Rockabilly Piano Players Made a Huge Contribution to Rockabilly Music

When most modern fans of rockabilly think about the genre, the image that comes to mind is probably a three-piece band which consists of a drummer, a stand-up slap bassist, and a singer who also plays electric lead guitar. That's the typical rockabilly lineup in modern times. But the piano played a pivotal role in rockabilly music from very early on. Let's take a look at a few rockabilly acts that made piano an important aspect of their sound.

1. Jerry Lee Lewis: This one's obvious! Jerry Lee, "The Killer", is famous for his crazy piano antics and style. Lewis started out as a session man at Sam Phillips' Memphis Recording Service studios and played piano on many early releases on Sun Records (which Phillips also owned.) Before long Phillips gave Lewis a shot at his own recordings and he made the best of it. Lewis played and acted like a wild man and really set the piano on fire--literally in at least one case! In his style and playing he was the consummate showman. Lewis set the standard for rock and roll piano players to follow for years to come.
2. Big Al Downing: Big Al was a bit of a rarity in his early years. He was a simple country boy from Oklahoma who taught himself to play piano on an old, half-functional upright that someone gave his parents. He began playing country music, which isn't so rare for a white musician, but for a black man (actually, just a young boy of about 14 when he first started getting noticed) country music was unusual indeed. He also picked up a lot from R&B piano players and it was his R&B playing that eventually landed him a gig playing with Bobby Poe and the Poe Cats. Eventually the Poe Cats became Rockabilly Queen Wanda Jackson's band and they toured extensively with her as well as playing on some of her most rocking recordings like "Let's Have a Party". Downing's piano playing became a big part of Wanda's sound. Downing continued playing music and played with countless artists right up to his death in 2005.
3. Sonny Burgess & the Pacers: Sonny Burgess and his band The Pacers were one of the wildest acts in rockabilly. In addition to a piano, their lineup included a trumpet--as far as I know, they were the only rockabilly band to feature that instrument! The Pacers' pianist was Kern Kennedy who became Phillips' go-to pianist once Jerry Lee hit the big time. Eventually Kennedy sat in on a session with Burgess and the two became life-long friends. Kennedy's style was much like Lewis' and fit the wildness of Burgess' act perfectly.
4. Jerry Lee "Smoochy" Smith: Yep; another piano player named Jerry Lee. Smith became another of Sam Phillips' session piano players and appeared on many Sun recordings from 1957 to 1959. His style was similar to the other Jerry Lee and the two have become known as innovators in the "pumping piano" sound of the day. He played on records by Billy Lee Riley, Warren Smith, Ace Cannon and others although he's often not credited on his recordings because he was young and naive and didn't belong to the musicians' union. Sometimes Lewis was credited and other times the name Jimmy Wilson was used.
5. Charlie Rich: Rich is another huge name that had his start at Sun Records. He brought a much more melodic and country sounding piano to his rockabilly recordings and of course would go on to be a country music star in later years.

The music that these men made with their pianos is every bit as rockabilly as records that were made without piano. The piano brought a different dimension to rockabilly music and these pianists brought lots of crazy antics to the rockabilly stage!

