Kind of explains why apple has been having it's surge of heightening business with its ipods (up till this day) and for the fact that live n loaded has been trying to take over Singapore. Who'd have thought music could bring about bouts of pleasure to its listeners through simple play arounds with tones and words.
Recently, i've been hearing talk of songs that have managed to squeeze through the ear-holes of some people and somehow reach the tear ducts (which is actually not very far away, and ya rach, you make up most of the talk i've been hearing). Which makes me start to think how cool it is that a song a stranger wrote could actually make someone out there get a buzz of goosebumps or tears. We've all had that feeling before, especially when you were 12 and that girl you liked totally didn't bother about you and suddenly backstreet boys' "Shape of My Heart" starts playing on radio only to make you realize every single word seemed to describe how you were feeling. Or when life sucked and Simple plan released it's "Welcome to my Life" single. Hell yeah, welcome to my "great life". I plead guilty for relating these 2 songs and many others to my own life. Although i seriously don't understand why i thought shape of my heart related. hmm.
I remember learning the piano in primary school, with some teacher called miss wonder (no seriously). With a cane hiding at the side of the piano, my fingers were constantly in fear as i struggled to scale my way through the enormously long stretch of black and white keys in hope of doing it perfectly just so i could escape the pain. There was the theory part that gave me a whole new ocean of troubles as well. After less than 5 lessons, i wondered (pun intended) how playing the piano could ever benefit me, and told my folks i had to escape the treacherous lessons. Was i wrong, am i regrettful.
As i grew to love music like everyone else, hoping to get every cd i can from sembawang music centre at century square previously, my favourite cd hangout last time by the way, i wanted to get my hands on an instrument and start formulating tunes which were capable of evoking the similar emotions i had as i stood in the bathroom grabbing my shampoo bottle singing at the top of my lungs to lyrics that somehow got into me without any effort in memorising. The regret of quitting the piano didn't really settle in though. Still there was little tingle somewhere inside that wanted to be part of something, and the recorder the school provided just wasn't going to cut it.
The drums started its appeal on me as i started attending church, with each hit and crash never failing to stir something in me. I watched constantly, and cowardly too, hoping the drummer wouldn't notice my eye on him. Somehow or rather, i can't remember how, i started lessons on the drums in church. Did that suck. So many points in time i wanted to quit as my hands and feet started to get into arguments with each other. But my thirst for being on the stage pushed me on. Yes, i started with that mentality. Stupid.
Almost everyday after school, i would come home excited just to grab my pair of drumsticks, turn on a track and play along with it imagining my bed was a huge drumset. The satisfaction of completing a song without mistakes then, priceless. As i started to get better and mature in my christian walk, i started to realise what the set could really do together with a band ready to worship God. Being on stage wasn't really what it was all about, it was this feeling of being together with a band ready to make good music and much more of being thirsty for something to happen, thirsty to do something to its listeners.
And today as i sat down on the set just rocking out with some people i really love to jam with, i got reminded of that feeling. As much as we want to make good music, we want to make good music that could touch the lives of people. Oh yes, the feeling of hitting every note in sync and in perfect timing together with your band, when the girls start screaming, when you showcase your skills. It's great, but that's for the performers.
It's something totally different though, when you see the people in front of you worship in sync knowing you're are contributing to a small part of that because God has blessed you with such a chance, and that's something else to marvel at. And that feeling, honestly? Indescribable.
