universal language

It is the one thing that incorporates science, mathematics, language, history, physical education, insight, research and art in order to create expression. It is most universal yet inexpressible. It is none other than music. - M. Slawsky

Music has brought people together time and time again, and it has been an important way for me to interact with people of other cultures. I traveled to Cambodia in summer of '09 and Togo, West Africa in summer of '10, and even though I did not really speak their languages, I knew the language of the heart and spirit, the language of music. I brought with me a harmonica and one of my friends brought a guitar and we were just there playing and dancing with the villagers who have no idea what we were singing but still danced to the rhythm and sound. And those Africans really knew how to play 'em beats! My body, mind, soul, and spirit were enjoying the deeps resonances of the djembe, conga, and their scattered singing. We didn't need much words. We communicated through our emotions in our playing, singing and dancing.

Here are some of my favorite music that have painted beautiful imageries in my mind:





There is nothing in the world that is as powerful as music. And I want to leave you with this: "When you listen, don't just let it go in and out, but tentatively listen with your heart and use your imagination to draw out the picture of the music."

It's not just music. It's food for the soul.

jw

music & moods & productivity

Music has much dominion over our emotions. One upbeat song can easily cheer us up due to it's fun and light melody and style, yet one slow song in the minor key can bring us to tears. This is, to me, something beautiful and miraculous.




If you think listening to soothing music is relaxing, then what about animals? I recently saw a YouTube video of cows listening to Classical music while milking, and surprisingly these cows produced more milk while listening to classical music than without music (or Opera Serenades).




And just to spice it up, the following video is a crazy parrot dancing the night away--these two videos show that not only humans have feelings toward music, but even animals have various reactions toward different types of music too.




When these cows listen to Classical music, they are happier and more relaxed, and thus the increase in productivity. I listen to movie soundtracks of Forrest Gump, Amelie, and O Brother Where Art Thou when I study, and I believe they have helped me to relax and stay focused with my work. On the subject on studying, one of my friends who is an artist partnered up with a musician and created a YouTube channel called "Study Music Project", where they posted videos of art and original music pieces made for students when they study. You can even create a playlist and just let the music run for hours without clicking on new videos! Go give it a try, I hope that this channel will help you focus too!

jw

music in movies

During the "silent motion picture" age, music was provided by live orchestra but was regarded as only an accompaniment. Nowadays, music plays an equally, if not, an even more prominent role in movies. If we watch the clips below without sound, we would not have the same experience because music brings out the overall emotions of the clip.

Below I will introduce two of my favorite movie themes of 2010:

TRON: LEGACY
Hands down to the French-duo who simply bring the movie that is already visually stimulating to another level with their soundtrack that will go down in history. I do not think anyone else can make a better soundtrack for Tron: Legacy than Daft Punk. The electric sound blending with orchstral scores gives the viewers a futuristic sound that matches the awe-inspiring CG effects in perfect harmony (pun not intended). I almost started dancing in the theatre.

INCEPTIONOne word: E-P-I-C. Hans Zimmer will go down in history as possibly the most successful movie score composer of the twenty-first century. Inception soundtrack is his best work yet, and I am already looking forward to his mind-blowing sound for the next installment of Batman. The music of Inception not only enhances, but it generates an ever-growing confusion of the mystery of dreams and the puzzling plot.

There's this special connection between music and movies that musical themes are written to "define" the movies themselves so now movie score composers are stepping up to bring the audience deeper into the story. We buy soundtracks because they can reminisce the movies by just listening to it and tap into the world of TRON or the never-ending dreams of Inception.

jw

mayer plays love

John Mayer, an inspiration that makes me want to start picking up some guitar, claims that he has written over 30 self help books.
Watch the video from 1:40 on. Here's the entire concert on USTREAM.
I highly recommend everyone to watch him rock out his guitar. It left me in awe.





"Just deal with the love in front of you... Go on the assumption that you're awesome is what I'm trying to say. And if you're listening out there on USTREAM, and you think I've offended you, then come on up to me face to face and I'll give you a high five and a hug. Cause I've got an analog heart, this shit don't have usb, it's just me. I can't hook up to 3G. I just gotta.... let it be. You know what I'm saying?"
JM points out this song, Gravity, is about fighting against this "newly invented matter" which is this fake negative feeling people seem to create over the internet. People use the freedom of internet to create their alter-egos--whether they be supermodel wannabes or emo kids who are suicidal. No one knows what is true anymore, and in order to connect in a deeper level, people simply have to rid their electronic gadgets because our hearts "don't have usb" and "can't hook up to 3G".
I think the same goes with music specifically.

JM prefers playing in front of people. And at the end he plays "love" for the crowd at Red Rocks and over USTREAM. After the end of his "love" guitar solo, JM acknowledges internet for being "a great place to go for love and a terrible place to go for hate." (Not shown in the YouTube video).

Most of JM's lyrics surround with "broken hearts", which can be overwhelming at times if not listened carefully. One of his popular songs, Waiting On The World To Change, is a sarcasm of how we seem to wait on the world to change instead of taking charge to make a change. And this catchy song was getting a lot of attention because of its underlying message that promotes hope speaks to the hearts of many people in this day and age.

I believe writing music about love and change is what this world needs, and JM not only does it but also performs live with much more freedom than we hear him play in the studio recordings because he wants to connect more hearts and shares love with his music.

jw

music, brain, heart

"Many people who love music profess to know nothing about it."

Daniel J. Levitin, This Is Your Brain On Music

I have taken multiple music classes at UCSD, most of them are "appreciation" courses such as Western Music and Jazz Music. What surprised me was that all these courses have no pre-requisites; as long as the students like music, they can sign up for the course.

We are experts in what we like, whether it be food, drink, or music. A fervent Hip Hop fan can immediately tell the difference between Kanye West's tunes from Jay-Z's; a Classical music lover can distinguish the styles of Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven. However, they do not necessary KNOW music--in some ways, their knowledge of "music" is only at a superficial level. These music fanatics know the songs they like, yet they cannot tell the notes and the chords being played bar by bar.

What fascinates me about music is not just the technical side, but how it can pierce through our hearts within seconds, and a song, whether with lyrics or not, can comfort the right people at the right moment. Music transcends its notes, chords, and instruments to another level that bring love, joy, hope, sadness, anger, or even peace. It is almost supernatural. Music brings people together, and we do not have to know all the chords played in the Star Spangled Banner in order to sing out our inner patriots. As the time goes on, the means with which we listen to (or obtain) music will change, but the human longing for music to fill their hearts will stay the same.

jw

hello rules

Welcome to Music Brainiac.

These are the rules of the posts I will be posting on this blog:


1) The post must analyze how a specific type of music connects with people.
2) It must include multiple links and at least one video related to music.
3) It must be appealing to the general public who enjoy listening to music but do not necessarily have any musical knowledge. The language used in post must be easily understood by both musicians and non-musicians; if any musical terms are used, it must be explained.
4) There must be one full post every week.
5) My view on the subject matter must also be expressed in the post.


jw