The Steely Dan Mu Major Chord [And Beyond] For Guitarists, Part Two

In Part One we discussed the essence of the Steely Dan Mu Major chord - a root position major triad with the 2nd added and voiced adjacent to the 3rd - and possible 3 note voicings on guitar. In Part Two we look at the evolution of the Mu Major concept in the music of Walter Becker and Donald Fagan, and how to apply these ideas to the guitar.
The Steely Dan Mu Major chord evolved in later albums as the music--and the West Coast Studio musicians performing it--leaned more towards a jazz interpretation of the chord changes, where dissonant intervals [major and minor 2nds], slash chords and quartal harmonies abound. Starting with Dr. Wu [from the Katy Lied album], the Mu Major concept expanded to include minor chord function as well. This approach relies on the bass player to indicate the tonality [root], as the chord voicing replaces root and/or 5th with other scale tones [tensions] to add dissonance and richness.
Home At Last, from Aja, is a good example of this. Although played on piano on the recording, these 3 note voicings are playable on guitar. The intro is a G minor root position voicing on strings 4, 3 and 2, with the 2nd degree [A] replacing the G on string 4 [can we call this G Mu Minor?]. The 2nd chord, same strings, is an F Mu Major, i.e. a root position triad with G replacing F. The other 2 intro chords are an A Mu Minor [same as G Mu Minor, 2 frets higher] and Bb Mu Major [same strings, C D F].
Following the G minor intro, the verse section ["I know this super highway, this bright familiar sun"] begins with an Ebmaj9 chord. This voicing is best described as a slash chord, Bb/Eb, i.e. a Bb major triad with an Eb in the bass. This 4 note voicing can be played on strings 5, 4, 3 and 2 [Eb Bb D F]. The bass player is playing Eb. Like the Mu major and minor chords, however, the function of these chords can change if the bass player changes the root. For example, with the bass playing a C root this becomes a Cmin11 Eb/b3, Bb/b7, D/9, F/11]. This voicing is also used in Green Earrings, from Royal Scam. Starting at bar 3 with the Bb/Eb, the voicing moves in whole steps [Ab/Db, Gb/Cb].
Green Earrings also has an example of quartal harmony, occurring during the Am7 vamp which harmonizes the 1st 8 bars of the verse. These are 3 note voicings stacked in 4ths. These voicings were explored notably by John Coltrane [McCoy Tyner's work on Love Supreme, My Favorite Things, Transitions], Miles Davis [the quintet albums with Herbie Hancock], Bill Evans, etc. in the '50's and 60's. The voicing for the Am7, played on strings 3, 2 and 1 is D G C. With the bass player sounding A this voicing sounds like Am11, but with a G in the bass it's a Gsus4 or G11, F in the bass an F13, etc. Quartal chords are built upwards in 4ths, unlike traditional triad- based harmonies [built in 3rds]. When we invert these stacked 4ths, we end uo with mu major and mu minor- type voicings. For example, the Am11 voicing from Green Earrings, when inverted, would be G C D, and, inverted again, C D G, low to high. This creates a major 2nd dissonance between the C and D. This interval is the essential characteristic of the mu major sound.

Would the Hindi Singers of the Golden Age Have Made the Cut Today?

