In small ways, I see it every day at work.
When kids light up over a melodic phrase.
When they leave the classroom completely energized because the music is JUST SO AWESOME.
I've obviously felt it in my own life. The number of times a simple piece of music has brought me to tears, goosebumps all up & down my arms, dorky grin on my face....Well. They're incalculable, really.
But you don't just have to take my word for it. Look it up.
There are hundreds of studies, done by hundreds of people
that prove my point: music is powerful.
And sneaky.
Do you want to know why you know the shark is coming?
Because the music tells you so.
I mean, obviously.
Name me one person who couldn't sing the "Jaws" Theme.
But music is sneaky.
Why do you feel that pit of dread in your stomach?
'Cuz the music tells you it should be there.
But in a hundred
thousand
million little ways
before you actually hear that infamous 2 note theme.
I often get a hard time when I go to the movies with my family,
because while they're all focusing on the visual drama,
I'm listening for the audio drama.
You could get the BEST actor in the world,
Pair him/her with the BEST director,
The most critically-acclaimed visual effects artist,
The best camera crew,
costume department,
make-up artists,
And, without the music, it'd all be...
Eh. Okay.
Imagine a simple landscape scene.
There's clouds in the sky,
birds on a telephone wire.
No big deal.
With two simple clips of music, I can manipulate the way you feel about that simple landscape scene.
Yes, you read that right.
I can manipulate your feelings.
I read something once,
talking about horror movies,
that stated that:
if you want to hide from the horror on the screen,
don't just close your eyes.
Close your ears.
Music is powerful.
Music matters.
The newest Star Trek Into Darkness trailer.
(by the way: I'm really REALLY excited about this movie.)
The actors, the explosions, the promise of drama...
All valuable and very present aspects to this trailer.
But there's something else. And it's not so sneaky in this case.
Watch that clip once, as is.
Take in the awe, the excitement, the adrenaline, the drama.
Now watch it again. Sans audio.
Same actors.
Same explosions.
Same promise of drama.
And yet...
Yawn.
Why?
Now, I'm aware that pushing the mute button not only gets rid of the music, but the dialogue as well.
If I were more tech savvy, I'd engineer some little presentation that does the work for you,
AND keeps the dialogue in.
But I'm not.
So...
My point is this:
Music is so linked to us, in so many different ways, on so many different levels, that it allows us to connect with other things
other people,
other places,
other ideas,
on a deeply personal level.
Without the music, you would never find yourself with burning questions, such as
"What did Kirk do this time, that arrogant son of a gun?"
"Is it really the end of the Enterprise?"
and my favorite:
"Why do I feel so anxious?"
The music makes the trailer.
The music enhances the drama, the emotion, the feeling, the energy.
It's what music does.
And that is so cool.
