Sarah's CircleFriends are blessings that sustain our journeys. |
Music has been the language of my life. I learned to sing in church, sitting next to my dad who sang a beautiful bass part, my sister who sang alto, and I’d chime in the soprano. At home my earliest toys were pots and pans that I drummed and banged along with my dad’s LP records. I was raised on classical music, and asked to name the pieces that were being played on the classical radio station. The other music was jazz, because my dad played organ in jazz bands. In 5th grade I began to play the trombone, and my favorite piece has always been "Stars and Stripes Forever," written by John Philip Sousa. My dad played in John P. Sousa II’s jazz band in the 40’s. In the late 60’s I became enamored with folk music, and taught myself to play the guitar on an S and H Green Stamps guitar, until I was able to purchase one on my own. That guitar, and that music carried me through the trials and tribulations of motherhood. Whenever we had a problem, I’d take it out, tell all to come in the living room, and we all sat and sang Joan Baez, Pete Seeger and John Denver songs. It always calmed the wild beasts. I led many church youth groups, and some adult, with that guitar and the church’s version of folk music. I used it to conduct dozens of religious and social work retreats. I used it to sing and play my son’s beautiful bluegrass vespers and worship services. I used it to sing the blues when I couldn’t do anything else. Music has been the language of my life. And now my husband plays the tape of Carlos Nakai’s beautiful native Indian flute music to gently wake me in the morning. When I am preparing breakfast I say.” Hey, Google, play Morning Has Broken,” and I get this wonderful energy from the song about the new day. And later in the day when I need a pick-up, I say, “Hey Google, play “Over the Rainbow,” and I get that wonderful version by the Hawaiian that makes me want to sing. I often say that I wish I had learned another language. Now I realize that I did. I have a song for almost everything I do, and I sing it in my head. Sometimes it’s hard to erase it, but music brings me to another world beside the dreary world of reality. It takes me to 17th century Europe, to New Orleans, to the Newport Folk Festival, and it calms my weary soul. --Cynthia
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
January 2022
To subscribe and receive notification of new posts, download a feed reader:
RSS Feed Reader then click the RSS Feed button above. |