A curveball was hurled at us, and it hit us hard. We were grabbed and thrust into a dubious ocean that seemed bottomless. My ocean, however, had a wooden log; one that I found floating amid nothingness. When I found it, I clutched onto it hard, and I still haven’t let go! My wooden log is music. I believe that music is the language of the soul, a channel that translates the frequencies of cosmic divinity into notes, chords and words. If you aren’t willing to take my word for it, just ask Stevie Wonder! He said, “Music is a world within itself, with a language we all understand” and I couldn’t agree more. I’ve always loved music.
As a young child, I would constantly serenade my family with impromptu performances accompanied by full-fledged choreographies, dominate karaoke nights and ramble on until my friends were exhausted from hearing how impressive Taylor Swift’s guitar skills were!
All the same, the COVID-19 lockdown led me to circle back to one of my greatest passions. Last March, I picked up my childhood guitar and skimmed my inexperienced fingers over six rusty strings. I’d insisted on guitar lessons in elementary school, but it never stuck because I was unable to find a good teacher, so I decided to teach myself! After learning a couple of chords, I picked up the keyboard and the ukelele too!
Once I had the instrumental part down, I delved into the obscure chasm of writing a song, and at the bottom, I found a home. I say this because songwriting became something I was dependent on, an emotional output in which I could take something I was upset about and turn it into melodious art! I’ve learnt so much about the layers of technique and precision that go into composing a song. I hardly need to mention that John Hopkins Hospital verified that listening to or practising music improves memory, anxiety, blood pressure and sleep quality because I know it is a forum in which we can all feel less alone in these uncertain times.
I believe that as growing children and teenagers, we need a sense of togetherness, perhaps a playlist of summer songs, an angsty violin piece or a calming track of Variations on the Canon—something to soundtrack life at the moment, something to help us feel more like…ourselves! And that is music.
