When you really like something, you often don’t give it a second thought. Without you realizing, it becomes a staple in your life – like food or water, and you can’t imagine its absence. It’s a part of you. That’s how music is to me.
I’ve learned Indian Classical music for around 8 years. I have also been a regular student at my school choir for all my school life. Initially, I used to go to music classes because my parents asked me to.
Also because I liked playing Badminton with my friends after the class. So when academics got overwhelming, it wasn’t difficult for me to find an excuse to stop learning music. Despite this not-really-interested phase of learning music, thanks to good teachers and my inbuilt need to excel at what I do, I learned quite a lot. I cleared my examination at the junior diploma level and subsequently passed the third year (first part of Diploma) with distinction.
Music was already becoming a part of my life. So when I stopped practicing music, there was a hole. That’s when the transition happened. That’s when I knew I needed music in my life. From then on, I went back to music with an extra vigor. Soon, I discovered my fondness for the instrument, Synthesizer. I never had a formal training for playing the keyboard yet past lessons in classical music helped me grasp the notes and chords essential for playing the instrument.
Music moved on from being a small part of my life to a passion. The first thing that comes to my mind when I think of why I’m passionate about music is: music is relaxing to me. It takes me to a whole new world where there are no worries or assignments or deadlines! It holds my attention and is probably the only thing I can concentrate on without getting distracted in 5 minutes. My mind doesn’t wander and this energizes me. It is refreshing and stimulating and I can go back to any other chore, inspired. The music I’m talking about here is of course not the background music we play while studying or driving but what I call “fore-ground music”; the one where you’re actively participating in singing or listening just for the sake of music in itself. This is the aspect of music which gives it a power of healing.
To me, music is more than just sound: it’s an art with rhythm, tune, emotion, and meaning. In this sense, music can be inspiring and empowering. I believe music can be thought of as analogous to paint. You can splash paint around and have fun or create something valuable and complicated. But the best bet is to paint a beautiful picture and convey something. Music can be fun, complicated or something meaningful and motivating. It can convey feelings of patriotism, sorrow, happiness, inspiration or spirituality that can stir up emotion and bring about change. This, I believe is the best form of music and the reason for its evolution over the ages as a means of communication.
Music is mathematics in its rhythm, logic in its composition, science in its octaves and pitches and technology in its instruments and digitization. Driven by the above ideology and my personal inclination towards music, I have a dream of introducing the culture of music at the corporate level. I believe that every individual at an organization who is tied up between meeting the deadlines and delivering excellence should be encouraged to devote a small amount of his/her valuable time towards music which will do just the same thing what a click on refresh button does to our computers. It is perhaps the only field where not only active participation benefits but also being a spectator gives a kind of joy in itself.