Music is the balm we all need.
Not a balm. The balm.
In 2020, when we needed to be apart, one of the most difficult things was being unable to make music with others. I know that I find consistent comfort in music-making; it lightens the load and invigorates me when I’m at my most exhausted.
I told Shades of Blue today that I have felt a heavy weight on my shoulders for the last week or more, but that two hours of making music with them has been a balm. It has lightened my load. And I was glad for the weekend of nonstop music-making I had, because it kept the heaviness away.
I’m not naive enough to think that music can solve all of our problems or anything as prosaic as that; but I do think that music holds unique power to make our individual lives a little more livable. Just listening to music makes a difference, and finding ways to make music even more so.
I’m just saying: find a way to make music part of your every day.