Joy: the music and the sharing of the music: Som Sabadell flashmob

Balance is everything. I've been listening to too much sad music.

It's good to have lots of sad songs to help us to deal with our own sadness, and to help us appreciate our relative gladness. We love sad songs, but we also look to music to lift our spirits and to keep our spirits up. So, this is about Joy. The deep sadness of the last couple of posts deserves to be balanced out, not just with happiness, but with great joy.

What better piece of music to demonstrate joy than Beethoven's Ode to Joy? And, what better vehicle than this video of the famous flash mob created by Banco Sabadell to celebrate their 130th anniversary!

This excellent flash mob features over 100 people in the Vallès Symphony Orchestra and the choirs of Lieder and Friends of l’Opera and the Choral Belles Arts.

BTW I get impatient with people who believe flash mobs should be done spontaneously, and get all bent out of shape when they're planned. How do they think anyone does it without planning and rehearsing? And, flash mobs aren't allowed to have a commercial connection because music is supposed to be free, right? Have they tried to buy a cello or a bassoon? What about rehearsal space? Only ice-time is expensive? Grr.

The video shows that we experience music with our eyes and our mouths and our whole bodies, using all of our senses and all of our previous experiences to appreciate the performance. You can see people with cameras, people pushing forward to see better, and a little girl climbing a lamp post so she can see better. Music isn't just about listening. You see the little girl up a lamp post later conducting. I love it! People are singing along, moving to the music. I'm sure that in their imaginations, they're playing with the musicians, upbowing and downbowing, moving the trombone slide in and out, and conducting like only the children dare to do. This is just what David Byrne was taking about in his book "How Music Works" when he wrote about mirror neurons and music!

We need more of this! We need the orchestras and bands to become buskers, taking their music to the street, taking their music to the people. If we can experience live music made by people that look just like us, then we'll appreciate it more, not less. Even just the video of this performance has affected millions of people!

Can you imagine that there are people who only experience orchestral music through recordings or sitting still in a concert hall dressed in their best and probably least comfortable clothes?

People should be given opportunities to make music and get up close to musicians more often. Musicians must share the joy.

When I was young, band or orchestra were compulsory at least for 2 years. I played clarinet in band and envied my friends who played string instruments in orchestra. Yes, there were 2 full-time music teachers. We never got together for a big orchestral experience. Too bad. In high school, music was optional and there was only band. So, in the end I was lucky because I was able to continue playing my instrument until the end of high school, Grade 13 at the time.

My children are fortunate to have gone to a school where they had an excellent music teacher and lots of band instruments. The students' concerts were awesome, and made me cry because I remember the joy of playing in a band, making great big music with my friends. Too many schools have no band instruments, no full-time music teachers, not enough time dedicated to music. That's sad!

I am also fortunate to live in Newmarket where we have a Community Choir. I get so much joy from participating in the choir! And, I get an even greater joy from sharing the joy of music in performances in the community.

Public funding for music is sooooo important. I would go so far as to suggest that putting music back in schools, giving children and their families a few years of experience making music and playing in an orchestra, will increase peace and decrease crime. In addition, the number of well-paid musicians with stable careers will help to increase the value of music.