How would our great old singers have fared today?
After a number of years of not having subscriptions any Hindi Channels, we very recently got our own "Zee TV" subscription. My lack of knowledge about all things "modern" in the film world must have been seen by a number of my observant readers -- and now you know how I zealously guarded my ignorance over all these years. While virtually all my friends had some or the other Hindi channel playing on their TVs when we would go visiting, I stayed away.
With this almost Rip-van-Winkle-esque backdrop, picture me sitting comfortably in front of my TV, and switching channels to my newly acquired Z TV. As luck would have it, there was "Sa Re Ga Ma Pa - Ek Main aur Ek Tu" playing. Aha! A chance to watch young talented men and women sing. I perked up in my seat. Suffering through numerous C grade ads touting Ajmeri baba, I sat through the entire program. Well, imagine my total surprise when I heard of the stupendous amounts of prize money and contracts that awaited the winner of the contest! 50 Lakhs! Boy, had things changed! And somewhere through that program, I found my thoughts drifting, even as I was listening to these very talented young people do their stuff. Replace this with any other talent shows such as Indian Idol, and my point would still stand.
This was no longer the old "Sa Re Ga Ma" I remember seeing before I left the shores of India. Then, it was all about the singing, the quality of the voice, the training. Now, it is all that AND the ability to present, to sing AND dance, to be an "entertainer" not just a singer. Perhaps the bar has been raised in some ways, but perhaps it has been lowered in certain others. Then, of course, there is this ludicrous and ubiquitous SMS messaging which determines the winner, and not the panel of judges, who, at least supposedly, are there because of their knowledge and experience. Supposedly democracy at work, where masses-with-cellphones-who-vote decide whether a singer (umm.. performer) makes the cut or not.
I was thinking about the old brigade of our singing greats and wondering how they would have done in today's context. Imagine a young Lata Mangeshkar, singing with her same celestial voice, but not getting SMS messages from the masses because she just stood there and didn't dance on the stage with a merry smile on her face. (Not to mention the fact that Maharashtrians wouldn't be bothered with sending SMS messages to get her selected, but let that pass.)
Manna De, of the golden, classically precise voice -- even if he had sung with his usual warm perfection, would he have gotten votes? Face it, while he sings fantastically, he never was known for his ability to dance on the stage.
Mohammed Rafi -- the smile would be just as gentle to match his peerless voice, but "Aapne aaj achha performance diya, lekin aapne stage ka upyog theek tarah se nahi kiya" would have been the only comment, chiding him on his inadequate use of the stage.
Same with Talat Mehmood -- great looks (after all he did come into films as an actor, and has actually acted in Sone ki Chidiya alongside Nutan), but would the audience be able to stomach his sensitive voice when they were looking for "masti bhare gaane"?
Perhaps the survivors from the old guard would have been Asha Bhosale and Kishore Kumar. Ashaji has an amazing stage presence, and has the gumption to pull off the requirements, whatever it took. Kishore Kumar always was an over-the-top performer, and could sing and dance with the best of them. And for good measure, he would also pull off wisecracks and jokes.
Runa Laila comes to mind as one who might have passed muster even in today's world. A crystal clear voice, a fantastic stage presence, the ability to "move" with her own music naturally, and a sultry sensuous look. (Remember we are talking about when they were YOUNG.)
Mukesh -- again great looks and a winning smile (I thought he looked better than Raj Kapoor in the song Chhotisi yeh zindagani re from the movie Aah which was picturised on him), but would he have made the cut with the SMS generation? Not sure.
All the new generation of superbly talented young people have to have that extra presentation ability, if they have any hopes of making it in this industry. And that means, by its very nature, that we must be missing some Latas, some Mohammed Rafis, some Talats and some Manna Des.
Well -- our loss. But life goes marching on. And what we don't know doesn't bother us. Who knows, there might have been someone (dare I suggest?) better than Lata and Mohammed Rafi, who we simply never heard, and hence we just didn't know any better.
I, for one, would have been the poorer had I gone through life without hearing a Rafi or Lata just because people who understand talent didn't watch that particular channel, or didn't have a cell phone handy, or were unable or unwilling to SMS their choices.
As usual, I'd love to hear from you.

Home Karaoke - Are MP3 Machines Better Than Using CDGs?

