I was hoping that perhaps there are others out there that have used music to convey their feelings/thoughts?
When I was younger I would use songs to express my feelings to girlfriends a lot when words would fail me, I would tell them to listen to a certain song.
To express love, to say sorry etc.
Another one, I listen to certain song/songs on repeat for hours if I’m feeling strong emotions.
Oh my, hail yeah! Music is my entire life. There's a song in Phigros, "Broken Sky," that I really relate to, and I would constantly find myself quoting its lyrics. Come on, who doesn't resonate with:
"You said you didn't want to deliberate
I see that our skyline being deviated."
And then:
"For the unworthy of times you deny
Spark them firing into the BROKEN SKY!" (yes, I can imagine myself singing that part like that.)
It's just really fitting, you know? Years of being misunderstood, confused, deluded, culminating into the "fire" into our broken world.
(Did I yap too much. Sorry, first timer.)
I don't think it was lack of support as much as nobody knew, it wasn't until having a sing-a-long directed by a former choir master from the monastry at Iona that I found out the full extent of my ability, he couldn't find a note I couldn't sing, I didn't know before then that singing lessons were a thing. He was shocked at the 5 or 6 of us having so little musical knowlege, I wasn't the only one who didn't know the basics.
I think it must be so much easier now for people to explore their talents due to social media and all the music apps. There's also so many more girls and women making music now, in my day the only way you got into a band was if you were the girlfriend of a band member, usually the lead guitarist, music was a very male dominated thing.
That's so sad that you didn't get supported to explore your talent. I went to the local comprehensive. I'm not sure how I got myself to music college but when I did I was the odd one out for sure. I always assumed I'd find my people there but I didn't
I was at school in the late 60's and 70's. I wonder how much of it is/was about class? Were we as working class kids supposed not to be interested and so never taught? I think, music was very much a class thing back then, there was still a massive divide between classica and pop music, with pop music being seen as of lesser value and rubbish, of course we all listened to pop music. I think when you've got attitudes like that, it's so alienating, you feel as though this isn't something for you, even if you're a talented singer like I was, I could of sung opera, I had the range and power to do so, as it was I never realised what I had until just before I lost it.
I think the singing and optional recorder class was standard fare for people of my generation (primary school in the 80s). The national curriculum these days does specify the elements of music should be taught but as most of the teachers didn't learn that themselves and they are struggling with just getting kids to learn reading, writing and maths, it's one of the things they never get around to.
Teaching music to years 7-9 is tough because 90% of the class think of music as a downtime lesson. It's probably a very disheartening job for anyone who has spent years mastering an instrument to be surrounded by kids that not only don't get the fundamentals but also aren't interested in learning. My guess is the focus quickly becomes crowd control.
At primary school I think we just did singing, no formal music and I don't remember any instruments. There were recorder lessons after school, I went to one and never again as I came away with a banging headache.
I suspose at secondary school, the problem was knowing what level of knowlege we had and where to start. I remember the teacher went off with a nervous breakdown.
Whether you get a clear explanation of music as a child is dependent on whether there is a specialist on the school staff. Most primary school teachers don't have a clue, and would admit this themselves Even if they're good at music themselves it doesn't naturally translate into being able to teach it as they assume everyone can innately understand the principals.
Most music teachers are under the impression that you just need to practice but you get good at what you practice so if you're practising getting it wrong you get good at that!
While I can’t play an instrument (though I've tried) Music and singing are my biggest passions in life. Having my headphones/earphones on listening to music is my comfort blanket and immediately calms me down whenever I get stressed or anxious and singing is a way I feel free to express myself
I totally relate to that, sometimes I get obsessed with a song and I can't quite understand why but then I noticed that the song is literally describing my life situation
Thank you for explaining all of this, I'll try and bear it all in mind when I next listen to something.
Why are we taught so badly? Or was it just my generation? It seems we are just expected to know certain things and when we don't everyone looks at you like you're mad and bad. Is it possible to be musically dyslexic?
I am very passionate about music (well, listening to it and the history of certain eras of rock music), and while I don't use it to externalise my thoughts and feelings, I totally do to regulate or process them.
