My chosen TED talk is Benjamin Zander’s “How Does Music Transform Us?” In this TED talk, Zander talks about his years as a classical music conductor and how it has impacted people. The power discussed in this TED talk is that classical music can be a transformative experience. In the TED talk, Zander says “Mendelsohn said that music is a much more precise language than words. And when you think how easily we misunderstand words – and God knows there’s enough evidence of that at this time. But music speaks directly to the heart. It speaks through the molecules. And it’s irresistable.” People can hear a song without any words and know everything the composer wants to say. It can play with your emotions and make you feel things you never thought you could. Music can also allow people open up to feelings that they have kept inside for too long. One experience with this that Zander tells us about is after he once played a Chopin piece and a boy who had never listened to classical music in his life, heard the piece and cried for his late brother. He said that he didn’t cry for his brother when he died. This is the power that music can have.
Though there are few, this type of art can have limitations. Not everyone may be open to having such profound experiences with music. Like every other experience in our lives, we need to keep an open mind in order to learn and expand our minds. I think that not everyone will feel that this art form is truly transformative. But if they allow themselves the experience, it can be.
I agree with you that a composer can create a piece of music with no lyrics, and you still know what message that he or she is trying to convey. For example, a slow piano piece playing in a movie where someone has passed away, it triggers inside emotion. The sound of the piece brings out emotions and feeling in the audience. I also think it is important to have an open mind while listening to the different musical pieces. If you begin the experience without being receptive to the music, you will not have the same experiences as someone who listened with an open mind.
I like a lot your points that you brought up. They were the same points that stood out to me as we listened in class like how the music made the boy cry, and how you can hear everything the composer is trying to say just through their music. I agree that everyone has a different view on music so not everyone is going to have the same experiences with it.
I enjoy your point of it also matters about the listener as well, not just the music itself. Someone can just not vibe with a certain piece or even a whole genre of music. So you say to keep an open mind and let the music do the work for you.
Another note is you mentioned on how we as humans misunderstand words at times. Would you think it possible to misunderstand the intent of a piece of music, as like we would with words with multiple meanings or hear incorrectly? Also, is interpreting music in your own way as opposed to how the creator intended it to be wrong? Just thoughts that come to mind, but in all seriousness good job!