Home Karaoke Machines are fun and easy to use. They can provide hours of wholesome entertainment for the entire family. And are great for any type of party or event. In the past you were limited to the types of home karaoke systems you could purchase. But right now you have two main choices to what type of Karaoke Machine you want to have. Either a MP3 Machine or a CDG Machine. Of course there are other types of karaoke machines available, but these two are the most popular choices amongst home karaoke users.
The distinction between the two types is obvious. A MP3 Machine is capable of playing digital files in the format of a MP3. While a CDG Machine requires physical discs with a number of prerecorded songs. CDG stands for Compact Discs plus Graphics. They are just like regular CDs but have a graphics attached to them for displaying the lyrics of a song. They are a few Karaoke Machines out there that are capably of playing both types of media. Which is great news for those who want to be able to play both types.
CDG Karaoke Machines:
CDG Machines have been around for a long time. This does not mean they are out of date technology. While we do live in a digital age, it is still nice to physically have a library of songs that are readily available to pop into your machine whenever you like. Digital files can often get lost or deleted and you have to purchase them all over again.
Displaying lyrics on a TV screen is the big advantage that CDGs has over your MP3 files. Simple playing a MP3 file without any graphics or lyrics is still great, but you lose a major feature of Karaoke. Not everyone knows the lyrics to every song, so having the lyrics displayed means everyone can take part. The big disadvantage of CDGs are their limited storage space and navigation. Most CDG discs only have about 10 to 12 songs on each disc. You may find yourself constantly inserting discs to find songs.
MP3 Karaoke Machines:
MP3 Machines carry with it a level of convenience that you just do not get with CDG Machines. You can insert your iPod or mp3 player and select your favorite songs by just pressing a few buttons. Your friends can bring their iPods or mp3 players and suddenly your music selection has drastically increased. Also, your playlist is not limited to just 10 or 12 songs, you can create a playlist as long as you want.
Of course MP3s files alone do not display lyrics. For this you will need to have a MP3+Graphic file. You can find these types of files now on many Karaoke downloading sites. They are basically an audio file (mp3) plus a graphics file that you play at the same time. Just make sure your Karaoke Machine is capable of playing MP3+Graphic (MP3+G) files before you download any. Not being able to eliminate lead vocals is another disadvantage you may come across with playing regular MP3 files. A song on a CDG disc is usually recorded with two different tracks, one for the music and the other for the lead vocals. Which makes it easy to remove the lead vocals when playing the song. Playing regular MP3 files does not give you this option.
Which Type Is Best?
Both CDG and MP3 Karaoke Machines have their good points and bad points. Only you can decide which will best suit your karaoke needs. MP3 Machines are definitely more modern and offers better functionality. And is probably the better choice between the two types. But the classic CDG Machine is still around for a reason. It will provide you with all your basic karaoke needs, including displaying lyrics. The ideal machine is one that is capably of playing both types of media. This way you get the best of both worlds.

Bryn Terfel: Wotan For A New Age

As a Wagnerian and lover of opera the role of Wotan in the Ring cycle is a key character in Wagner's music. Up until now Han Hotter held the reins for this role until now with the advent of Bryn Terfel.
In the mid Twentieth Century there were a number of great voices that held the stage as Wotan, King of the gods from Der Ring Des Nibelungen by Richard Wagner. Hans Hotter more than any other gave that role its greatest strength in that era. He great performances can be heard on the famous recording of the Ring conducted by Sir Georg Solti for Decca Records.
However, now comes along Byrn Terfel and I am amazed not only at his command of the role musically but also is profound stage presence. Bryn is an English man form Wales and has a quiet and calm life with his wife and children in the region. Mr. Terfel has been engaged by Covent Garden over the past few years in leading Wagnerian roles. His performance as Wotan in Die Walkure in 2005 was perhaps one of the finest performances that Covent Garden has ever had.
Here in Chicago at our own Lyric Opera we have had the pleasure of his outstanding voice and marvelous stage presence in leading Ring Cycle roles, it is, however, Wotan that is his strength. The reason for this is due to his ability to carry through the long musical lines while at the same time keeping the stage action in focus, for rarely does Wotan participate in much action in the Ring except perhaps in Das Rhinegold on his journey to Nibelheim with Loge the god of fire and cunning.
The great weakness in Wagnerian operas is their static stage action which is often over shadowed by the loud and powerful orchestral. Wagner rarely uses melody in the conventional sense to create phrases and arias like you have in all other operas. Wagner uses the voice to compliment the orchestra; therefore, you do not have a lead melody but a combination of voice supplementing the orchestra. For Wotan this is most certainly the case and perhaps his finest music is in the first act of Siegfried where he is talking with Mime. The music in the act is in my opinion some of the finest and most intelligent music ever composed but unless you see it in the context of the drama the music does not come to full measure. Mr. Terfel magical covers this gap between stage action and melodic line and gives us a dynamic and powerful interpretation of Wager's lead mythic role.

