| This past Friday Cedar Glade hosted dancers and musicians from the 42nd annual International Folk Fest. Despite the rain, it was a magical evening as dancers from Poland, Puerto Rico and Estonia danced traditional dances while musicians from the same countries played their traditional songs. Then the Cripple Creek Cloggers danced American Folk dances while The Slim Chance Band played Appalachian and other traditional American Folk Music. Now I am going to jump to a seemingly different topic but I promise to bring it all together. If you know me very well you know that I LOVE music. In conversation I will frequently quote songs. I can dominate a music category in trivia and there are very few American genres I don’t know at least a moderate amount about. I don’t get into some of the international stuff–K-Pop, Indian music, Tejano, etc. I tend to rotate through genres and bands and get stuck on them for a day or two, sometimes a week or two. So, Thursday and Friday, I was stuck on 90s metal–Pantera, White Zombie, Metallica, Megadeth, etc. I wasn’t in a violent or angry mood. Just had that in my head. I say all that to say this. Music is wonderful. It is an incredible language that allows messages, emotion, ideals, regionality, education and more to flow in a way that nothing else can. Everyone knows what music is. Everyone recognizes that when a song is being played and sung–no matter the language or the style– that someone is expressing something. And it innately causes a curiosity–what are they singing, why are they singing it. It also tends to strike some kind of mood. You can usually discern without knowing the words if it is a generally happy song, sad song, funny song. And that was the epiphany–I don’t speak Estonian. BUT I knew what they were singing–basically– because of the music and the dance. It bridged the gap. If they sat in my car and listened to Pantera with me, they would basically understand the music, even if they didn’t speak the language. The song “This Love” can absolutely be understood with a minimal grasp of English. To reign it in, listen to music. Expand your catalog. With modern streaming you have a literal unending supply of music you can explore and consume. Take advantage of that. Also, pay attention to what your kids listen to. And your friends. It can definitely be a window into their minds at least a little. |
