What is it about music that has such an effect on things?  Music has been shown to have an effect on many animals and even plants, not too mention, of course, humans.  The question that may never be answered is why it has an effect.

It’s not the lyrics.  Lyrics can be pleasant, but it’s the harmony given to them which turn them from poetry into something more.  Even when a song is done a capella, there is a musical quality in the voice(s) which change the words.  Think of barbershop quartets.  Four voices singing in harmony produce a musical sound which can be pleasing to hear, more than speech.  They can be singing nonsense and still generate emotion.

Pure music itself deepens the question.  At least with lyrics one can say one enjoys the message, assuming the lyrics are in a language the listener understands.  But if there are no lyrics, if it’s just somebody strumming or beating on a drum or blowing on a wind instrument…there is still meaning, and it can be very personal.  Again, animals and plants have been shown to respond to music, but there is no explanation.  Why is that a good drumbeat makes many of us want to move our feet?  Why is it a flute makes some people close their eyes and smile?

I think this will be a mystery forever.  There’s nothing wrong with that.  I’m listening to music right now and enjoying it, but I could not tell you why.  I enjoy a variety of music–right now I have Def Leppard’s Pour Some Sugar On Me playing, and I do like classic rock a lot, but I have many more modern artists like Avril Lavigne or Lady Gaga in my playlist as well as a lot of techno.  I even have a few country tunes, some classical music (how can one not think of an exhilarating horse ride while listening to the William Tell Overture?) and even a bit of rap.

I sometimes question my musical choices.  Some of it is a bit odd–the theme from Underdog is coming up in my list–but I like it anyway.  That’s key to the whole question, I think:  Music is a very personal thing.  I listen to a song and you listen to the same thing but we have different reactions.  We may seem to react the same, but inside us I am convinced we are hearing things differently.

So I will continue my music.  Avril is up, she’s Losing Grip and then Anything But Ordinary.  Really, that defines music:  Anything but ordinary.  See you tomorrow.