The Music of Possibility
Do you have a favourite piece of music that you associate with possibility?
I do. It’s the soundtrack from The Last of the Mohicans.
You can get a flavour of it here:
I don’t know enough about music to know how it works or why I love it. Just that when I hear this music I get a sense that…
- It’s time to start something big: to dream it, do it, make it happen
- I’m capable, powerful, resourceful, strong
- I can step forward quietly, but with total confidence
- If I tune into the rythms: of the past, of the music, of the natural world, of the sound of the words on the page… then most things become possible
- Even when I’m stuck, energy will flow again and when it does I can write, teach, coach, play… easily
For me it’s the perfect music to play, loud, when it’s time to do something big, something important, something that matters, and something I’m just a wee bit afraid of.
When it’s time to dream something big and find the way to make it happen… this is the music that speaks to my heart and sings that it’s possible.
Do you have a piece of music that works that kind of possibility magic on you?
Hi Joanna. Music is something isn’t it? One piece of music that works a kind of possibility magic on me is “Clocks” by Coldplay. I have it on my mp3 player and when I’m out walking and it starts to play, I get goosebumps. I don’t know what it is about that song, but it takes me somewhere. This piece from The Last of the Mohicans has a haunting quality about it. There’s so much there, beginnings, endings and… possibilities.
.-= Davina´s last blog ..Morning Muse: Writer’s Block, Pass the Windex =-.
I’m not sure I have music that makes me think differently, but I definitely have certain albums that I associate with writing. I listened to Fionn Regan’s beautiful The End of History album almost on repeat throughout some of the most difficult periods when writing my novel. Typically, I can’t concentrate and listen to music with vocals, but for some reason I can with this. Strange.
Music does have an incredible ability to uplift, inspire, and ignite the soul – I find my taste in music varies quite dramatically with my mood – from classical, to pop, to rock, to country…
One of my current favourite albums is Christine Kane’s Wide Awake – every track has something special and her lyrics really lift my spirit.
And the one piece of music that has always inspired me is that Vangelis theme to Chariots of Fire – makes me feel like I can conquer the world!
Coincidentally, we are on the same page with music today Joanna. I used some music from Neil Diamond and re-wrote the lyrics for my JJL posting today.
http://joyfuljubilantlearning.com/2009/08/musicforahotaugustnight/
Music can inspire, change moods, and let one’s imagination soar.
.-= Steve Sherlock´s last blog ..PodCamp Boston prep =-.
Hi Joanna! Of course as soon as you asked, my mind drew a complete blank! LOL! But I do agree, there is something quite special about music. I have music that gets me going, music that puts me at peace and I know that there are songs that fill my heart and soul with possibility, I just can’t remember them! Thank you so much for sharing your favourite and for reminding us to embrace our possibles.
.-= Karen Swim´s last blog ..Be The Hero =-.
I’ll never be able to appreciate music like most of you do. For me, music gets me through a drive or walk. The rockin’ music energizes me. I don’t associate any song with “possibility.” My song associations are simple because my hearing is simple and unable to understand the intricacies of range and pitch.
.-= Meryl K Evans´s last blog ..40+ Writer Uses for LinkedIn =-.
YouTube – Through The Gates by David Arkenstone http://bit.ly/3roxGd — give it a minute and ten seconds to crank into faster, lighter mode.
I just saw the video for the first time today — not what I envision when I hear it, but the song is from a symphony-like album of Arkenstone’s called In the Wake of the Wind that I’ve had for years. It always portrays a wondrous journey — one filled with possibility.
Same sense of journey with this one, which also takes over a minute and a half to move into the main musical section. It reminds me of the martial arts journey:
YouTube – KITARO – Matsuri http://bit.ly/S2W2m
.-= Lori Hoeck´s last blog ..21 self defense questions you (and your teenagers) may want to think about =-.
Music from the Indiana Jones movies!
Anything from Mozart
Silk Road – Kitaro
Looking forward to checking out some of these others mentioned
.-= Angelica´s last blog .. =-.
Kia ora Joanna
Music is one of the fundamental movers. It can be powerfully connotative. Our ability to interpret it is innate and almost congenital. But like everything else in life, interpretation is different from one listener to the next.
I think you are right to identify music as a trigger for motivation, but it may not strike everyone the same way. I have played music on string instruments since I was 5 and love listening to music played by others. Yet for me, music can be so powerful and embracing that it inspires me to do no more than just that – sit and listen, or participate in the music if this is the opportunity.
I could no more write an essay or continue working at my workplace desk while listening to music than I could survive without breathing. But it can set my mood once I’ve listened and this can be profound.
Catchya later
.-= Ken Allan´s last blog ..Pick the Strawberries! GPS Website Gold Rush =-.
Davina you’re right, there is a haunting quality… but it’s uplifting too. Speaks to the soul maybe. I’m going to check out ‘Clocks’, thanks
Iain that is strange – like you I can’t normally stand vocals either when doing somehing else, but maybe some just manage to get under the wire. Will take a look / listen at this one, thanks
kathleen well, that’s the second reference to that album I’ve heard in three days, so it’s definitely going to go on my list
I’d forgotten about that Chariots of Fire music – it’s slightly more upbeat than the quiet possibility I enjoy about Mohicans, but it definitely gives you a lift and much needed oomph 
Steve thanks for entertaining us with your lyrical rewrites, what hidden talents! I love the way engaging our different senses can stretch the brain, imagination and sense of possibility…
Oh Karen your comment did make me smile – that’s always what happens to me when I get asked a question like that too. I should have known better!
