Music can be a powerful experience.
Among some cultures, there are songs that can slow down the heart of a perfectly healthy person until it stops completely: Within 24 hours the person is dead.

And the opposite is also true. People who are sick, sing a song, and heal. "Songs of power." That is how such songs are called.

We can all relate to the power of music, even when for most of us it goes without much reflection.

We can be upset, turn on the radio -or put a CD- a tune comes on, works on us, and a moment later we find ourselves singing along, our irritation giving way to a better mood.

At times, it can be us who sing for someone else who is irritated, perhaps a baby who wakes up crying in the middle of the night. There we are, holding him, rocking him, and singing some soft notes to his ear. If we are lucky, the baby goes back to sleep. Saved by a song.

Researchers tell us that even in the womb, these little creatures are affected by music, and some hospitals even provide pregnant women with some Classical CD's, Mozart being the most popular. I can just see that little guy waltzing around to a Mozart song.

Animals are also susceptible to music. We are told that cows that listen to classical or gentle songs give much more milk than when they listen to hard rock. Music -and good taste- goes beyond species.

I remember the day I got my first guitar. I was 10 years old. I was so happy with that instrument, that I made my own songs even without a teacher. Those strings could make the sounds that I just knew were in me. If I was happy there were certain sounds that felt right. If I was sad, I found other ones. Later I would learn about the major and minor keys, and the rhythms, the combination of which generate happy or sad moods. I am sure that music has saved my life more than once. It has provided me with the perfect outlet for emotions that otherwise would still be buried deep down, causing me still some suffering. At times, I didn't have someone to talk to when I was in need of a friend. And there she was, my guitar: always available, loyal, strong, reliable. I would start with a low note, deep, sad. The melody would go on, just like the sound of crickets in the night. After a while the feeling was not just in me anymore. With my guitar and my song, my feeling was now a wave going all around me. The grass, the trees, even the distant stars seemed to be affected by this melody. And I was no longer alone. At times, after a while of playing sad tunes, the notes would become sweet, tender, and love would manage to emerge. Feelings would flow into each other, and I was no longer stuck in sorrow.

Nowadays, I've been fortunate to meet some little friends, kids who like me are in need of a guitar that will give them the opportunity to bring forth the world that lies within them. When I see them, my guitar that I love so much, seems to tell me that it needs to go with them. "But I want you!" I say in my heart. "But the child needs me" comes the response. A moment later I find myself without a guitar. And to my surprise never once have I regretted doing this. The warmth in the eyes of a child as they get their first guitar -the same joy that I had when I received mine- is also an ongoing melody that lifts my heart. And somehow within a couple of days I find myself with a new guitar in my hands.


Cultural Wisdom
The Office of Roberto Dansie
P.O. Box 168
French Gulch, Ca 96033
530-359-2892
www.robertodansie.com /website
dansie@tco.net /email


Dear Friends:

Just a short note to let you know, we will be out of the office from April 3rd - 14th. We will be traveling to Paris, France and will not respond to emails until after the 14th.

Roberto & Theresa