No Pressure Over a Music Appreciation Session

Music has always been an important part of my life. One of the vivid memories I have of it is how I eagerly listen to my parents' vinyl records every Sunday morning when I was a kid. Up until now, I can hear in my mind the crisp static-like sound at the start of every record or when there is a transition from one song to another.

My aunt is my biggest musical influence. She stayed with us for a couple of years and she would play the guitar while we were tending to our sari-sari store. During the summer and semester breaks, we would flip over the pages of song hits and song books. Unfortunately, this was during my puberty years. So you can just imagine how often my voice would crack when I sing. Fortunately, my aunt was kind enough not to mind it and encouraged me continue liking music (even if it didn't like me in return, as the common joke would go).   

All these fond memories came back to me when I attended Cattski Espina's music appreciation session last October 17, 2014 during the Ubuntu Festival at Hale Manna Beach Resort and Coastal Garden in Moalboal. After years of listening to and singing songs (singing as defined by someone who is occasionally out of tune), it was on that day that I fully appreciated music. 

Cattski started the session with a seemingly innocent question on what music meant for each of us and this turned into a very interesting discussion. A myriad responses came from the participants ranging from music being a form of poetry with melody to music being an expression of emotions.

This was followed by an inquiry on the difference between hearing and listening. Despite the various words used to answer this question, the central theme of the responses was that listening is superior to hearing since the former involves attention and the intention to understand. We were then made to understand how our answers reflect Copland's 3 planes of listening: sensual, expressive plane, and sheerly musical planes. Once the concept was understood, Cattski asked us to write statements that she dictated. Up to the very last dictated word, no one from our group was ever really sure of what we were writing about. It only made sense when she played Alanis Morissette's No Pressure Over Cappuccino. We learned that the sentences we wrote were lyrics to that song. We then discussed how different our impression of the song was compared to only reading the lyrics. It was then that that we realized that we were listening at the expressive plane. An important insight I gained from the music appreciation session was that every single person interprets and appreciates music differently based on one's perspectives and life experiences. More importantly, I realized that my interpretation is as meaningful and as correct as the other person. 

That is what I liked about the activity. There was no pressure felt over the music appreciation session. Cattski made it clear to us that there were no wrong and right answers. We were allowed to be our selves and share our personal insights on music. She spoke in a manner that allowed us to clearly sense her passion for music. She even said that it was her advocacy to "save the world one music appreciation session at a time." She urged us to listen to good music and appreciate it by moving from the sensual plane into the expressive plane. Perhaps her point is best expressed by quoting the lines from her Rock n' Roll song:

"Aren't you bored of those redundant shallow love songs, when they're sung by superficial balladeers... Aren't you fed up with repeating common humdrums, when they're played in such pretentious atmosphere. What you should listen to are songs that make you want to face your fears, boost your spirit, learn to fly, and live to inspire."

Thanks to Cattski's music appreciation session, I will never listen to music the same way again.