Meryl thank you, what a powerful reminder of the things I all too glibly take for granted
Lori thank you for those links – I have visitors just now so can’t check them out while I type, but I will tomorrow, with anticipation
Angelica thanks – is that the same Kitaro that Lori mentions? And Indiana Jones – of course, and what fun… and a perfect soundtrack music of possibility for a project I’m working on. Thanks!
Thanks for the links Lori – great music!! Took me off in all directions!
And yes, Joanna, same Kitaro — silk road is on youtube too!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ulc51ZOGQk
Have any of you listened to Constance Denby – she has great instrumental music – AEterna is a good one for writing a piece where you are evoking deep feelings.
.-= Angelica´s last blog ..Solitude =-.
I don’t have any specific music choices to tell you, but I wanted to point out Julie’s post from the other day, when she was talking about music, too. (I love it when different blogs I read somehow hit on the same theme at the same time–great karmic juxtapositioning!)
http://writingroads.com/blog/writing-music-writing-feeling/2305
.-= –Deb´s last blog ..Word Tailoring =-.
Angelica thanks – I need to save up a whole lot of time to listen to these clips now!
Ken thank you so much for sharing that experience. Your words, like the music you’re describing, are powerful and evocative. I think for this kind of mood changing music I listen first then do (act, write, make something happen) later too. But I don’t think I’m getting such a deep experience as you – I am stunned by this sentence!
“I could no more write an essay or continue working at my workplace desk while listening to music than I could survive without breathing.”
–Deb that is great karmic juxtapositioning indeed
Thanks for sharing the link
Joanna, I learned many valuable lessons from the movie, The Last of the Mohicans! Honestly, it’s a very good movie. However, I didn’t have the chance to hear the music track yet.
To me, music is like a magic potion, where it gives me inspiration and strength to overcome all the obstacles in my life!
I need absolute silence when writing, but if there’s one composer whose work, to me, is all about possibility, then it’s Beethoven.
In particular, I’d say a Beethoven concerto – either the violin concerto or one of the piano concertos. Beethoven reinvented the concerto, making it much more of a dialogue between the soloist and the orchestra.
A musical form in which the creative dynamism comes from a conversation between the individual and a larger group – now what does that remind you of?
.-= Clare Lynch´s last blog ..Scenes from corporate life =-.
Thank you… i’ll add this to my ipod. Thanks
I really like this song and lyric to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkME7F5U3hE&feature=related
Here’s another wonderful musical performance that is worth sharing
http://videos.komando.com/2009/06/18/african-thunderstorm/
It is a reinvention of the 80′s pop classic ‘Africa’ by Toto performed by Perpetuum Jazzile a Slovenian a cappella choir.
The beginning is amazing – group members simulate an African thunderstorm with the use of their hands. Awesome!
Wilson it’s a great movie isn’t it? One of my favourites. The soundtrack is definitely of the magic potion variety
Clare what an interesting comparison… you’ve got me intrigued about Beethoven now… need to learn more about that creative dynamism we bloggers hold so dear
Tanya thanks, another to check when, if!, I get a quiet moment
Kathleen that sounds amazing, I am so looking forward to blasting my head with all of these!
Hi Joanna,
What a great film and a great musical score. I like the folky-ish violin parts best but maybe that’s just because they played behind such powerful moments in the film – if you allow yourself to get sucked into film that is
Common People by Pulp is the song that does it for me.
All my best to you for now,
Paul
.-= Paul´s last blog ..Drawing Conclusions =-.
Hello Joanna…I recently wrote on how music can reflect, enhance, or change one’s mood completely! It is a powerful medium. I find so much inspiration in it. I could never choose just one
Karen
.-= Karen Chaffee´s last blog ..Beauty Beyond The Storm =-.
Paul you’d better believe it, I was well and truly sucked into this film
Common People… interesting choice, and now playing all morning in my head…
Karen it is such a powerful medium isn’t it? I can’t ever just choose one either, but I was listening to ‘Mohicans’ the other day and realised what it was doing for me was all about possibility. There was no other word for it. Either that or I’m getting obsessed by my own themes…
Definitely. I love the Last of the Mohicans as well, along with the soundtrack from Braveheart. It’s so cool how music just invigorates the spirit. At times I’ve felt exactly what you described. The world seems to open up and offer endless possibility, and the familiar quote starts to swirl through my mind “Fortune favors the bold.” Thanks for sharing.
.-= Ben´s last blog ..Quiet Desperation =-.
Ben now Braveheart is a soundtrack I’ve not tried… but really should. It’s a celebration of freedom after all
It’s brilliant when we get that feeling of things opening up, isn’t it?
Joanna, I am with you on this one! My husband and I have a number of soundtrack CDs, but “Mohicans” is the only one in which every song counts and speaks to me. It’s an amazing work of art. (As is the movie itself IMHO)
That said, there are other individual songs from soundtracks that inspire possbility- The theme to the Raider of the Lost Ark Series, the “Rocky” Theme and any number of John William’s scores which escape my memory at the moment.
Eleanor the music from that soundtrack is quite something isn’t it? I love the movie too – it has some of my all time favourite film moments in it (okay, one in particular, but then I’m an old romantic). Your other suggestions sound good… going to have to make myself an inspiring possibility compliation…
Oh there’s an idea… thanks