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The power of music
I have to admit, some of the most beautiful moments I ever experienced is through music, angelic harmonies of MLT, sublime instrumental passages of a Beethoven or Bach piano and violin Concerto, the first time I heard songs like Stairway To Heaven, Let It Be, Blowin In The Wind, WHY?….
Music makes me believe there must be a God and a heaven, when something can be so beautiful! ✨🌹
An Easter sentiment.
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58 Replies
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I agree……..some of the musical moments that I remember as changing how I looked at music include:
1) Hearing ‘She Loves You’ for the first time. The song basically changed RnR with its strange chords and harmonies.
2) Hearing Smetana’s ‘Moldau’ for the first time. A classical piece where the music was representing the different parts of a river’s flow. The piece opened me up to classical music.
3) Hearing the Byrd’s ‘Hey Mr. Tambourine Man and The Mamas and the Papas’ Monday, Monday. I knew both songs represented a change in music at least to me.
4) Spending a summer listening to Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde and Linda Ronstadt’s first few Warner Bros. albums.
5) Getting James Taylor’s Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon by mistake. It was a happy mistake that changed how I have played guitar over my whole life and made me a lifelong JT fan.
6) ‘Discovering’ Poco, Pure Prairie Leage, and Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. This opened me up to the country-rock genre and led to finding out about Marshall Tucker, the Outlaws, and some pretty obscure country-rock bands as well as making a whole new set of friends called ‘Poconuts’. It also changed how I play music.
7) Finally, finding the MonaLisa Twins. I ‘discovered’ them when they were 21 or 22 I was on my way to looking up some Beatles songs on YouTube and there they were. It has been fun and exciting to see where they are going musically.
Mike
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I had never heard of Smetana or the Moldau/Vltava. Thank you for mentioning that. I’m listening to it now on YouTube.
The first thing I thought of, in Die Quelle, was that Mona could play all of those flutes at the same time.
I always thought music was language. And it expresses emotion. There is so much we all share, including language, but nothing more fundamental than music.
You also talked about these pieces changing the way you looked at music. I’m not sure what that means. The more I think about it, maybe any great performance changes the way I look at music. Maybe that’s what makes it great?
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This reply was modified 1 year, 5 months ago by Chris Weber.
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This reply was modified 1 year, 5 months ago by
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Chris, I love that scene with Mona playing all those flutes! Yes indeed, music expresses so much beautiful emotions. It’s truly magic.
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Hi Mike
It’s an amazing gift music is. Thanks for sharing.
I can still remember the day I first heard Mona and Lisa’s incredible harmonies, it was San Francisco. I thought how could something sound and feel so beautiful as this. Tears of joy filled my heart, it reminded me of the beauty that is possible in this world still.
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Amen.
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A double AMEN Roger.
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In the above response, I was attempting to highlight music that was new and different for me and molded the way I liked music. For others, I’m sure it would be other songs and moments. Mike.
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Just to indulge in the beauty of this song. The intro guitar work followed by the accompanying flute is heavenly.
In Vancouver the big rock radio station does a top 100 greatest rock songs of all time countdown on New Years Day, voted by the listeners, since as far back as I can remember going back to the 70s. It’s always a back and forth between Stairway To Heaven and Hey Jude for the coveted top #1 position.
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Jung,
So Beethoven, Bach, and Page? And Beatles and Dylan.
Is that your list for when you play piano too?
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Hi Chris
Indeed, did you know Jimmy Page was inspired by Bach when he wrote in that lead in guitar piece to Stairway to Heaven? Bach and Beethoven’s influence on Rock and Roll is profound, though many people choose to deny it. Paul McCartney said something to the affect, we did what Bach was doing, just put a beat behind it. Brian Wilson said he related to Bach the most. The Kinks Davies brothers are huge Bach fans…Paul Simon….and on and on. When I hear AC/DC, I hear Bach and Beethoven.
One of the very first rock and roll songs written is credited to Chuck Berry, and guess what the title of the song is? “Roll Over Beethoven”. Chuck Berry at the time wrote it in defiance to Beethoven with the sentiment if Beethoven heard rock and roll, he would roll over in his grave, but it’s interesting Chuck Berry was thinking about Beethoven when he wrote the premier rock and roll song!
