Connecting with music in Switzerland.

A few weeks ago I spent a week in Switzerland on a business trip.  One evening during the middle of the week the group I was with were driving back in the dark through the Jura mountains after a day of training and discussion, returning to our hotel.

As is inevitable with me after the chat died down and people started to doze off I pulled out my ipod and headphones and plugged myself in.  It was peaceful to gaze out of the window at the tops of mountains shrouded in darkness and then to whizz through brightly lit tunnels that bore through the sides of vast rock faces.  All the while music played through my head as a soundtrack to the journey.

One other person was awake and looking around at the same time and I tapped our translator on the shoulder and asked if she wanted to listen to what I had playing.  Soon we were scrolling through my ipod and her phone, sharing music recommendations and the music that has shaped and moved us.  There was some crossover in styles and artists, but there was also a lot neither of us had heard as well.

I loved her reaction when I played her a song she had never heard before and which I loved and I could see how she reacted in a similar way as the first time I heard it.  Soon she was making a list of artists/bands she must explore further and it grew as each song passed.

She also played me some music I have never heard before, mainly some great French jazz musicians and I can now go off and explore them further too.

There is something magical about bonding with someone via music.  It is such an intimate, personal connection.  Especially when the music is being played through headphones and no-one else around you knows what is moving or inspiring you so much.  I cherish that moment when you suggest something you both already know and you can say ‘I love that song too’ and then you can bond over a shared feeling you have had when listening to it. I also love it when you hear/play something new and you can share something that may have been a part of your life for many, many years.

Before we knew it we were arriving back at the hotel and not only had the journey passed quickly and pleasurably, I had also developed a friendship with someone over the music we had shared.  For the rest of the week the translator and I talked about a vast range of subjects and grew closer over our shared interests and a great deal of it stemmed from the music we shared that evening travelling through the mountains of Switzerland.  The perfect end result that comes from both travel and music, which is why I love both so much.

A misty morning in the Jura mountains.

Keep your head up

As some of you may know, I have had a particularly stressful year for a variety of reasons and one of the things that has helped me get through has been my love of music and as suggested in a past blog post (Changing my mood with music) using music to self medicate and keep me buoyed up and positive (ish).

One recent example of this is the track ‘Keep Your Head Up’ by Ben Howard.  I bought his album ‘Every Kingdom’ in the past couple of months and have played it extensively ever since.  One evening I was working out on my exercise bike and had the album playing in the background.  As I pedalled away I thought about various things and put the world to rights mentally.  The track ‘Keep Your Head Up’ came on and the chorus hit me full force.  I felt the message keenly and strongly and I felt my cares slip away.  As I pedalled away even more furiously I used the message in the song to blow away some mental blocks and to also fight back some physical tiredness from the exercise.

Here are the lyrics for you to read through:

I spent my time watching the spaces that have grown between us.
And I cut my mind on second best or the scars that come with the greenness.
And I gave my eyes to the boredom, still the seabed wouldn't let me in.
And I tried my best to embrace the darkness in which I swim.

Now walking back down this mountain with the strength of a turning tide.
Oh the wind's so soft at my skin, the sun so hot upon my side.
Oh looking out at this happiness, I searched for between the sheets.
Oh feeling blind and realize, all I was searching for was me. Ooh ooh all I was searching for was me.

Keep your head up, keep your heart strong. (no, no, no, no).
Keep your mind set, keep your hair long. (Oh my my darling)
Keep your head up, keep your heart strong. (no, no, no, no).
Keep your mind set in your ways, keep your heart strong.

I saw a friend of mine the other day, and he told me that my eyes were gleaming.
I said I had been away, and he knew, oh he knew the depths I was meaning.
And it felt so good to see his face, the comfort invested in my soul.
To feel the warmth of his smile, when he said "I'm happy to have you home. Ooh ooh I'm happy to have you home."

Keep your head up, keep your heart strong. (no, no, no, no.)
Keep your mind set, keep you hair long. (oh my my darling)
Keep your head up, keep you heart strong. (no, no, no, no.)
Keep your mind set in your ways, keep your heart strong.

‘Cause I'll always remember you the same.
Eyes like wild flowers within demons of change.
May you find happiness there, May all your hopes all turn out right.

Keep your head up, keep your heart strong. (No, no, no, no).
Keep your mind set, keep you hair long. (oh my my darling)
Keep your head up, keep you heart strong. (no, no, no, no).
Keep your mind set in your ways, keep your heart strong.

Because I'll always remember you the same.
Eyes like wild flowers within demons of change.



Not all of the lyrics apply to me at this particular time or if they do the context is changed, but they are uplifting lyrics that can help you regain some focus and help you get things back on the right track.

I was glad to share this song with a dear friend of mine recently who is also going through a rough patch.  Often she and I will share our lives and stories in long extensive emails which I adore, but sometimes we will just send over a quick YouTube link and let the music talk for us.  In this case I sent her the link and hoped she would take the same message from the song; to keep her head up and her heart strong.

It pays to remember that the tiring, wearing and hard feelings we may experience in our life will eventually subside and release their grip on us.  But, in the mean time until we reach that point, it helps to have music and lyrics like this that can keep us on a slightly more even path.  I was just glad that I found this particular song and that I was able to share it with a friend who needed the boost and message as well.  I hope you enjoy and take something from it as well.

Enjoying the silence

I’m just going to stop my music as I write this article today.  Funnily enough this week, in my blog about music I’ve been thinking about the lack of music and of silence in our day to day life.

In some music and especially classical and jazz it is often as much about the silences and space in music as the music itself.  That hold for an extra beat, or that elongated pause between songs is as much a part of the composition as the soaring strings or the frantic jazz drumming.  That silence can allow you to take a breath and feel the force of the music all the more, or create tension before the music releases it.  Quite often these silences or gaps are overlooked and where itunes has separated the individual track from the album/composition this interplay of silence and music can be lost.

This lead on to me thinking about those odd times when I have been unable to listen to music for a period of days.  Whether it be away on retreat, or when taking a holiday, or away on business, there have been times when I haven’t played music for a number of days.  I find that when I come back not only am I desperate to play some music and sit and relax with it, but I also appreciate it more for not having it in my life the past few days.  The silence and time away from music makes me appreciate it’s power and place in my life all the more.

Silence and time for reflection are also important for the soul and where music feeds my soul in numerous ways, I am also nourished by those reflective moments of silence in my life too.  I could be sat on top of a welsh hill gazing out at the lush beauty before me, or sitting quietly with my thoughts centring myself before or at the end of a hectic day, but these silent moments are as important as the soaring, stomach clenching emotion I feel from music.

It helps sometimes to press ‘stop’ on my stereo and listen to the rain outside, or the wind blowing against the house, or to appreciate the extra quietness that comes from a snow storm.  That connection to nature, however brief, helps us find ourselves and then when we go back to our lives and press ‘play’ again, we can feel more in touch with our surroundings and in this instance feel the power of the music all the more.

Anyway, just a few thoughts.  Time to press play and see what music I fancy today.