My favorite YouTube video of all time is a Ted Talk given by Benjamin Zander entitled, "The Transformative Power of Classical Music." In it, he discusses the idea that all people can love classical music, most of them have just never had the opportunity to.
It's about 20 minutes long, and it changed my life.
If you have time, I highly recommend watching the video in its entirety, even (especially!) if you don't think you like classical music. Zander touches on so many facets of life, I think you'll find it worth the time investment.
The part relevant to my Learning Challenge, however, starts at around 16 minutes in. For context, he's just discussed a bit of the theory behind a Chopin Prelude -- why Chopin chose the notes and chords he did, and how it ultimately creates both a mood and a story. He then instructs the audience to listen to the Prelude with this new context, but also with one added caveat: that they picture someone very dear to them who has been lost.
The story he tells around the 16 minute mark is about a boy who participated in this same exercise shortly after the death of his brother, for whom he had never properly mourned, and how the power of the music allowed him to embrace those emotions for the first time.
This idea of truly feeling music as a listener, or embodying the feeling as a performer, and both experiencing and inspiring the sensation of "shining eyes" reminds me of why I love music, and how it relates to the concept of a shared human empathy. Even though we all have different stories, music unites us.
Here's a link to a transcript of the entire Ted Talk for those without audio capabilities.
Also source of the following image.
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