Background Music

I don't know anything that can develop an atmosphere like music. My husband makes amateur films as a hobby. He is currently writing the music on his computer to the film he is working on, and what a difference it makes. With the music he can decide if he wants the audience to take the scene in a light hearted way or if it is to be taken very seriously. In fact filmakers can create almost any type of mood they would like. That music is a powerful factor in putting the film together.

So, if music is so powerful in influencing the mood, atmosphere and actions of those in and watching a film, which is after all not real, isn't it even more important in influencing the lives of those that we do interact with?

I am not musical, but I like music. I have a lot of fun seeking after music that is lovely and of good report. In a way, I am, with my husband, the producer and director of our home and I get to select the music that will create the right effect. Do I want quiet, gentle music that will give us a feeling of peace? I may then play Inspired Holidays, which is original compositions for a piano and cane whistle. You can hear excerpts here, http://www.alyoung.com/sbmusic.htm. Do I want an atmosphere of excitement and energy to help me clean? In that case I may turn on Nothing But Love by the Wilkinsons. Do I want beautiful singing to just enjoy the trill of the voice? Then I turn on Lisa Arlington who sings wonderful religious music in a celtic style. I have been known to even play Christmas Carols in May if that is the mood I want in my home at the moment. I like variety, lots of variety. So in my collection you will find many classical composers, some celtic, jazz, hymns, operas, musicals, religious, folk songs and many children's collections. There is not much popular music however, mostly because I can find few artists that have a complete album of uplifting music. I wish there were more that would only sing songs about people who were kind, did nice things and were devoted to each other or to a good cause. Country music often has some very good songs that tell touching stories about how one life affects another, and I wish I could get a collection of just these. I occasionally listen to the radio in the car and I often try the country music stations as I do really like the devotion and sense of caring that goes into some of the songs, but I usually have to turn it off very quickly, because the songs I like so much are, unfortunately, a minority.

But it wouldn't be much of a quest if the good music was so easy to find. Now when I find one of those good CD's I snatch it up and treasure it. I think it is like so many other things, by having the bad, the evil, the flawed we can treasure the good, the right and the whole that much more. Then as we take those treasures and play them over and over in our homes they become part of the background music of our families and if carefully selected can help create the sense of joy and peace that we want our families to associate with home.