (pardon the pun) tone deaf in a world torn by major wars and our nation’s divisions.

McFerrin’s invitation may be able to offer at least an occasional, temporary respite. Music can sometimes be a source of relief from our troubles. Science confirms its benefits. Listening to or making music is a full-body experience. It can lower blood pressure and heart rate and combat anxiety and depression. It can raise emotional well-being through release of dopamine, the “this makes me feel good” chemical in the brain. It can awaken the motor system as we clap, tap and sway. It can bring back and create wonderful memories. When listening to music with others, our brain waves can synchronize with theirs, creating a feeling of collective well-being. It can break down walls that exist between strangers and cultures.

So listen to some music that delights and moves you. That’s good for you and helps you be good to those you care about. Be open as well to being surprised by musical performances you’ve not picked and didn’t expect. In that spirit, here are five musical moments the people in them certainly didn’t expect. Pick any one – or more. May they entrance you and lift you at least briefly from any troubles. (If the highlighted hotlinks below don’t work with your computer, copy the title of the YouTube video (it appears after the brief description and is highlighted as the link) and just put that in your Internet browser. Since it’s YouTube, about a five-second ad precedes some of these videos.)

*In This Restaurant, the Music Was the Best Entre*

This video was recorded in a restaurant where the diners got something totally unexpected not just from a pianist but from a fellow diner. The pianist is Julien Cohen, who lives in New York City and proudly proclaims that “I bring my piano places you wouldn’t expect.” Florian Sempey is a French opera singer whose career has taken him to prestigious venues worldwide, including the Opéra de Paris, the Royal Opera House and the Opera di Roma.

Hear the music and enjoy the interplay between these two men who love what they do and sharing their joy to lift the spirits of others.

Click here for the video: This is what happens when you play piano near the Paris Opera

***Music on the Street Enthralls a Crowd***

In the summer of 2012, a flash mob of 100 musicians and singers gathered in Spain’s Sabadell placa de Saint Roc to play the Prelude to Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” from his Ninth Symphony. Sabadell is just north of Barcelona. The Prelude is the anthem of the European Union.

The musicians and singers are part of the joy, but watch the faces and expressions of the gathering crowd, including children enraptured by what is taking place.

Click here for the video: Flashmob Flash Mob - Ode an die Freude ( Ode to Joy ) Beethoven Symphony No.9 classical music

On a Monday morning commuter train, passengers were invited to sing together. This impromptu chorus was organized by The Liberators, a group whose goal is “to involve people in participatory acts of freedom that allow us to see that beyond our differences there is love and humanity.” No doubt most of these passengers were expecting their ride to provide a few minutes of rest, reading, or preparing for work. Most knew no one else in the rail car, but within a few minutes they were a choir, united by song, smiles and a shared experience.

Click here for the video: Train Passengers Sing Over the Rainbow!

With a sign saying “Sing with Me for Free” Reginald (“Reggie”) Guillaume invites New Yorkers to join him. Here he serenades a reluctant passerby and charms her into picking a song and letting herself shine. Her lovely voice and his musical guitaro provide moments of joy for each other and the obvious delight of other passersby. It’s an important reminder that unplanned moments in our lives can be glorious if we’re open to them.

Click here for the video: “I’m Late to Class But I Can Sing Something….”

Music’s ability to reflect and draw forth emotions knows no geographical or language boundaries as these students from the Liceo Musicale di Alessandria (Music School of Alessandria, Italy) show. As they sang Canadian composer Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah, the crowd became entranced. Cohen went through 80 drafts over five years to compose the song, a story of human failing and also of love and hope.

Click here for the video: Leonard Cohen - Hallelujah - Flash Mob Liceo Musicale di Alessandria

“Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without,” Confucius said. So, please don’t do without! Happy New Year!

Photo Credit: Ri_Ya@pixabay.com

Terry Newell

Terry Newell is currently director of his own firm, Leadership for a Responsible Society. His work focuses on values-based leadership, ethics, and decision making. A former Air Force officer, Terry also previously served as Director of the Horace Mann Learning Center, the training arm of the U.S. Department of Education, and as Dean of Faculty at the Federal Executive Institute. Terry is co-editor and author of The Trusted Leader: Building the Relationships That Make Government Work (CQ Press, 2011). He also wrote Statesmanship, Character and Leadership in America (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013) and To Serve with Honor: Doing the Right Thing in Government (Loftlands Press 2015).