D.S. al Fine

Well, beloved reader, I'm afraid that it is now time that this blog come to its official end. Note that handy little adjective near the end of that sentence: "official." Theoretically, if I have spare time (and we all know how much of that I have), I'll continue to write on this blog. So put down the paper bag and stop hyperventilating, dear reader; I will continue to entertain you with my cheesy humor and my wonderful philosophical insights. For now, however, I must focus on the wonderful requirements of the final blog assignment. So here goes...

Looking at my blog entries, I have come to the conclusion that I am a synthesizing mind. Over the past few weeks, I have pulled information and media by Don McLean, Madonna, Rolling Stones Magazine, Five for Fighting, Michael Buble, Kanye West, Taylor Swift, Hannah Montana, the Jonas Brothers, and my imagined notion of stereotypical Cro-Magnons, and have discussed a wide array of topics, including love, politics, the music industry, commercialism, psychology, and even a little unfounded anthropology (See: "Cro-Magnons"). I believe those would qualify as "disparate sources," don't you? Using all of these sources, I somehow have been able to (hopefully) pull together some relatively logical conclusions on why we as human beings need music in the world and for what music can be used. Pretty impressive, no?

During this project, I have exhibited curiosity about the reason for music. Given my background in music, it would have to take continuous curiosity in order for me to write an entire blog about a subject I have been so involved in. Furthermore, I delved quite a bit deeper into the soul of music, the purpose of music, than I had ever intended. In doing so, I only increased my curiosity, attempting to discover links between seemingly disparate musical themes and topics. I have engaged in intellectual discussions of the common motifs shared by all music and in doing so, I have drawn connections between the driving influences of music and, ultimately, humanity (See: "Crazy Little Thing Called Love," "The Meaning of Life"). Pretty clever, eh?

Through my discussions, I have challenged my own belief of how music can affect a person. Yes, I already knew that music could be a powerful medium to convey a message or express an emotion. Yet I only saw that through an intellectual level-- an objective, aloof perspective. Along the way, though, I have learned that sometimes, things cannot simply be viewed through an objective lens. Occasionally, ideas cannot be observed and analyzed indifferently. Sometimes, ideas must be reflected on by the heart and soul (pun slightly intended; if you don't get it, don't worry: it wasn't that funny anyway). With a media as deep and emotionally-charged as music, it is essential for one to throw one's own experiences into the pot, add a cup of opinion, mix in a heaping teaspoon of beliefs and values, sprinkle in a dash of oregano, and see what happens. The important thing to remember, however, is always this: each person's opinions on music--and really, on life--will be different, must be different. Without differences of opinion, there would be no opinions and, therefore, no free will.

Throughout my life, I have been surrounded by music; one would think that by now, I might have a general grasp of the philosophy behind music. Yet to be honest, I think I've simply taken music for granted. I've learned how to play music, how to sing music, even how to write and compose music. However, I have never learned how to feel music, how to believe music, how to listen to music and discern the truth nestled within chords and rooted beneath the lyrics. For the first time, I have been able to strip away some of the intricacies and theory of it all and glance at the core of the matter: music, in reality, is the manifestation of a person's soul. In this politically correct, emotionally sensitive world in which we live, it is truly amazing how much we hide within ourselves in order to shield our true emotions from the ripping, shredding claws of society. Yet we as fragile beings cannot contain such raw emotion within ourselves, and that is why we have music. It is said that "music speaks what cannot be expressed, soothes the mind and gives it rest, heals the heart and makes it whole, flows from heaven to the soul." Music is what helps us as human beings express our innermost feelings, our most cherished freedoms and inhibitions, our highest joys and our deepest sorrows. Music truly is the gateway to the soul.