An Ode to the Love of Music

Cover Photo by cottonbro from Pexels

This article is from a guest contributor: Janice McGuire

Today on Facebook I saw and shared a very simple diagram that explains everything.  Sad face + musical notes = happy face.

I have loved music since I was a young girl.  Although I did not grow up in a musical family, I was blessed to have parents who encouraged my musical interests.  I still remember the bright blue record player they bought me, and the money they gave me to buy my favorite record albums and singles to play on it.  I was introduced to my first musical instrument in grade school: the recorder.  At home, I would work on learning to play songs that I liked by ear.  My crowning achievement was the disco version of the Star Wars theme by Meco.  When I was a teenager, they bought me a Kawai organ and paid for lessons.  I played clarinet in the high school band.  I also managed to obtain a couple of very beaten up old guitars along the way, which I tried to pluck by ear before obtaining Alfred’s Guitar Method Book 1 and learning my first chords.

But most of my love of music comes from listening instead of playing.  Whatever my mood happens to be, there is matching music out there that will feed that mood and bring out my emotions.  Upbeat, energetic music for workouts and housework. Mellow easy listening when I want to relax. Loud hard rock when I feel edgy. Dance music when I want to dance like nobody’s watching. My favorite classic rock and sing-a-long music in the car. Music from my childhood, when I feel like reminiscing. Christmas music during the festive holiday season. The list goes on.  Some songs are poignant and always make me weepy.  And there are memory songs that instantly transport me to a specific time, place, event or experience every time I hear them.

I am blessed to have musical friends in my life to share playing music and learning new songs with.  To those of you out there who think they are too old to learn an instrument, you are wrong.  I encourage you to embark on your musical journey.  Work towards the day when you can happily play along with some of your favorite songs.  You’ll be glad you did it.

I cannot imagine my life without a musical soundtrack in it.  I truly appreciate all of the wonderfully creative and talented artists and bands who have provided and continue to provide the music that I love.  Please keep it coming.

To continue reading about the love of music, please read this article: Images.