There are surprisingly no words.

I've got some great post ideas in store for this blog. I've been pretty busy with school work since the semester is winding down, but I'll be able to post a lot more soon. I've been experiencing so much more with music and have been more aware of how important of a role music has had lately, and it's giving me a lot more to say and also giving me a lot more to feel. Did that make sense? Ah well, I just wanted to write a short post today.

Have you ever put together a mix for someone before? I personally think the "mixed tape" (now CD or even a zip file...) is one of the best utilizations of music. What better way to "send a feeling"to someone than with a compilation of all the songs that spark that same feeling in you! It's taken a while and it's also taken a lot of music to collect but I've gotten pretty good at making mixes for myself and for other people. Making a mix is one of my favorite things to do. Last Christmas, I managed to pull off not spending a lot of money for Christmas gifts because I made everyone different mix CD's of Christmas songs instead :) I think one thing that helps me create the best mix for someone is two things: 1) you gotta know them personally and what they want to listen to, and 2) i try not only to concentrate on arranging mixes lyrically but also musically. I make sure that there's a perfect flow from one song to the next, from when the song fades out to the next song fades in.

Well, I was making a mix for someone I care a lot about the other day. And I don't have a significant other (yet) so I don't do this very often. I was thinking about... what if we didn't have lyrics? Back in the day of Mozart and Beethoven, music still expressed great emotion and story but they did it though using different instruments and harmonies, different volumes and different tempos. If they wanted to express a feeling... they didn't write words, they wrote notes and symbols. Amazing isn't it? There are some bands I know of now which are strictly entirely or mostly instrumental (you've probably heard of Explosions in the Sky and Ratatat) and I have just the most heightened respect for them because they have so much characterization in each song, yet have no words. I feel so much love within "Your Hand in Mine" by Explosions when there is no "I love you" to sing along with. That is just how strong music can move.

if you would like to listen to it, here is a link:
Explosions in the Sky | Your Hand in Mine

So as a challenge for myself, and I invite others to do the same.. I'm going to try and make the perfect mix CD for someone with strictly instrumental music and NO lyrics. I'm actually going to try and make two: a classical mix CD ( love oriented, I guess) and just a general instrumental mixed CD. I have a person in mind I want to do this for... a boy who yeah, I like a lot. But I encourage anyone who is reading this to do this for anybody, not just their significant other. I think instrumental music won't portray a serenade or a statement like other mix CDs sort of portray... but it will be more similar to that of an embrace to someone you love so much. There are never really words to say during a really good hug....you just find yourself listening to sounds all around you... and you save the energy that you would use to say something and instead use it to hold on tight to that person and to the feeling they give you.

(Pictures by Katie Muth Original Prints via KatieMuth.com)