Interview Meme

I suppose I'm meant to take part in this as well, so you may post here to have me ask you five questions.

From morrbiddus( Read more... )

From reymonkey( Read more... )

We seem to be a very RP-oriented family.

From justdbear:( Read more... )

Writing Assignment #2 Music

There are few things I love so passionately as this. I could live in a world where I had to forsake my sight, although it would be greatly missed; Unable to ever again read, look upon art, or see the faces of those I love, I would still have sound. In my old age leave me but this and I could have some contentment.
In some ways music can benefit from the absence of visual stimulation, unless what we see is rhythmically matched to what we hear. Pure sound communicates on a level which mere words cannot, no matter how elegantly or passionately written.
While individual tastes may vary greatly, there are certain tones which are universally held to be harmonious. Even extremely young children have some ability to distinguish between discordant sounds and harmonious ones, and many of these carry across cultural divides. Eastern music systems are written in an entirely different format than those of the Western world, recognizing what Europeans would consider half a key as a solid note in its own right, yet certain combinations of sound are agreed upon across these boundaries as unpleasant. We are all capable of hearing music of a foreign country, ignorance of the language rendering the words incomprehensible, and being moved by it nonetheless. Our voices, of course, greatly increase the chances of this but instrumental music also possesses the ability to cross backgrounds and languages. One can only imagine that first moment lost in time when someone first tapped out a rhythm and it must have had an infectious quality which has never been lost to the world. I prefer vocal music, likely older even than the tapping together of sticks or stones. Voice is the first instrument, the one which we are nearly all given and which can only be taken from us by the most dire of events. Vocal inflection is such a flexible tool that it renders grief and happiness communicable across all languages. We wail in sorrow, growl in anger, trill in happiness. All these expressions can be found in simple speech but reach newfound heights when brought into music. The mix of words and other vocal sounds into music creates an altogether new form of communication that transcends all others. A picture can evoke a mood or bring across a message beyond words, but it remains a static thing. Music moves, flows, pulls and pushes the senses in a way that is inescapably interactive. Music urges us to move to match its pace, as if it were a physical guiding force, and makes an invisible partner. Even when sitting still appreciating sound, one may be drawn to tap a foot or a finger, to bob ones head. Music has the ability to shape our mood even as an ambient background noise, and the ability to transport us to unexpected emotions and new understandings when embraced. All music follows some form of pattern and rhythm, even the most weaving chants of some Native American or Eastern music is born of a beat the singer feels from within. We are all born with an internal drum of changeable tempo in the form of our hearts, and many of us greet the world with our voices. Music is a primal force that is born from instincts which defy explanation but which bind us all together. Silence may be golden but music is made of blood and soul.