There are many reasons for why people can like or dislike music because it can reveal the most secret and unknown aspects of a human life. One of the most powerful aspects of music is the impossibility to predict where it could lead. In her book, Sarah Dessen defines music as “the great uniter”, “an incredible force”, and “something that people who differ on everything and anything else can have in common” (96). Marilyn Manson says about music as one of the most powerful forms of magic. From these quotes, it is possible to say that music has a certain power over people, and I have been always dreaming of being a magician. Unfortunately, my attempts to enter the sphere of magic equal zero; therefore, I want to believe that my intentions to study the world of music and comprehend what music can tell about people will be more successful.
There are many opposite opinions about the importance of music education in schools (Goble 45). Still, when I saw the name of this course in my catalogue, I was pleasantly surprised and satisfied with such a chance to study music and realize what I could take from it. Today, it is hard to image life without music. People listen to and discuss it, work in the sphere of music, analyze music, and even have quarrels on the basis of musical differentiations. In fact, music penetrates a human life so deep that people like to develop theories about how music became such a crucial part of society (Alperson 19; Williamson 6). It is impossible to believe that music with its frequent penetration to a human life cannot leave some crucial outcomes. From a theoretical point of view, much attention is paid to the evaluation of such music elements as pitch, rhythm, timbre, and silence. The form of musical works with their motives, phrases, and themes cannot be neglected. However, it is not always possible to understand what all these terms mean.
For a long period of time, I could not even believe that my impressions about the movies I watched were based not only on the context or actors’ play. I was deeply impressed by the background music. After a short analysis of my movie preferences, I observed that almost all music I liked was created by Hans Zimmer. Lion King, The Da Vinci Code, Holiday, Inception, and Pirates of the Caribbean have one thing in common (Desramault). Their music is written by Zimmer, an amazing German compositor, whose works were Oscar awarded (MacDonald 493). I admire each element of his works. While listening to the music from the movies, I survive millions of emotions, relax, and motivated at the same time. There is something special in the pitch and rhythm of each his work. He makes stops where it is necessary, combines various instruments considering their power and affecting a listener, and makes people notice the details that have not been mentioned before.
This musical experience and understanding of the fact that music can overwhelm me any time define a majority of my interests and academic pursuits. I want to know more about how to create interesting music that captivates people. I want to believe that this course is my chance to take as much as possible from the theoretical part and use my knowledge in practice. This is not one more course that has to be taken. It is a chance to understand my personal connection to music.
Works Cited
Alperson, Philip. What Is Music?: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Music. University Park, PA: Penn State Press, 2010. Print.
Desramault, Idris. “The Greatest Hits from Hans Zimmer.” Youtube. 2013. Web.
Dessen, Sarah. Just Listen. New York, NY: Penguin, 2008. Print.
Goble, J. Scott. What’s so Important about Music Education. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis Group, 2010. Print.
MacDonald, Laurence, E. The Invisible Art of Film Music: A Comprehensive History. Lanham, MA: Scarecrow Press, 2013. Print.
Williamson, Victoria. You Are the Music: How Music Reveals What It Means to Be Human. Toronto, Ontario, 2014. Print.