I can normally track how I am feeling based on what I feel inclined to listen to; it helps in moments where I can't identify what I'm feeling in the moment.
Off topic slightly but I find it also helps me become inspired when I'm creating or writing something.
Omg I have always done this, but in my case sometimes the lyrics wouldn't have the same meaning to other people. I have already used it to break up a relationship as well :p
I didn't know if answering your questions would help... But incase it does, in its simplest form...
All music has a heartbeat, it's a steady repeating pulse. That's what people are counting.
The rhythm is a layer on top of that, easiest to hear in a song where some of the words are long, short, fast or slow.
Dancers and musicians need to synchronise around the pulse (beat) as this is the same for everyone involved regardless of the rhythm of their part.
A common difficulty for those not taught this distinction comes from mistaking the rhythm for the beat. If you try and count the rhythm without identifying the pulse you will definitely get confused. It would be like trying to walk but with your legs having independent speeds! Stressful!
Melody is the rhythm plus the pitch of the song (high/low notes). You can clap a rhythm, a melody requires a voice or instrument.
If you're not focussed on the lyrical part then your "sweet spot" is probably more linked to harmony. The harmony is how the different pitches combine and the relative tension of those pitches to one another.
Sorry if you didn't want this answer or I've pitched the explanation wrong. I'm just sorry that you got shouted at.
Not sure you should take these difficulties as personal. I've done workshops for schools where I've discovered a whole school that have never been taught the difference between pulse and rhythm.
I’ve also been completely useless with regards to playing an instrument. I had the same problems you mentioned: coming in late or early and getting completely lost with the pace. Is that something people here can relate to or is it just a coincidence we were both bad at it? Singing was the same. Too fast or too slow and never doing it when it matched the rest of the instruments. I was very frustrated and wasn’t too nice on myself.
Golly, you're all so knowlegable about musical terms and how a piece of music is constructed, I thought a cadenza was a piece of furniture!
For me theres a sweet spot that some music hits, I can't say what it is or why. I often don't particulalry listen to the lyrics as such, but just try and copy the sounds, I've never had any musical training, we did music at school, but like so much else the teaching way poor, I just got shouted at for being unable to keep time properly and not knowing when to come in. I remember one time being given a triangle to play and getting shouted at because I came in at the wrong time and I only had to hit it twice. I still don't know what the difference between the beat, melody and rythum or what instrument plays what bit?
I wonder if it's related to my complete inability to dance? When people count I don't really know what they're counting or what they're doing it for or why?
Music more than my voice is the only thing that stops my (inner) voice. In other words, music is top of the list in helping me cope with my constant not very pleasant thoughts (worry, insecurities, obsessions (not related to music), rumination, etc). Music is extremely important to me but I have to be careful because I get very obsessed with it and because I have a tendency to listen to dark music which sometimes can affect negatively my mood and thoughts.
I'm not sure this is what you meant but...
I suspect that music is my first language. For me it's not the words of a song that make sense it's the rhythm and harmony. I can't express myself in words very well, especially when it comes to my own thoughts and emotions, words don't mean anything.
Currently feeling like the cadenza in the first movement of Prokofiev's 2nd piano concerto.
Should probably mention that I used to be a concert pianist, so I did spend a lot more time engaging with music than with people growing up.
My second language is shapes and colour. I can translate music into shapes and colour easily.
I find verbal communication hard. Words are a little easier if written down. I struggle to remember new words, names of people and things. I've never been able to learn a foreign language.
I feel any for of stimulus that I choose is better for me than what others do
like I can be out in town drowning in 1000s of noises but if I get on a quiet bus home and can sit at the back in a corner with just the sound of the engine thats a lot better
I do.
I find that I have always accumulated an unidentifiable slurry of affect from just taking things in - detail of everyday life, world events, observations of absurdity. Singing - especially the focus of creating new words and melodies without a script and in reaction to the live instrumentation within a practice or recording session - is where I take inexplicable, wordless experiences that have hurt or embittered me to become sound that, in theory, hurts no-one.
As others have said, my tastes have changed, I appreciate pop melody, yet authentic expressions of emotion directly, as a character, within a story, in the immediate, one-take opportunity is magical and makes me feel alive and constructive in a difficult world.