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I can tell you’ve given this plenty of thought before. I’m sitting here trying to remember when I saw Chuck Berry if he played “Rollover Beethoven”. I don’t remember though. That was in the early ’80s. 🙂
Musical genres are artificial anyway. We’re all playing western music.
I heard a Ted talk this week where a guy suggests that melodies should be removed from copyright protection, since there are only 12 pitches per octave – and only jazzers use more than around 8. That’s a pretty limited number of possible melodies, and guys like George Harrison get sued because of it.
US copyright law says that if you record a melody, in almost any form, you automatically own the copyright, even if you don’t tell anybody you did it. You can’t win a lawsuit if the guy who infringes on your copyright has never heard your melody though, but hard to prove a negative.. He had a developer friend of his write some code to write down all possible melodies to demonstrate the problem.
Lots of music that seems different, out of only a few notes, that covers Classical, and everything in Jacki’s list that she grew up with too.
I saw a different piece a week or two ago about how Page and friends put together Led Zeppelin I in about two weeks on a shoestring budget. Page is a creative guy.
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Yeah, copyright laws when it comes to music/melody is tricky. You want to prevent plagiarism, but at the same time you don’t want to curb creativity either. One example that comes to mind is the Beach Boys “Surfin USA” and lawsuit around Chuck Berry’s “Sweet Little 16”. It’s obvious the melody in Surfin USA was borrowed to some extent from Chuck Berry’s tune, but Surfin USA sounds so much better and more impactful. Should Surfin USA then never have been allowed, and how much less would the music world have been because of that? I think all of the profits and royalty from Surfin USA went to Chuck Berry, but the Beach Boys benefited from having that song in their repertoire, who knows if the Beach Boys career would have launched like it did if it weren’t for Surfin USA. There should be fair and equitable application of copyright rules with credit going where it is due, like in this case to Chuck Berry and Brian Wilson. Wow, Surfin USA was released when I was only 2 days old, such a special song to me.
I think with classical music, no copyright laws apply, as music/melody after a certain length of time becomes free to the public. Can you imagine if everything Bach and Beethoven wrote were under stringent copyright laws, most of the rock/pop melodies of today would be affected in some form probably, directly or indirectly.
“Surfin’ U.S.A.” is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys, credited to Chuck Berry and Brian Wilson. It is a rewritten version of Berry’s “Sweet Little Sixteen” set to new lyrics written by Wilson and an uncredited Mike Love. The song was released as a single on March 4, 1963, backed with “Shut Down”. It has since become emblematic of the California Sound, and “Surfin’ U.S.A”‘s depiction of California is emblematic of the genre.
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2087. In the US and Europe, 70 years after the last surviving writer dies, the song goes in the public domain. For Chuck Berry, that’s 2087.
Buddy Holly’s music loses copyright in just 6 years.
For Hendrix it’s 2030. Duke Ellington is 2034. Benjamin Britten in 2036.
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As I’ve previously stated before on another similar topic…Music Power is an individual preference thing… Certain Genres affect/attract intuitively/ immediately or not at all , also culturalism has a hand in this too… I grew up in a house of country music/southern rock/pop/rock/blues/Irish/bluegrass/gospelbigband/disco/music from 1920s-80s …, No one in my immediate family are into classical music that I’m aware of, myself included…
I enjoy music that I can sing/dance/lyricwise sense/feel for… Classical music doesn’t do that for me, I just can’t appreciate it…it doesn’t do anything for me like the other genres do…I need the stimulating effects of old school genres I mention…I need to enjoy /embrace to dance/sing/ the lyrics, have it emotionally move me, etc…
On same note…the rap/hip-hop/ some instrumental ( classical for most part ) hard/heavy metal rock,/punk/alternative , basically today’s type of music being offered on radio, etc with exception of a few I do enjoy …rare but can tolerate …
Also my hearing issues also play a part in why certain music genres , I can’t tolerate/hate …
Just my thoughts of 2 cents here ..
