In The Peter Ostwald’S Novel, “Glenn Gould: The Ecstasy

In one of the first scenes of the book, at the party, Brent uncomfortably stands at the drink table listening to music with his headphones (Fleischman 11). Isolated from the rest of the crowd, Brent finds solace in his music and finds that it gives him the courage to talk to other people and socialize. This innocent affinity to music suddenly vanishes when the high school boy unintentionally takes the life of another human being. Referring to Brent’s state of being after the accident, Fleischman writes, “He ate little, spoke little, and no longer listened to music. He turned seventeen, an event he scarcely noticed. He heard his parents whisper about the blow to his head and his personality change” (35). Exposure to the cruelty of the real world brings about Brent’s severe personality shift and indifference towards music. Because the accident prompts Brent to stop enjoying music, he will always equate the two things with each other. Music forces Brent to dwell on the events of the past and refuses to allow him to move on. Describing Brent’s attempt in making his first whirligig, Fleischman writes, “He sat down. He decided to do without the wing. The figure could simply be a harp player. The harp was full sized, the sort you'd find in an orchestra. Lea had played in an orchestra. He wondered what her instrument was” (51). Brent affiliates music with his accidental killing of Lea, an unfortunate event of the past. He even begins to ponder about the specifics of Lea’s musical life. Once again, music prevents Brent from moving on and living his present life.

‘He told me I have the wrong kind of fingers’” (7). When the father fell for it, the boy’s sisters also told the father similar stories so they could get out of their lessons. Even when all three children had stopped playing their instruments, their father still tried to get them to play, but with different instruments, “‘the trumpet or the saxophone or, hey, how about the vibes?’” (7). No matter what the children said, the father tried to get the children integrated into music somehow. When the children refused to play different instruments, the father tried to get the children to listen to recordings so they could be inspired, “‘I want you to sit down and give this a good listen. Just get a load of this cat and tell me he’s not an inspiration’” (7). No matter how hard the children pleaded into getting away from music, the father still tried to connect his kids into music

In the memoir A Long Way Gone, author Ishmael Beah describes his survival journey as a lost child in his country, because of the civil war in Sierra Leone, then becoming a child soldier facing war daily, afterward the process that Beah went through during rehabilitation and finally in fear escaping the civil war. Ishmael Beah emotional journey has three stages of development in which Beah utilized music. In the first stage, Beah uses music as a survival mechanism to keep sane and safe. In the second stage, begins when he loses his brother and friends, Beah reaches the lowest point with the loss of his entire family again, some friends, music, and being forced to join the war. In the final stage, is the process of rehabilitation where Beah connects with music once again. Ishmael Beah exposure to music at a young age stayed with him throughout his life. (Beah, 2007, p. 5-218)

From the creation of harmonies to singing to instruments, music has been an abstract form of human expression. Although an auditory collection of pitches and volumes, musicians can manipulate the same notes and bring them alive for their audiences. The true emotion and energy that’s felt in music really comes from the player as feelings are transferred to and through the listener. This interaction between performer and the house is catharsis, the complete release of strong repressed emotions. Thanks to the musician, music has the ability to grasp people and cause them to sense emotions and feelings without lyrics or images even being necessary. Although it’s believed we can only hear with our ears, something about music makes it emotionally if not physically tangible. In James Baldwin’s short story “Sonny’s Blues,” a narrator certainly unaware of the impact of music invites himself to experience jazz for the first time. Baldwin uses the final scene of his story to argue that music has an effect on those who are able to experience it. Baldwin does this in one single moment by letting the fixed, practical minded, “well-intentioned” narrator experience catharsis from jazz as his growing, free-spirited brother communicates with him through jazz.

The narrator, a teacher in Harlem, has escaped the ghetto, creating a stable and secure life for himself despite the destructive pressures that he sees destroying so many young blacks. He sees African American adolescents discovering the limits placed on them by a racist society at the very moment when they are discovering their abilities. He tells the story of his relationship with his younger brother, Sonny. That relationship has moved through phases of separation and return. After their parents’ deaths, he tried and failed to be a father to Sonny. For a while, he believed that Sonny had succumbed to the destructive influences of Harlem life. Finally, however, they achieved a reconciliation in which the narrator came to understand the value and the importance of Sonny’s need to be a jazz pianist.