The Best Hip-Hop Album of February 2011 - The Greatest Story Never Told by Saigon

I've been away for a minute and I apologize for not bringing the monthly joints as promised but I am here to catch up so let's get started.
2011 started off great with the release of Talib Kweli's album Gutter Rain which received by best album of January pick and it was tough because Mistah F.A.B. From the west coast came in at a very close second.
This month's choice was more difficult but not because of the quality of Hip-Hop albums released but the quantity. A lot of straight bull crap was released in February and it was almost painful having to listen to all that garbage. But I did so that you wouldn't have to.
Clear the award of The Best Hip-Hop Album of February 2011 goes to Saigon and his released titled The Greatest Story Never Told.
After many years of grinding with mix tapes and street albums the 32 year old Brian Daniel Carenard, aka Saigon, dropped pure fire which is destined to make him a Star before the end of this year.
Only time will tell if The Greatest Story Never Told is a classic but it is clearly the best album of February 2011.
Released on Suburban Noize records and produced by Just Blaze The Greatest Story Never Told is a quality piece of work.
Joined by an all-star cast including Jay-Z, Marsha Ambrosius, Raheem Devaughn, Faith Evans, Bun B, Fatman Scoop and Q-Tip, amongst others. The Greatest Story Never Told succeeds in not sounding like so many albums that are nothing but duets. These artists add their talents respectively to elevate Saigon's craft and enhance each song rather than dominating them and that in itself is a feat worth praising.
Is this a perfect album? By all means no. The songs Better Way with Layzie Bone and It's Alright fell kind of flat to me but hey, they might be perfect for you. Several others fell just short because I heard potential not realized either musically or lyrically but the may be perfectly acceptable to you. However there are enough songs that are winners that provide more than an hour worth of hot joints.
Program your mp3 player with tracks: 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14 and 18 then lean back and bang out.
And there you have it The Best Hip-Hop Album of February 2011 is The Greatest Story never Told by Saigon, get it.

Creating Music Is For Everyone

Creating music is a slow and pain staking process to the hearts of your listeners. As an indie musician I experienced all of this. It was hard walking around the park, listening to loads of music and even staying in the bathroom for extended periods of time just looking for inspiration. It may not come for days on end, even months. But if it hits you it hits you if you know what I mean. When you get that Eureka moment I suggest you write that down immediately then go home and start working on it before it disappears from your head. Well that's what I do when I made my music.
Sitting down at home processing all that information on my software working for hours is just how it goes. It starts with just a simple beat. It's sort of the spine of the song. Once you got that down you try to fit it with the words you wrote down. This takes a while because fitting the beat with the timing of the song is tricky. I suggest you use a metronome so that your time signature would remain constant. Then if you get that down, it's time to put on the details. Like in a drawing you start with the skeleton, then the shapes then the characteristics of the shapes. If it's a happy song you put on a little funky electric guitar then add a cool bass line to it. If it's a sad song then I suggest mesh your beat with a little piano play with string instruments. If it's a love song then I suggest you add on my favorite saxophone tunes to it. I want you guys to know that these tips I'm telling you are not the only things you should do.
You can think out of the box too. You can even add bag pipe sounds to your beats for all I care as long as you think that it's a good fit to your song. That's what great musicians do; they listen to their influences and then add their own flavor to that sound and "TADA" a completely unique sound that is only by you. Always remember your song won't stand up if you don't get your main beat in cue with the melody, that's what keeps your music together. It may sound easy but I tell you, if you don't have the patience then this isn't the career for you. Making music isn't a onetime deal. It takes patience, creativity, hard work, a little bit of luck and more patience.
Creating music is for everyone! If one has not the gift of using playing instruments or the gift of voice, there are plenty of programs that can create music out there too. So if you are gifted at making beats, don't let that limitation of being unable to play an instrument stop you. All you need is your heart, then you can make your own music.

