Where Did All The Soft Music Go?

     I was never a great lover of music and did not sway to its rhythm.  Even though I took piano lessons for many years, I never had an ear for it.  I read the music or visualized it to play memory work that was assigned by my teacher.

Years ago music was live and close to home.

    Church hymns were my first introduction to music.  The songs were soft and soothing, and for me the words had meaning.  For years they were a comfort to me and enveloped me with a loving sound.     

     As I grew into my teens, I listened to the radio or went with my parents to the local church or town picnics where local bands played march music and patriotic songs, and the highlight of the evening was the cake walk.   Many a Sunday afternoon we drove to Himmelrich’s Grove to listen to a group of guitar players called Uncle Jack and Mary Lou.  Closer to home, my older brothers and their friends formed a musical group called the Schoeneck Mountaineers and would often practice in our living room. 

     The first records I remember were 78s that were played on a Victrola.  A hand crank provided energy to the turntable, the needle was set on the turning record, and, voila, we had music. In my teens, the 45s were the big thing. In fact, I think I still have a stack of them, or I have passed them on to one of my children. 

Delivery of music has changed through the years.

    Throughout the years there has been a constant change in the delivery of music.  There was the reel to reel tape, the cassette tape, the stereo 8 track, the 8 track cartridge, the CD, DVD and now the Blu-Ray, et al.  As the delivery changed, so did the music.  In my mind, it hasn’t changed for the better.    It has just gotten louder, more brash, vulgar and threatening.  The songs no longer seem to say anything and often consist of only a few words which are repeated over and over.  Soothing music has become harder to find.

    During the Christmas holidays, I do like to listen to Christmas carols.  However, last year I became so frustrated, I just turned off the new fangled device the children gave us. It has a name, and she is called Alexa.  According to directions, all I had to do was ask it to play the music I wanted to hear.  Well, asking it to play Christmas carols was not so simple.  The device asked me what type of music I wanted and by what artist?  I found there was Modern, Pop, Religious, Classic, Rock, R&B, etc.  There were many different Christmas albums available, but I did not recognize any of the artists.  

 Whatever happened to Bing Crosby, Perry Como and Neil Diamond?

     I finally decided to try an album of Classic Christmas music.  From where I stand Classic Christmas music sure has changed.  Jingle Bells has been Jazzed up.  White Christmas has been Rocked, and Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer has gone modern.

    I tried the TV music channels, and they were no better.

    Every day my world just seems to get smaller, and everywhere I go, I find very little that is familiar.

    I do have a small circle of friends and have a few activities that I do enjoy.  I find I am most comfortable in my home entertaining myself reading a book, cooking creatively in my kitchen, writing this blog or co-writing novels with my husband.  I do play duplicate bridge two to three times a week and enjoy shopping at Dillard’s department store every now and then.

   The trick to aging is to learn to be happy with what you have, add a little adventure here and there and keep in touch with old friends.