Why I Love Music

I love music because of the way it makes me feel.  Certain types of music have the power to relax me when I am feeling anxious.  Other types of music can pep me up when I am feeling slow.  Music that sounds beautiful makes me happy and fills me with a sense of awe, the same type of awe that I feel when I see a sunset, a beautiful garden, or a painting.

I like to share music with others.  I am vocal about my likes and also my dislikes, although I am much more careful about how I vocalize this than when I was a teenager.  I am also more open to experiencing different types of music and learning to enjoy things that I wouldn't normally enjoy.  I feel that when I share my musical likes and dislikes with people, I am sharing a piece of myself with others, because in a way, the music a person likes says something about them.  Sometimes a popular song will be played often on the radio and I will listen to it when I'm by myself because I enjoy it for some reason or another, but I won't admit to others that I like it.  I treat it as a "guilty pleasure".  I don't share with others that I enjoy the music because for some reason or another, I don't think it is really good quality music.  It might be cheesy or simple, or unoriginal.  Even though I may enjoy listening to it, I wouldn't want to share with others that I enjoy it because I am afraid that it might communicate something about me that I don't like.

I like to play music with other people.  My favorite thing to do is to play the piano with a small group of instruments and singers.  Playing with other people always uplifts me and it is a lot of fun.  It is a shared experience that creates a special bond.

I like to play for other people (when nerves don't get in the way).  When I play music for other people it makes me feel as if I am sharing a part of myself with them, something that can't be expressed in words.  I like to listen to others perform music also, because I enjoy the music (if it is played or sung well) and because I feel like I am learning about the performer.