Music as an Emotion. The Gut-Hitting Kind

I don't need to analyze it, I just need to experience it.

Old Town Albuquerque - Our 50th Anniversary trip out west. This is where I sobbed my heart out in the women’s restroom. All because of them. (See below) Author’s photo.

So this happened today:

As I was scrolling, I don’t even remember where, I found a clip I couldn’t get past: a street musician was dancing in a beautiful courtyard, playing a black violin; silently, as it happened, since I had the sound turned off, but one look at his movements told me I needed to watch and listen.

I turned up the sound.

OMG. I wanted it to go on and on. It reminded me of that time in Old Town Albuquerque years ago, when a Peruvian musician playing a pan flute wrung me out like a damp dishrag, sending me to the nearby women’s restroom, where I sat in a stall and sobbed. I couldn’t stop crying and I couldn’t admit to the other women trying to console me when I finally came out that it was music–just music–that did this to me.

This is the group and this is the very song that did me in. This is the only video I could find. It’s someone else’s taping and it’s not the greatest but it gives you an idea.

Live, gorgeous, spontaneous music—meaning music I just come across—will do that to me.

So back to what originally brought me to write this: This piece.
Enjoy!

Genel Kültür @GenelKultur3

Kulakları büyüleyen muhteşem bir keman performansı... 👏 The Trouble Notes

So of course, my first thought, as I’m watching and listening and blubbering and blowing my nose, is, who is this? Who are they?

It didn’t say, so I went looking for them myself. I Googled ‘violin buskers street musicians’ and found a link to the top 10 talented violin street performers on YouTube. Their picture was there, but not their names.

What? They have to have names.

I scrolled through the comments and someone just casually mentioned who they are. They’re The Trouble Notes and they’re not just buskers, though they do like to do street performances. They travel all across Europe and do concert tours, as well. And I feel as if I’ve discovered them and now I’m sharing them with you.

There’s something about street performances that seem real and spontaneous and magical, and I fear my life’s mission is to find the very best of them, which isn’t hard to do. I could spend days moving from one performance to another, and if anyone ever tells you YouTube isn’t addictive, they’re damned liars.

But before I end this, I have to share my favorite of all-time favorites. I’m guessing I’ve watched it more than 50 times, and I’ll bet you’ve seen it, too. It’s my go-to when I need this particular kind of lift. It is indeed an Ode to Joy:

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So there you are. Please tell me all of these hit you the same way and you’re glad you found this on a gloomy Monday morning when you weren’t expecting this kind of enchantment at all.

If you did and you’re feeling it, we’ll always be friends.

If you didn’t, you might want to keep it to yourself. 😉

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