Notes of Strength

Notes of Strength - by Ainsley A. Cheng

For a moment, for a split second, that note, the aching melody, those words, they pull me into their arms just long enough for me to catch my breath. The comfort of those songs, of music— be it the playfulness of Bach’s Inventions, the joyousness of Mozart’s Sonatas, the rebellious nature of Lady Gaga, the childish words of Taylor Swift, or the upbeat-catch-your-heart-feel of Jimmy Eat World—carry me away from the world almost too perfectly. Comfort, oh, the comfort – people wouldn’t understand the chills that just run up and down your spine on days that don’t seem to make sense. But a song, a simple song, translates your feelings into words and music; for that minute, listening, you realize that someone out there gets you wholeheartedly, and you’re not alone. I’m not alone. It’s then that I remember exactly why in times of silence – when no one’s home, TV’s off, radio quiet – my music becomes my strength, my escape, my joy, my tears, my everything that I turn to.

Changing circumstances and growing up constantly color new music into my life because with every event, every person, and every moment, I’ve found that I am always able to find a song to perfectly explain my exact feelings and emotions that occur at that time. Because of this, I truly believe that my love for music cannot be limited to or put into a small box of qualities and characteristics to describe it. My interests are all over the musical spectrum and with the change of the day, it fluctuates and transforms, but essentially it’s the ultimate combination of the perfect words and the perfect melody that are the hook-line-and-sinker. My heart and mind can’t differentiate the artists every time, but the above recipe of perfection, just does it for me. I cannot simply pinpoint a single artist, a genre, or a type of music to generalize my taste in music. It comes with the day – today it may be Sara Bareilles and her feel-good-uplifting poetry, tomorrow it may be Muse and their eerie yet enticing voices in combination with their strange musical arrangement, and yesterday, it could have been Miley Cyrus and her get-up-on-your-feet-and-dance Party in the U.S.A. My interest is fickle. The days that seem lonely and too quiet for my own good are painted perfectly by songs like Superstar sung by the yearning voices of the Carpenters, Where I Stood by the scratchy voiced and extremely talented Australian artist, Missy Higgins. The single moments that elation just breaks out all over my face and my body language are depicted so well by the innocent and youthful songs by Taylor Swift, the upbeat-kick-off-your-shoes Are You Gonna Be My Girl by Jet, ABBA, The Beatles, and Jimmy Eat World. The incidents that my heart is just wrenched in frustration and hurt can easily be lined by Taking Back Sunday and their throwing-guitars-and-TVs-on-stage ways, old-school Yellowcard and their known “emo” whiny lyrics, and finally, Eminem and his dangerously vulgar rap. Today, I will tell you that all these artists and their songs are only a small taste of what I enjoy, but tomorrow, it may be a whole new list. Find me a song that carries my heart and soul, and that is all I need, nothing more, and nothing less.