Although there are so many reasons why we play music, in this lesson, we’re looking at the top three reasons.
From my personal observations, a vast majority of musicians are playing music for the WRONG reasons, which may include but is not limited to:
- To make a living
- To gain fame
- To be in the spotlight
- To outshine other musicians
Believe it or not, the reasons above are not the main reason why we musicians should play and I’ll let you know if you invest the next 7-10 minutes reading this blog.
“What Is Art?”
Understanding the definition of art would help us as we proceed.
Art – Defined
Although there are so many definitions of art, I’ll prefer we go by this definition:
“Art is anything intentionally done by man: to communicate, express his feelings, and to serve a particular purpose.”
From the definition of art, we can see clearly that the three top reasons why an art (be it aural or visual) is done are communication, expression (of feelings), and purpose.
Due to the fact that music is an art, we’ll go ahead and consider
Let’s go ahead and take a look at these three reasons.
Reason # 1 – Communication
One of the reasons for being into music should be to communicate. Music has been proven to be a powerful medium of communication in the physical and metaphysical realm.
In the physical realm, educational songs teach us about a particular field of endeavor, nationalist songs teach us about our nationality, etc.
Music in the primitive African society is also a powerful tool of communication.
For example, there are drum beats for war and they differ from drum beats of festivity, etc., and people are familiar with the various rhythmic patterns that once any of them is played, everyone knows whether it’s war, festivity or otherwise.
As musicians, we must be able to communicate to the audience through the agency of our music (be it instrumental, vocal or both.)
Additionally, music can be used to communicate with the metaphysical realm and that’s why it’s an integral part of worship in a variety of religious sects across the world.
Reason # 2 – Expression
Music is a medium of expression, and that’s why you can’t separate music from the emotions and this is because it seats on your emotions to feed your soul.
Let me emphasize that again:
Music seats on your emotions to feed your soul
One of the most influential music styles in America is the Blues. The Blues is a very expressive music that served as medium through which African-Americans expressed their pleasure, anguish, displeasure, or melancholy with.
Beyond emotional expression, music can be used to express an idea (whether political, social, racial, etc.) Notable musicians like Bob Dylan (of Vietnam), Bob Marley (of Jamaica), Fela Kuti (of Nigeria), etc., expressed their ideas through their music.
As musicians, we must be expressive – emotionally and otherwise. Have an understanding of the lyrical content of the song, and give it a dynamic expression.
For example, when a song is about happiness, it is important for the musician to have an understanding of what the song is all about, and give a vocal or instrumental expression to it.
Reason # 3 – Purpose
Another reason we must take note of is purpose. Every piece of music (be it vocal and/or instrumental) should be played/sang for a particular purpose which includes but is not limited to the following purposes:
Inspiration
Education
Work
Entertainment
Signature
Therapy
Communication (physical or metaphysical)
Meditation
Worship
Advertising
Every piece of music has an aspect of humanity it fits into and that’s what make music indispensable and an integral part of humanity.
According to Dr. Myles Munroe, “when the purpose of a thing is not known, abuse is inevitable.” This explains why music can be abused by musicians and non-musicians alike.
A piece of music that is suitable for entertainment may not fit into worship because that’s clearly not its purpose, However, this does not mean that entertainment songs are not good enough.
We must learn to play/sing for the right purposes.
Final Words
That’s where we’ll stop for today and I hope you enjoyed this blog.
Now, tell me your personal reasons for being a musician in the comment section.
All the best!
Chuku Onyemachi
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