“When words fail, music speaks.“
William Shakespeare
Music is, as Leo Tolstoy said, the shorthand of emotion. It speaks to each of us in a way that is completely unique to ourselves, and reaches a part of our hearts that nothing else can touch. Music is, to me, a companion of living, a salve for the mind and spirit in a troubled world, a wind that spurs the sails of creativity, and a friend that bears witness to the living of life.
Life is not clean, nor is it easy, and music accompanies us through it all. A song reaches our heart just as well–and indeed just as needed–in times of sorrow as much as in times of joy. And when we listen to music we are silent, and in silence, we rediscover ourselves.
“Within each of us, there is silence. A silence as vast as the universe. And when we experience that silence, we remember who we are.” ~Gunilla Norris
So here I share the music that has most accompanied me through the years, music that has changed my life, music that has saved me, if for no other reason than because somewhere in the world there is someone who needs it too.
Check out my writing playlist on Spotify. You might find something you like.
Hammock’s Triptych: Mysterium, Universalis, and Silencia
A trilogy by Hammock, a two-member band from Nashville. These three albums started in 2017 with Mysterium, a towering modern classical record that Marc Byrd and co-founder Andrew Thompson made shortly after the death of 20-year-old Clark Kern, the former’s nephew. It is followed by Universalis and Silencia.
“Mysterium was about a shattering,” Byrd says. “Universalis, the trilogy’s second record, was an attempt to put things back together, and Silencia reflects a quiet resolution of knowing this is what life is. You have to live in the midst of both.”
Slow Meadow
Pastoral, deeply felt compositions by Houston multi-instrumentalist Matt Kidd. This music is a thoughtful, meditative blend that is deliberately slow, in its namesake, and kept close to the chest, as can be derived from his debut album Slow Meadow, and his second album, Costero.
“I think slow music is important,” says Kidd. “I can’t tell you exactly why but the more I listened to ambient, the less excitement I wanted. I started hearing so much in very small musical statements.”
Slow Meadow is music for thinking, self-reflection, and seeing the minute details in life and hearing the quiet notes in each passing moment—and has been a companion to me through times of confronting fears, facing adversity, and coming to terms with lost family, lost chances, and lost innocence.
BigRicePiano
Beautiful piano scores for thinking, writing, and reflection. Support the artist on Bandcamp.