Again to reiterate from my perspective … To Me…it boils down to individual preferences…what/how whatever genres of music impacts/has effect upon, instant like or not …. 🤘🏻☮️
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Hi Jacki
Yes music is indeed a personal preference, some genres will speak to you and some just won’t. I can relate to your dislike of classical, because to be honest, many classical composers, especially the ones that came after Chopin and Liszt in the late 1800s and early 1900s are lost to me too. For me it’s the Baroque, and only some Baroque of Vivaldi, Pachelbel, Albinoni and Handel, and only a select few classical composers that do anything for me. Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin, Liszt, and a spattering of a few others is all I like. I can’t really handle any opera to be honest, except for some stuff by Handel, and Beethoven’s 9th that has operatic singing in the Ode To Joy.
I think though, and the point I want to express in this post is that, with music that does speak to you, man it can be powerful! It can make you feel absolute beauty and give you insight into the truths and secrets of the universe, and a look behind the curtain, and leave a profound life changing affect.
Albert Einstein was as much a musician as he was a scientist and mathematician and through music saw the beauty and awe of the universe and gave him insight into his science and math. The story goes he took breaks playing his violin and indulging in Mozart to help him achieve greater clarity while he worked on his famous Theory of Relativity and other scientific and mathematical discoveries.
Inside Einstein’s Love Affair With “Lina” his cherished violin.
He rarely went anywhere without his battered violin case. It wasn’t always the same instrument inside—Einstein owned several throughout his life—but he reportedly gave each one in turn the same affectionate nickname: “Lina,” short for violin. Feb 3, 2017 National Geographic.
Mozart continued to be his favorite composer, along with Bach, for the rest of his life. That was probably no coincidence: As many of Einstein’s biographers have pointed out, the music of Bach and Mozart has much the same clarity, simplicity, and architectural perfection that Einstein always sought in his own theories.
The great physicist himself once said that if he hadn’t been a scientist, he would certainly have been a musician.
“Life without playing music is inconceivable for me,” he declared. “I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music … I get most joy in life out of music.” – Feb 3, 2017 National Geographic. -
Interesting point Jung, I didn’t know Einstein was an accomplished violinist , as the focus was primarily on him being a scientist, etc …but it does make sense …. Reminds me of Jack Benny…I always thought in watching re-runs of his TV shows that the violinist on going gag was just that, a gag for the show…. but in fact , he could really play violin …
I’m not an opera music fan at all ….just doesn’t do anything for me…lol
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Yes, Jack Benny was a much more accomplished violinist than he let on:
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Yeah I didn’t know Jack Benny could play so good. That is quite the violin dual at the end, nice.
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Jacki,
I don’t see zydeco on your list of music. Do you like zydeco?
If you like singing and dancing, you should check it out.
I think zydeco has a few rules — the lyrics have to have the word “zydeco” in them, it has to have French words in it, it has to mention the “bayou” and no one is allowed to stay seated during the song. As if anyone could.
I am just kidding about that, but they might as well be rules.
Ever see that pic of Mona playing the washboard? She knows.
Any band that’s willing to pay someone to play the washboard/rubboard is obviously more concerned about their art than their pocketbook.
Imho, here’s the best singer in zydeco. I still have the beads and t-shirt he gave me. Careful, lots of energy gets released when you click on this.
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Yes, l’m aware of zydeco music and enjoy it, as I said, I’m pretty much into all genres with exception of a few specific ones , that I just can’t enjoy , doesn’t do anything for me …. interesting and uplifting video clip, Thankyou for sharing 🤘🏻
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I posted this previously in the forum. Here is a rare recording of Albert Einstein playing the violin. He was a good accomplished violinist.
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Hi David…I love seeing when the Canadian born female violinist, Giselle would be on Jack Benny’s show, both doing the violinist thing ….lol
I also enjoy the fiddle music from a local gal from my area … April Verch (she lives in USA now, with her USA hubby )
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I hadn’t seen the Jack and Gisele duet before, Jacki, but I just checked it out on YouTube. Very talented… and very funny!
