It’s quite surprising how empowering music can be, perhaps
the only worldly force that can touch the soul and mold hearts .Music, like any
other form of art, has the ability to evoke certain feelings and emotions in us
humans and perhaps that’s why it has a significant influence over our frame of
mind and subsequently over our thoughts.
In my life of 24 years , I’ve
always lived very passionately and boldly , going through various highs and
lows of life, but the one thing that has always been there with me in times of
joy and despair has been music – a friend to celebrate with and a shoulder to
cry on.
Back in my early years, I remember being part of the school
choir as a flutist, in Islamabad Convent School. That was my first experience
in learning any musical instrument. I distinctly remember the practice sessions
that we had in our music teacher Sister Felly’s office, and how challenging it
was at that time to get the do re mi’s
right. But even more importantly I
remember the glorious performances we had, playing ‘Amazing Grace’ in front of
large audiences, and hence, without even knowing it, I learnt two very
important skills in life – coordination and confidence.
In my teen years, I took guitar lessons for a little while,
which was yet another crucial learning experience for me. I realized that in
order to get better at anything in life, it’s important to be persistent and
the best example for me was my guitar practices, where I could feel myself get
better at it with every practice.
Moreover I learned that one song could be played through various chord
progressions, and there was no right or wrong way to play it. That’s when I
drew a parallel with real life, and came to appreciate other people’s opinions
instead of just imprudently imposing mine on others.
However, it’s quite disappointing that our society still
doesn’t appreciate the marvels that music brings and quite absurdly, music is
considered to be pure evil and sinful. In most Pakistani schools, there is no
concept of having a music class, not even at primary level and even if the
school does offer music, it is considered as an unimportant and useless
activity. What we don’t realize is, music and arts are just as important as
science and math. Through art subjects like music, we get to enhance our
creativity, and also learn to practice till perfect. Moreover we learn
teamwork, coordination, and patience - values which are crucial for being
successful in life.
Even if we look at it scientifically, music triggers the
release of dopamine and oxytocin– those feel good hormones which are
responsible for putting us in a happy and relaxed mood. No wonder I like to start my days with a
playlist of soft meaningful songs so I can feel its positive effects throughout
the day. Many may chose to deny, but the
wonders of music can even be heard in the pristine Mother Nature itself. If we
develop a ‘ear’, we’ll begin to notice there’s music all around us- in the
chirping of birds, in the soft whistling of rivers, in the clatter of the raindrops,
and If we stop to imagine how the world would be without this natural music,
maybe only then we would fully learn to appreciate how important it is to us.
Such ignorance and inability to understand the significance
of art and music by our society really does raise a serious question. Are we raising a generation of puppets,
rather than creative, gifted, and tolerant individuals?
Pyaar nahi hai sur se jisko voh murakh insaan nahi - Ammanat Ali
(The fool who does not
love music is not a human being.)
