Music Is More Than Just A Profession
“Artists and spiritual teachers, musicians, shamans, they are the ones who are holding the world together. Because they go to the other world and bring back the energy… They are actually bringing the frequency into this world”
-Michael Beckwith, spiritual maverick and teacher
I come from conjurers, song catchers, shamans, and music magicians. I don’t know how many generations back but I know it’s been many lives and continents. But when I was growing up of course I couldn’t see this because I was too close to it all. Nowadays much of my week is focused on teaching vocal technique and other performance skills to singers, dancers, healers, and those wanting to feel better about their voices in general. But sometimes when I’m in the midst of, say teaching a class of young college students I wonder “what is it exactly that we’re doing?”
”Am I teaching vocal technique?”, “Am I showing singers how to be a commercial success?”, “Am I teaching presence”, “Am I teaching authenticity?”, “Am I sharing all of the above or something even greater?” I guess I would say ALLLL of the above. But first it’s important to name the fact that music is more, much more than just a profession. And this is where I sometimes feel conflicted. This is where choosing a life with music differs from perhaps being an accountant, an engineer, or a shop owner.
In my humble opinion music is in fact a tool or technology for healing. You can look up scientific studies if you need proof of this or you can just observe what happens to a room full of hospital patients when someone comes in playing live music. Notice what happens in a park when people around you start to connect with a live salsa band, Afro-beat group or live Funk band. Notice how stiff bodies and postures soften, notice how deadpan faces start to smile, how people start to make sounds of affirmation. Notice how people begin to connect with one another even as strangers.
Music helps to move grief and painful memories, music helps to get you out of your head when feeling anxious or stressed, music helps to ground you into your body, music helps to shift your mood or energy state, music can be used to meditate and create those alpha brain waves we all benefit from and so much more.
So for those of us who teach and perform music I feel we ought to remind folks that this is more than a profession. When you step into your practice, enter it intentionally. Some days it’s okay if your tone isn’t perfect so long as your heart is seeking to fully open.
While our society is still struggling with so many levels of injustice and unnamed abuse, it’s urgent that we remember why art matters and how it can change the energy, change minds, and transform us for the better. To learn more about the positive influence music can have on your life, grab a copy of my book Lost & Found: Finding The Power In Your Voice.