It's Italian for Symphony of Life. I'm a passionate lover of music....music of all kinds. My iPod playlists can take you through worship, Yanni, movie soundtracks/scores, oldies, hip hop, classical, Pearl Jam, and much much more all in a quick 5 minutes. Depending on my task and/or mood, the music around me is the soundtrack for my life.
Without question though, the genre of music that I become completely enveloped in and consumed by is orchestral/symphonic music. Hans Zimmer is one of my absolute favorite composers and he is a theatrical/musical mastermind that is able to capture every character, emotion, struggle, and victory and weave those individual parts into a story that is powerful enough to draw listeners in and entice them out of the very darkest, tiny corners of their souls to travel the lines and notes of the story.
The thing about orchestral music that a lot of people go their whole lives never realizing is the critical part that each instrument, player, part, and movement plays in the overall beauty and emotional portrait that is painted by the orchestra. Each breath taken, when it is taken.....every measure that's counted, the timing, finger placement, breath support, amount of pressure applied or forced air that is moved....it's all of those things happening at the right time in the right place(s). Each musician has notes to play, those notes make up their part, that part contributes to their section, and their section contributes to the overall collective. If anyone neglects to learn their part and execute it accordingly, many others are let down and the collective is not as strong as it could be. Wrong notes, lack of passion and practice, or an individual trying to go rogue and do his/her own thing to get noticed....these things only bring discord, clashing melodies, and harmonies that are not so harmonious, all of which leave listeners praying for it to just end, or walking out to save themselves. No amount of foot tapping, conducting, or set of new strings around will bring harmony to the whole if each musician is merely in it for themselves.
Whether we realize it or not....we all have a part to play in this symphony we're in. Some practice hard, show up to rehearsal, and give it their all. Good musicians are able to split their focus and play their part, but also listen to the others around and gracefully weave their lines into the piece with the others. So many people in life only care about being heard that they will make ugly, destructive noise to do so. People become jealous of the soloists that "got the solo" that they wanted and seek to undermine the soloist's talent and beauty and diminish their spirit. In doing so, they lose focus on their own part to be played that offers support and strength to what the soloist is doing...even if it means just sitting behind them during an a cappella part. Just knowing the rest of the group is there, counting along, listening intently and preparing for their entrance is the support a soloist is often looking for.
I challenge you....listen to a piece of music outside your norm. Try one with NO words...just instruments. I even put a link for you below. Focus on listening to only ONE part/instrument the entire song. Try not choosing a melody or main strain of the song...listen to the supporting parts and the depth and support they add. If you're doing it right, pretty soon you'll hear how the others support that one part and vice versa. You'll hear how critical that part is to the overall piece.
What is your part? Do you even know? Are you trying to go rogue? Are you paying attention and weaving in your part with the others around you? Although we may sit in different sections, play different instruments and have different parts, we each have a crucial, vital part to play in this symphony of life. We need to put our own agendas back in the folder under the chair, listen to what is going on around us and focus on practicing and executing our part to the best of our abilities so that we may also offer support to the entire orchestra. An orchestra is many moving parts learning to ebb and flow, move and be moved, respond and advance....together. The ones that cannot do that may just be asked to leave the stage.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqlddXTcRWQ
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