Making Your Dreams Come True In The Music Industry

Today it's getting harder and harder to make it in the music industry because of the all the competition. Everyone is trying to make a song and come up with the next big dance. People see the pot gold at the end of the rainbow so their working their butts off just to get a piece of the American dream.
Even though you might have talent as a producer, singer, writer or rapper but there are thousands of other people who can do pretty much the same thing you can and are competing with you for that top spot. So the prices to get people to make beats for you or writing a song is extremely high because of the rewards of making it big.
So if your budget is not what it seems to get the right people on your team, then I will subject you trying to do things yourself and save you a little money here and there. The first thing you need is to make some music beats if you plan on dong anything. You can't even sing or rape a song if you have nothing to sing over.
You just don't want to go online and find some free beats to use, because there are so many issues with that are too many to list. So your only way is to make beats yourself and take ownership of that versus paying someone a couple hundred dollars to supply you with their work.
Even if you haven't ever made a beat in your life, then you can still find ways of getting this done for next to nothing compared to buying these beats from people who are probably selling the same beats over and over again..which is not good for you if that music you make with it go world-wide.
What you need to do is to find the best software to make beats in the quickest and simplest way possible. One of those ways is to use some ready-made beat website that will give everything for you. These sites are easy to find because all you have to do is a little search engine searching and many good sites will show up.
You will want to look for something that's in a reasonable price range and has all the features that will help you maximize your skills. Making beats with these types of sites saves you a lot of time and money, plus your able to make your own music without the hassle of worrying about copy right problems.

Getting Started in Jazz

OK so you love the music of jazz and want to take up an instrument to play. What do you do next? Well if you decided that you can start taking lessons online please stop right there. The internet is great and provides valuable resources regarding jazz techniques but it won't be a good resource to assist with the correct physical way to play an instrument. Pictures alone will not be enough. A local teacher can actually demonstrate the correct form and the sound you will get by having this correct form. For example teaching the new student to have the correct embouchure when playing saxophone to avoid unnecessary vibrato.
The next step would be to find a local teacher. You can do this by going to the closest college or high school and ask their music departments for referrals. The internet is also available to find a local music teacher. Craigslist is a good place to seek out musicians locally and actually see them play live. Whoever you find I would not settle for your first teacher. Try a few out and get an idea who you might feel comfortable with. Remember that any teacher you go with most likely will be teaching you the basics so it's probably a good idea to get a feel of who you think you might get along with. Discover for yourself how you learn best as a student and see if those teachers fit your criteria as a teacher.
One of my first saxophone teachers I chose was the teacher of a very famous if not most famous saxophone player of our time. I just assumed I would be great if I went with this teacher. Unfortunately he took his fame too far and really didn't pay attention to my lesson and actually fell asleep when I was doing my exercises.
Not all great musicians are great teachers. However once you become more advanced I think you can learn a lot from a musician you really like. They can teach you their style of improvisation or the exercises they practice and possibly you will be able to mimic their style on your way to developing your unique voice. Don't expect to play like them right away but at least they can steer you in the right direction and get you closer to where you want to go. Of course this would be greater appreciated once you become more advanced at improvisation. I am still mimicking ideas from the great players on their solo recordings.
When you become more advanced with your scales and chords I would start playing songs. Isn't that the real reason you picked up jazz in the first place is to improvise and play the jazz standards? If your teacher hasn't turned you on to these already I would get a few play alongs to start learning jazz melodies and practice your improvisation. A few I recommend are Jamey Aebersold and Hal Leonard play alongs.
Jazz is a never ending art and you will never be satisfied in a good way. Once you reach a new level you will be excited to get better. That is why I play it to keep reaching higher levels of enjoyment.