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Another momentous music moment for me is in the early 2000s, I just started working in my new role as a Sales Engineer, and being new to sales they sent many of us down to Anaheim California to a huge Telecom Sales Conference, to learn the fine art of “schmoozing”, apparently an important sales skill. One of the big highlights of that trip was one evening we filled into a small convention hall, to see a live performance of Mike Love of the Beach Boys and Dean Torrance of Jan and Dean. It was a fairly small and intimate venue, and they began singing all the big California songs from Surfin USA to Little Old Lady from Pasadena. And then they played this song, Mike Love singing Sloop John B, my favourite Beach Boys song. Mike Love was about 30 or 40 feet away, and I remember rocking to the groove of that song. A song I sang and danced to growing up for so many years, and I was hearing it played live by Mike Love standing a few feet away, it was magical, I felt shivers running up my spine hearing one of my absolute biggest music heroes up close live.
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Originally the idea came from Al Jardine who brought this old folk song to Brian who re-arranged it on the Pet Sounds album to become the biggest charting single off the album at #3 in the charts.
Here is a later Brian Wilson version.
I notice in the video, there is percussionist Nelson Bragg with the tambourine and singing, one of the musicians in Brian Wilson’s band that Mona and Lisa met and got to know when they attended one of Brian Wilson’s concerts in Liverpool.
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As I got on the topic of my favourite Beach Boys song and memory, my favourite and earliest Beatles song I remember was “Let It Be”, and recently when I discovered Paul’s inspiration behind it from a dream about his mother, it became even more special. I remember first hearing Let It Be played at an elementary school show, two girls with their acoustic guitars, the older kids in grade 7 sang Let It Be. At the time it was the most beautiful thing I heard, sounded like church music from medieval times. Learned later there was this group called the Beatles and I discovered almost everything that I thought sounded great was from the Beatles.
I found this rare video of John Lennon’s vocals singing Let It Be. It’s quite heartwarming, that before the Beatles, John, Paul, and George were really good friends, and their relationship ultimately ran much deeper than the band after it broke up. Interestingly Brian Wilson and Al Jardine were good friends in highschool, and Brian brought Al into the group, talking him out of being a dentist, and even decades later after Brian’s two brothers passed away, and the rift that developed with his cousin Mike Love, Al and Brian are still the best of friends, and they still make music together.
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Music has the power to transport you away to a better place. It reminds you of the beauty in this world. It can heal you. It can move you like nothing else can.
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This is so moving, I’ve watched it a dozen times. Music affected me like this a few times in my life, washing away everything I was struggling with, where nothing else can, like in 2017 when I discovered MLT. This is the highest achievement in music, when it can do this to someone.
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I find when you are so filled with emotion, be it joy or grief, nothing can help you express that passion that needs to get out for your sanity and health, better than music can. I think through out my life it was music.
Early it was the Beach Boys, they let me feel the wonder and awe of life in a young 14 year old, then in my early 20s as I dealt with incredible pain of expectation and failure and frustration, AC/DC kept my sanity. When it was all too much, I could crank up AC/DC and listen to Malcolm and Angus Young’s hypnotic guitar sounds that soothed my soul. Later in my 30s as I felt so much anticipation of my life and career, Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart were there, letting me feel how art and music was the oxygen I needed to go on. Life’s pressures could not get me down, I could retreat to Beethoven. I could understand when my mom told me how when she was young, her life around her felt like was it was falling apart with the Korean war, and her father’s death, Beethoven was there for her. She used to listen to Beethoven’s 5th Symphony to find comfort and refuge in those dark times. Then later in my 40s what felt like the greatest tragedy in my life befell me with my mom, the center of my universe, was slipping away to dementia. Those were the darkest years of my life as I dealt with loss I could not bear. Music in the form of Mona and Lisa’s incredible harmonies was there as I arose from the ashes of loss in 2017. Their music is incredible and the pinnacle of musical joy so far for me. I am so grateful to music, it is an incredibly beautiful gift music is, and all those musical artists we are blessed with, for me it’s Brian Wilson, Angus/Malcom Young, Beethoven/Bach/Mozart, Mona and Lisa Wagner!!! 🌹💖
If you have a music story, please feel free to share it, would love to hear it. 🙂
My first love of music:
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These guys kept my sanity
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They made me see the awe and wonder of the universe
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These two amazing talented powerhouses saved me, they reminded me how beautiful the world can be. Those incredible harmonies and melodies.
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