an alternate expression of music

One of the things that I like most about music is that it gives you an alternate expression of the things that you see, feel, taste, touch, and hear. It's like an OTHER sense. In fact, if you followed the root words starting with "music" and worked backwards, you would eventually end up at "soul" - or the deepest part of who you are. So it is that music is often times an expression out of the deepest parts of who we are. In fact, it is usually a response TO something... which is why love songs will never cease to be written as long as there are human beings on the face of the earth. :)

When I stand on the rocky crags of a shoreline, the wind in my face and massive waves pounding at my feet, I can practically feel "thunder" in the ground before me. A mist covers me and I see a prism of colors fleeting before my eyes. That does somethings in my SOUL.

At times I have taken in the view of a rainbow, wrapping itself like a cloak about the shoulders of a dying storm. Never in a hurry, but never remaining a moment beyond what lends to it's mystery. It fades as fast as it came. And it does something in my SOUL.

I have traveled over miles of sand before. Through the rise and fall of endless ridges and valleys and have pondered that it is so often referred to as the wasteland. And yet, in the midst of 40 square miles of sand I found a tiny, yet absolutely beautiful purple flower, blooming in the most unlikely of places and conditions. No idea how long it had been there or how long it would last, but in the middle of what all others would consider utter lifelessness... well, there it is - one of the most beautiful expressions of life! In a way, it was the contrasting harsh conditions of the waterless and seemingly lifeless terrain with the delicate and well-formed flower that gave that little dessert dweller the beauty it possessed. It did something in my soul.

I have stood on a mountaintop near midnight, well above 14,000 feet high in the Himalaya and gazed at stars that were so bright and seemed so close that you could just reach up and pluck them out of the sky. It was unbelievable, like a dream that you wish never to be awakened from. It was as if the stars had decided for a night to come down to earth and surround you for just one brief display of their majesty. I will never forget that night as long as I live. It did something in my soul.

So here's my question: what moves you? What evokes a response from down in the deepest parts of your being? What speaks to your soul? Chances are that if you find that, you'll find the realest expression of music you could ever imagine. Find inspiration. Express that in whatever you play/sing/tap/strum/move to and you're sure to have an experience way beyond what anyone can ever teach you.

I thought it'd be interesting to hear from peeps about what inspires them to play. So...here we go - open up the dialogue, add your thoughts and let's all have a go of it!



Joe Couch, Lucci Music, Inc. Guitar Instructor
Copyright 2010 www.luccimusic.com