Ultimate Checklist In Choosing The Best Rap Beat Maker To Make Awesome Rap Beats

I have been in love with rap music so much that I started to make my own rap beats now. It was not easy 20 years ago as you needed to know the technical bits and expensive instruments to do it. However, things are far easy now with a rap beat maker.
It sounds rather exaggerated that anybody and everybody can make rap beats in front of their computer. But it is true. Spending thousand of dollars on recording studios to make beats are things of the past. Now, you just need to get yourself a good beat maker to do it.
The challenge nowadays is more about getting the "right" piece of beat making software. I have had difficult time to find one that really does what I wanted. Listed below are essential checklist that you can use when choosing yours:
1. Is the software's interface user-friendly? You will be glad if the beat maker is self intuitive where it doesn't need volumes of manual to read before you can optimize its functions.
2. Is there any royalty obligation attached with the software? All music beats created with the software should belong to you where you have all rights on how you wish to use them. (Yes, you keep 100% of the profits, even if you sold the beats).
3. Is there money back guarantee or a trial before you are obliged to buy it? Well, not all beat maker offers, this and you won't know if the software does what you want without trying them. Hence, if it had these, then you're pretty safe.
4. Does the software come with good and comprehensive editing features? Things like mixer, equalizer and special effects are basic functions that it must have so that you can create more variety of amazing rap beats.
5. Is there any support offered? I personally prefer if the creator also offers a support forum. You will get not only help from the support team but also sharing tips and tricks to tweak your beats with other beat enthusiasts. It's like a community of like-minded people sharing ideas, opinions, help and even business opportunity. (Don't be surprised if some members offer buying beats from you).
6. Is the sound quality produced by the beat making software comparable to those you usually listen to? Well, this is another important thing not to overlook. Sound quality is an important aspect of a beat, so make sure it sounds good.
The beat maker that I am using offers more than these. I can also save my rap beats in MP3 format directly and burn them in CD and even transfer to my iPod and listen to them everywhere. It's so hand.

Music As Medicine: Can Music Help Our Emotional Healing?

Better than Valium - right there in your CD collection...
When you were growing up, do you remember hearing your favorite song on the car radio and feeling your mood zooming? Do you ever catch yourself humming along with music in a pub or restaurant? Have you ever thought back to a night out and felt glowing memories of a song you heard? Is there a soundtrack to your high school or college years? These are everyday reminders of the powerful link between music, memory and our moods.
Basically we are wired to respond emotionally to music. It has been part of our human makeup for millennia. Now new research is shedding light on the connections between music and our brain chemistry. That wiring goes way beyond what we might have imagined a few years ago. Listening to music can release mood-altering brain chemicals in much the same way as pharmaceuticals. It's like having your own special meds, but on your iPod instead of a prescription. The nice thing is that you can get all the mood-elevating benefits with none of the side effects of drugs!
The Music Still Plays Down Deep
Music lights up deep parts of our psyche, and can stir up memories and buried emotions - these can be felt as positive or negative. Old wounds can be brought to the surface to be dealt with. On the other side of the coin, we can also access our youthful vitality and joy. This illustrates how music serves as a direct conduit to our unconscious and the powerful emotional resources that reside there.
When listening, our memories of the music can bring up feelings and associations from our early years. We can glimpse ourselves in a younger or more vulnerable state. This can offer us the opportunity to bring out the compassion and inner authority of our adult selves. It can allow healing of the hidden programming behind our automatic responses to life. This makes music a valuable therapeutic tool for accessing and healing the past.
We can also use music to reconnect the high-voltage wiring of our essential urge to life. Remember the explosive life energy you had when you were a kid? This came out as exuberance, enthusiasm, playfulness, curiosity and love. You can revisit this basic impulse by watching six-year-olds play. What happened to that?! For many of us the stresses, losses, disappointments and compromises of adulthood have weighed heavy on our hearts. So often our hearts have been blanketed and armored, and our vitality and excitement for living have been smothered.
Tapping the Springs of Renewal
One of music's greatest gifts is its uncanny ability to find and tap the deep springs of our aliveness. It drills down through the layers of our emotional armoring and taps into our essential life energy. Where once there was desert there can be a lush forest of aliveness! Emotional renewal is a natural outgrowth of a regular practice of playing or listening to music. Taking time to meditate with music can get you there even faster.
Music can do its deepest healing when we are the most engaged and engrossed in it. Being able to lose ourselves in the music depends on a number of things, including our past associations, our familiarity, our musical tastes and our mood in the moment. Some people relax with pop, others with classical or trance music. The key is to find music that puts you in "the zone." You know what does it for you!
Your Own Personalized Healing Prescription
There's no doubt that music can be a powerful mood-altering agent. For most of us there are songs or pieces from our past that still affect us in powerful and positive ways. These can become the recipe for a simple daily meditation that can make a big difference in how we feel. A regular practice can help us establish new grooves in our neural network and renew our emotional well-being.

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