Shallow education breeds shallow understanding and therefore shallow performance.
I went to see Saving Mr. Banks over the Christmas holiday. I found it to be a very good movie. I truly enjoyed Emma Thompsons performance.
But what of the message of the movie? Obviously by the title it was about saving Mr. Banks of the Banks family in the story of Mary Poppins. This point was made very apparent when Mrs. Travers had her break down in the rehearsal room and stormed out. Then followed my favorite scene in the entire movie.
Mrs. Travers enters the rehearsal room the next day to some excited and apprehensive people. They then run the scene and end up handing her a patched up kite. The look on her face as she touches the kite is one of such hope and tenderness it hit me to the core. The scene continues with the happy frolicking of the group while singing the song "Let's Go Fly A Kite". I did cry, and smile, through this whole scene.
Before I had seen this movie, that ending song of Mary Poppins actually really annoyed me. I felt it to be very repetitive and simple and thus it annoyed me. After that movie however, my emotions have changed. This song was not written as a second hand thought to fill time and make the movie a musical. Instead, it was written as a motion of kindness to woman who was obviously hurting. The song was written for the redemption of a man. Granted he's a fictional character, but if humans did not connect so well with fictional characters we would never have stories. So yes, "Let's Go Fly A Kite" was a song written to redeem a father both in the fictional world and in the real world. I don't think I can look at that song the same again.
I write about this because I notice that many times music can become so repetitive that it means nothing. This happens with the radio many times. How many times has a song been released and then you can't listen to it any more because it continually gets over played all over the radio? This is an example of just mindless repetition. This is not the purpose of music.
In my education I have sung much religious music. While in choir I was never given the opportunity to let this kind of music become mindless and annoying. constantly we studied the words and their meaning. Constantly we thought about the effect of the music. Again and again we were asked "What did the composer want or mean when he/she did this?" Because of this, I have always sung with power in my heart. Because of this I have never become tired of the same songs even when we sing them over and over and over again.
Education brings a great understanding to the things we do, especially in music. As a performer I know first hand that music that you are not mindful of while you are playing meas nothing.
Music is powerful. Music is the communication of emotions between one person and another. If music is played without that emotion and without that communication it is nothing but noise. If you want a song to be powerful, give it your heart. Study it. Understand it. Let your heart and emotions be free to the beauty and joy that music can bring to your soul.
Let's go fly a kite.
