Awakening your Authentic Inner Muse

"People of color, people of all classes, both genders, have been systematically musically incapacitated." (18)

"Learning to play music, as an adult living in the modern world, has been one of the greatest gifts I've ever allowed myself! In making music I am so alive, I am in touch with a part of myself I had forgotten existed. It doesn't matter how good I am, or if anyone likes it, I play now for myself, for my own sanity and to let out the truth of my existence." Anonymous

I want to revisit a quote I used earlier in the book here, "There is a critical loss of music making going on that is not 'natural' or 'inevitable,' nor is it natural that just the 'talented' few are doing something and the 'untalented' many are applauding." (17)

Making music is so much more of a natural phenomenon than we have been taught in western modern society! It's not this "far away" concept that we can't reach or grasp as it's often portrayed to be, and, as mentioned in Chapter 2, you don't have to study theory and practice for years to be able to play and participate in making music! If you believe that music is just for "musicians," you've bought a lie!

It's false programming, plain and simple. Music is for everyone, and everyone has music inside of them. "The taste for music is inborn in man, and it first shows in the infant." (11 p. 52)

Now, if you want to be the world's best classical pianist, or a ballet dancer, then you'll have to do some studying, competing and dedicate your life fully to practicing and evolving your art, but to enjoy the simple pleasures of sharing a groove with others, you don't need to go to school, take a class or study ANYTHING! Remember, I'm considering dance, poetry, rhythm, melody and all aspects of the Muse when I say "Making Music." There are so many valid musical expressions, and from what I've seen, everyone holds an innate ability, it just manifests in different forms thru different vessels. Some may just feel it, naturally, in their bodies, some in their voices, some in their hands, some in words or stories, etc. In expanding the definition of "Music" it is honoring that each individual has a unique expression (dance, song, poetry, music, etc) and they are all part of the greater whole of Music!