Music and Rites

The birthday song! Perhaps one of the more infamous (and banal) musical rites in life. Music serves so many purposes, and an especially significant use is to mark the trials and tribulations that are all part of our existence. My grandfather prides himself in discovering the magic solution to cease my incessant crying as a newborn: putting on a Mozart record. In fact, I associate my entire childhood with some sort of a soundtrack, for that's exactly what our home movies denote. My parents, in an attempt to make make our baby videos somewhat "entertaining", would play background music befitting the mood of the scene. One scene in particular is of me falling asleep in a rocking high chair, and my father actually times the rocking perfectly to the song "Moving in Stereo" by the Cars. My mother is feeding me to Roxy Music in another, shoving the spoon into my mouth on the downbeats. My first steps are to Beethoven's triumphant Eroica Symphony (really).

A poignant instance of music and rites happened during a high school retreat. One of my close friends spoke with us about her inner struggles. When she came to a turning point in her narrative, she would play a song that represented the past chapter of her life. To hear the music with which she connected, and by which she felt consoled, made me feel all the closer to her soul. It was a moving experience to be invited to share in her difficult moments, which were manifested in her music. It holds true to all of us; just as a familiar smell or place will evoke memories of our past lives, music also stirs in us our past selves, and helps us to realize who we have become.  

I know that a wedding is a cliched example of a musical rite, but having attended my cousin's over Christmas break, it reminded me of how music My grandfather always says of weddings that "There is no excuse to not have a good time", and he could not be more spot on. It is not even about what was being played (ahem, Macarena), so much that the music draws people out onto the dance floor; I felt at home among my family, we were all in one place and celebrating in the same way.