Music Soothes the Savage Beast

Today I'm thankful for music!

Auditioning for Abilene Idol

I've been very blessed to have been given a decent amount of talent when it comes to music. I sing, and I play the piano, and I think I do both fairly well.

So, it isn't enough for me to just listen to music. I always want to get in there and participate! Especially when it comes to singing. That's my passion.

Rehearsals for Little Shop

This time of year, we tend to start working on Christmas music for various church parties and programs. Even though I don't listen to Christmas music around the house until after Thanksgiving, I feel like it's okay to get a start on learning and practicing Christmas music a little earlier.

This year I'm singing in our ward Christmas meeting, the Sunday before the big holiday. I'm also putting together music and narration for our church Christmas party, and the fancy Christmas dinner that the ladies at church are going to have.

So as you might guess, I've got all kinds of Christmas music I'm working on at the moment! I'm not singing every song myself, of course, but I am organizing it and accompanying most of them.

Today I got to spend an hour with some very talented ladies, working on the song "Candlelight Carol." It's beautiful, but it has some complicated harmonies. This was our first day working on it, but already I can hear the potential. It's going to be gorgeous!

Ben singing in the first Abilene Idol competition. He won 2nd.

Music has the power to increase any emotion. That's why they use it on TV and in the movies! They build suspense, or hint at romance, or make your heart soar with the thrill of adventure. And they do it through music.

At the funeral I attended yesterday, my friend and I were both doing pretty well with not crying. Until the music started up at the end of the service. I'd never heard the song before, but it made the moment so much more powerful. Neither of us escaped with dry eyes.

A kids' musical I did last summer

Music is a powerful thing. I don't know that enough people really understand that. Music can heal, or wound, or intrigue, or encourage, or pacify, or even terrify us. I've had songs leave me feeling incredibly uncomfortable, and others uplift my soul to the point of tears.

Think about this - all it takes is two very specific, very low, rumbling bass notes, and it can give you nightmares about sharks!

Music is a wonderful blessing. It makes life so much more meaningful. I'm grateful that I have talents that allow me to express myself through music. I can say so much more with music than I can with words alone.

"Somewhere That's Green" from Little Shop of Horrors

And I know God gave us music for a reason. He loves it, too. As He says in Doctrine and Covenants, 25:12, "For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads."

I love music. And I'm so thankful for it!