By CharLy Markwart
Have you ever noticed how a single note from a favorite song can take you back to another place in time, evoking wonderful memories that you didn't even know were there?
I was reminded of that the other day, when one of my most cherished songs came on the radio on my way home from work. As Carole King sang the first words of “You’ve Got A Friend,” my mind wandered back to another place in time, when my soul was first struck by the simple profoundness of that 1971 gem. With each chord of that song, I fell deeper and deeper into that fantastic feeling of reminiscence.
I don't know what it is about music, but somehow, it has the power to arouse our innermost emotions and make us feel things like nothing else can. Recently, the University of Maryland School of Medicine proved that point with a study about music's effect on the cardiovascular system. Results of that study showed that listening to our favorite music isn't only good for the soul; it's good for the heart, too. When the participants of the study listened to music that they liked, their blood vessels expanded by 26 percent, allowing their blood flow to run much more smoothly. In fact, music proved to have an even more significant effect on the heart than laughter. Even the experts were shocked by this newfound knowledge of the depth of music's stimulating power.
I understand the experts’ surprise, but as an aspiring musician, I am not at all stunned by the University of Maryland's findings. In the three years that I have been involved in the realm of Appalachian music, I have witnessed many times music's ability to touch the heart, not only physically, but spiritually, as well. I have seen music bring tears to a hard face, laughter to sad eyes, and life-filled spirit to souls that seemed to have become too jaded to feel anything at all. In its essence, music is just a string of notes. When those notes are placed melodically together, though, they become a very special creation that has the unique power to change things.
But, it's not just those melodic sounds that make music so touching. When I listen to my favorite songs, it is the lyrics that truly reach the deepest depths of my soul. The spoken word has power; that fact has been driven home by John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr. and other revered leaders from our nation's history. The musical lyric, though, might just be one of the most compelling forces in existence.
Wasn't it with music that Judy Garland taught all of us that somewhere just over the rainbow, our dreams await us? Or, how about when a little known singer named Bobby McFerrin taught us all a valuable lesson with his most famous lyric: “Don't worry; be happy?” It was with music, too, that Alan Jackson so poignantly spoke to a post-9/11 nation filled with pain and despair, asking us where we were when the world stopped turning. And, it was in song that Bob Dylan helped to inspire one of the strongest social movements in our history, recognizing that the “times they were a changing.” It seems that maybe today a new song is needed, this time to take those times back once again.
Perhaps most importantly, it is with music that we so purposefully praise our Creator, with songs filled with the most meaningful of lyrics. As we gather together to sing traditional hymns like “Amazing Grace” and “How Great Thou Art,” our voices are for once in one accord. Instead of using our individual voices to fight and bicker over our own meaningless opinions, we bring them together, in the name of something that we all know is much larger than us. When that very rare occurrence happens, the harmonious sound that results is enough to bring goosebumps to the body and shivers to the soul.
I think that is probably the most significant of all of music's great powers. In a world full of divisiveness and separation, a melodic collection of notes and lyrics has the keen ability to unite. It is often said that music is the universal language, and as simple as that statement seems, I think that it holds a deep truth. Billy Joel once said that “music in itself is healing. It's an explosive expression of humanity. It's something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we're from, everyone loves music.” An even more convincing testimonial comes straight from the Bible, which tells us to “Sing to the Lord a new song,” and to “Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe!”
It seems that what our medical experts just recently discovered has been in the Bible all along. Music is a wonderful and powerful gift. So today, while wars rage around us and the friction of a divided world continues to intensify, let's band together and arm ourselves with the invincible weapon of song.
