Music has always been a part of my life. To wake me up, my mother sang (usually “Lazy Mary, Will You Get Up?” and “You Are My Sunshine”). At age five I fell in love with the piano and then took lessons. Then as a teenager, I sang along with all the popular songs and bought Hit Parader magazines. For three years I was privileged to usher for the Cleveland Orchestra at Severance Hall. Now I’ve been playing the piano every Sunday at Notre Dame Village, where I live, and organize concerts with other musicians for entertainment and singalongs.

I also sing soprano in our community choir.

Fortunately, God gave us humans (but not other creatures except birds in a very limited way) the gift of being able to produce music. We can sing, hum, and whistle. There are myriad instruments and a wide variety of musical genres from polkas and waltzes to jazz and rock.

My Summer Experiences

This summer I’ve been treated to several musical performances. Last Saturday, I was delighted to attend a band concert in Chesterland park. Forty-five musicians in the Geauga Fair Band played sundry numbers. Among them was Rick, our Notre Dame Village baker. After practicing with me for hours for our Village programs, he regained his skills on the clarinet, which he had played in high school.

The week prior to that I saw the musical The School of Rock, in which adults and many children sang, danced, and played instruments. You can catch its highlights by clicking on the link.

Before that I attended a concert at Blossom Music Center presenting Mozart’s violin concerto starring a remarkable violinist whose fingers flew over her instrument for 50 minutes.

In addition, at a July meeting in Columbus for Sisters of Notre Dame in the United States, the entertainment was karaoke. We also had brought along our kazoos!

Music’s Benefits

The National Geographic recently carried an article about music. It said that after age 40 our brains lose about 5% of their volume every decade, which means it’s harder to remember details. Learning to play a musical instrument counteracts and even reverses this. It stimulates memory, coordination and problem-solving as it builds new neurons and pathways. So take piano lessons or pick up your guitar.

Listening to music also has advantages. It is soothing and relaxing, or it can energize us. We sleep to music and dance to it. YouTube has a variety of numbers from classical to jazz that you can click on and listen to.

Music is enjoyable. It makes us clap our hands and tap our feet. Moreover, it is a vehicle for praising God. Composers past and present have set Masses to music and have written hymns. Men have serenaded their loved ones. One memorable experience for me was going to an opera and hearing a soprano hit a high note that shimmered in the air for a long time. That sound was eerie and mystical.

Music is usually a communal event. People sing together at birthday parties and in church. There are marvelous choirs like the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and musicians play together as in the famed Cleveland Orchestra, creating magnificent sound. To me this unity is a symbol of heaven.

Music and Jesus

No doubt Mary sang lullabies to baby Jesus and taught him the songs of their people.

His ancestor King David played the harp as a youth and later was responsible for organizing the singers and musicians in the Temple. The 150 psalms (prayer-songs) is attributed to David. After the Last Supper Jesus and the apostles sang a psalm, something done at the end of a Passover meal. (See Matthew 26:30) I wonder if he sang tenor, baritone or bass.

It could be that at weddings like the one at Cana and at worship services Jesus danced with the other men, as was the custom. Psalm 149:3 says, “Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with timbrel and harp.”

An Ad

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• What is your favorite kind of music?

• Did you have a musical experience this summer?

• What instrument do you play? Would you like to play?

Two Samples

Here are two of my favorite pieces that I learned to play on the piano: “Claire de Lune” played by its composer Debussy himself and “Bohemian Rhapsody” that one of our chefs introduced me to. That is not me at the piano!