Saving your eyes for the music? Listen to this post instead:
Recap
So back to the initial question: Do I seriously believe the world needs more music? More of my music?
If we understand “need” to mean “will cease to exist without,” then obviously music is not needed by the world, nor is much else.
If by “need” we mean “is enriched by,” then the answer is certainly “yes.”
If we look to music expecting it to solve one of the world’s major problems (poverty, hunger, violence…), we will be disappointed. But as I see it, this is what makes music more valuable, not less. Unlike everything else that we do simply in order to ameliorate some other dilemma, music enriches the world by being its own end, by providing net positive value to life. To say it another way: for many of us, music is what makes life worth staying alive for.
That said, music can ameliorate certain problems. It can provide healing. Not just escapism. Real healing.
In fact, far from being escapism, my musical practice constitutes the process through which I metabolize the world. It is the medium through which I offer my “authentic response.”
A multitude of others offer their authentic responses through music, too. These distinct musical expressions, reflective of both their larger cultural contexts and the unique qualities of their creators’ minds, form a chorus of viewpoints. As a performer, I wish to create concerts curating these perspectives firstly because such spaces are rich and beautiful and secondly because I believe that spending time simply sitting with these minds and essences has the power to change our awareness and thence our behavior.
“But,” you still ask me, “won’t the world go on functioning more or less the same without your imperceptible contributions?”
Sure. More or less. It probably will.
Thatโs ok.
As I’ve explained, I have other motivations for doing what I do.
<- back to Part 4: Creating Rich Cultural Spaces in Which to Share Perspectives and Think