Music making

I have always had a passion for music and singing, and for me one of the greatest aspects of it is that complete strangers can come together and create something beautiful. Why does this work so well? There is a common goal and a passion to make it happen, that’s why. It doesn’t even matter if you are singing from the same hymn sheet, or if you are doing a jazz improvisation, the aim is the same - to give others pleasure through music.

So why not apply this to our every day. Instead of arguing over what the notes are and how they should be interpreted, have a go, and see what it sounds like, what the feedback is and whether the mood is right. Music making is about testing things out, communicating and working through it together through rehearsal. Testing out new things seems ok in rehearsal, it’s fine if you get it wrong, that’s what rehearsal is for. Rehearsal is also leading to something, a final goal, a vision. Often it is said “bad rehearsal, good performance” and in my experience, never a truer word. This embraces a sense that we falter, that we try things out, that we feedback to one another about how the mood, the style, the sound comes across. Apply this to other areas of life and it takes the pressure off. Yes of course, there is an ultimate finished product, like a concert for example to equate with our musical definition, but we understand that there is a process of refinement and that is OK, accepted, expected. Apply it elsewhere in life and accept the pitfalls as learning, the missed notes as the perfected ones in the long run. Enjoy the ride, laugh through it and make interesting deviations, be music makers of life - maybe try putting on some music and reflect on how it came to be - through trial and error, persistence, collaboration, love and passion - that doesn’t just reside in music you know, it’s life.
So give life a go, the creative way, and enjoy…
JC