Growing up, I never considered myself as truly talented. I would watch my friends as they excelled in sports or received their black belt after playing the hardest song on the recorder. At that age, they probably dreamed of becoming a professional athlete or a musician, but where did I stand in all of this? Everything I did was either subpar or mediocre. There was never a field or an activity that I dominated in (except limboing but that won’t get me anywhere in life). It wasn’t until one day when I saw my friend crying on our first day back from spring break, when I learned that I did have a talent after all. After consoling her, I learned that her grandfather had passed over the break; but I also learned that I have a raw talent for comforting others, talking to them, making them feel just a little bit better about life. As I reflect on this day, I know that my young, psychoanalytic self was born to be a psychologist.

what he became and did not let anything get in the way of becoming a musician. In this

The personal Narrative “Music Tonight” by Stephen Policoff is unusual because it is all about the daughter, but written from the father’s perspective. I was at first confused as to who the transformation would happen to, and it seems that both the father and daughter experience transformations within the piece, but because it is told from the father’s point of view we will focus on him being the character. At first, this story made me feel somber because I was sympathizing with the daughter, however after reading the entire story I realized that this story is not meant to be morose but rather to celebrate the joyous effect that music has on Anna. Simply because she was diagnosed with a neurological degenerative disease I was beginning to

In conclusion, throughout Beah emotional journey one key component is music for the survival, loneliness, and rehabilitation of Beah. Without music Beah most likely would have returned to the front lines of the war. Music helped Beah survive the early stages of his journey. Without music, Beah would have fallen prey to the dark thoughts of the war sooner. Without his family and music, Beah hit the lowest point, but it became a beacon pulling Beah from a dark place. Music gave Beah connections to new friends and relatives, even though it brought sad memories of his previous life. Beah love for music was a key component for his survival of those horrible experiences and most likely to this date it still is. (Beah, 2007, p. 5-218)

The role of music is important in the short story “Sonny’s Blue”, by James Baldwin. Sonny is the narrator younger brother and he has a dream of become Musician. When their parents passed away, the narrator felt like he is responsible for his younger brother and taking care of him. The narrator was a teacher and living a stable life. When the narrator was going home, he noticed that one of Sonny’s old friend, who is always dirty and high, was waiting for him in the school. But the narrator pretended like he hates Sonny’s friend who despite his problem. Also, he told the narrator how Sonny’s life was drug addicted and will be continuing like this. Sonny was arrested for selling and using heroin and the narrator was really angry about it. As

The 2013’s Americans for the Arts policy roundtable program let the panels from different backgrounds got together and discussed about what arts should focus on this year, and the topic they came out was “Arts and Healing: Mind, Body and Community ” (“2013 Report And Recommendations”, 3). When I first saw this topic, one name jumped into my mind, James Rhodes, a rising British pianist. He was abused by his teacher back into teenage time, and this tragic experience brought him not only physical harms but also mental illness. He got involved into some drug issues and everything just seemed so messed up. However, it is music that pulls him back from the edge and let him become whom he is today. He once said in the interview “On the piano”

Did you know that music is one of the few activities that utilizes the whole entire brain? Did you know that music can physically alter your brain structure? Today I am going to be talking about the power of music and its impacts and effects on the brain. Throughout my whole life I have always had a passion for music of all different types and genres. I listen to music wherever I go and during whatever I’m doing. My mom would continually badger me about the music I was listening to and how it was corrupting my brain. After much research and many songs later, I discovered it actually has many positive effects on the brain. In the rest

As a child I frequently made up little songs, and there seemed to be a constant stream of music in my head. I could see myself in the children she was observing and like them I didn’t have a framework for my experience – it was just my life. Whether it was singing while playing, tapping out some rhythm, singing at the top of my lungs to a favorite song, or goosebumps from hearing “Hall of the Mountain King”, it all felt familiar and warming. It has also made me aware of the musicking I continue to make every day in small ways here and

The Soloist on its part is a film that is based upon the true story of Nathaniel Ayers, a musician who suffers from schizophrenia and Steve Lopez, journalist for the Los Angeles Times, who befriended Ayers amid concerns of the severe and debilitating signs and symptoms associated with the mental condition (The Soloist). With its concept based in real life story, this film provides a remarkable opportunity to review the

Needle pricks, medicine, exhaustion, sickness, pain, feeling different ‒ these are just a few of the things that people with mental disabilities and serious diseases have to go through on a daily basis. But what if there was a different kind of treatment that could comfort them or reduce their pain even a little bit? Fortunately, for the people facing these issues, there is. Music therapy is a relatively new approach that doctors, teachers, and many others are taking to help heal and improve the quality of life for their patients and students. It’s starting to become more common around the United States and is expected to become even more popular in the future. Books like Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart support the idea of music therapy by demonstrating how music can be used to soothe and improve the moods of individuals regardless of what they may be going through. Music therapy is an effective way to speed up the healing process and improve the emotional state of a wide range of people facing different obstacles in life.