Christmas is nearly here

So now that my first ever term of Music Play is over and I am sitting at home, busier than ever, I thought I’d share what a music teacher does over the break between terms.

Of course, I love spending time with my loved ones – both human and animal. I enjoy my hobbies – crochet and learning new languages. I studied French and Italian to A level and the internet has made other languages so much more accessible . Now I find myself spending a few minutes most days (sometimes much, much longer…) studying Norwegian and my new baby, Russian. I am determined to be able to read Russian and to start to decipher what I hear when I hear Russian. Any Russian speakers out there? Talk to me!

Aside from these hobbies, though, I spend most of my time thinking about, listening to, learning about and exploring music. There are not enough hours in the day for me to do everything that I want to in relation to music. That is one of the joys of music for me; I will never know everything. And this fact spurs me on to keep learning and keep learning.

For me, music is a joy, a solace, an intellectual pursuit, a social lubricant, a way to connect deeply with others. In some respects, it defines me as I could not imagine my life without it.

As we approach Christmas 2021, I am immersing myself in traditional Christmas carols, exploring English carols and listening to their modes (mainly aeolian) and relishing the joys of sacred music.

I was thinking only today to myself that within the British culture, carols and pop songs are a quintessential element of the Christmas season and festivities. Can you imagine it if they didn’t exist.? It would be a very different experience, wouldn’t it?

Music is so tightly bound into our lives that I think we sometimes take it for granted and almost don’t notice it. Whether that is a good or bad thing, I have yet to contemplate!