'Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything.' Plato.
I talked to my daughter about this very subject last night during dinner. She once again told me that fellow pupils sometimes had the chance to select a piece of music from the internet for everyone in the class to listen to. Sadly, the music chosen was always pop music.
As we have no television or radio at home, there is no risk of ever hearing the noise they now call music: dreary, monotonous crap that should really come with a health warning. We only ever hear modern pop music when in shops or cafes, or when I occasionally put it on Youtube to offer my daughter the chance to choose between 'It' and something a little more musical. The latter always wins.
When we're subjected to the poison in a shop or café, I often feel like covering my ears, so offensive is the sound to me now. It's neither entertaining nor uplifting but irritating and depressing, and every 'tune' sounds the same. I'm just not used to such hideousness and can see (or hear) it for what it is. It's certainly not designed to make people feel great anymore. In fact, it's often designed to do quite the opposite. The subject matter of an increasingly large percentage of modern popular music is suicide or death. This is a subject no child should have drummed into their heads on a daily basis.
Twenty one pilots: Heathens (from Suicide Squad: The Album)
WARNING! Not suitable for children OR adults!
The 'song' above is nothing unusual in today's world and this is what young children will listen to if they have unsupervised access to the internet. This is what we allow into our minds if we turn on the radio. What you see in the video is a reflection of what the music will do to your psyche (or soul some people prefer to say). This sound, as it's not music (it has to be musical to be classed as music), will have a negative effect on anyone listening to it, especially children. Sadly, so few parents feel the need to restrict what their children listen to and mock parents like me who know the danger in material like this. I, personally, am unable to watch this video in full as it affects me so much. That is not because I am re-sensitised due to removing myself from the modern media environment. Being sensitive is a good thing, by the way. If the world was controlled by sensitive people it would be a much nicer place.
The toddler in the video at the start of this post was crying not because he was sad but because his heart had been touched by the beauty of the music. What is sad is that it was the first time he had heard Moonlight Sonata. Perhaps it was the first time he'd heard classical music. Was it the first time he'd heard any beautiful music? Have we arrived at the first time in history when a child never gets to hear beautiful music?
I think so.
The people who control the music industry are not good people but sickos who want your children to turn out dark natured, prematurely sexualised, violent, degraded and suicidal. You should know that by what 'artists' they decide to sign up and what 'tunes' they churn out. They have the power to fill our environments with uplifting, joyful, fun and positive music but, instead, they fill it with the opposite. You have to ask why?
While we may not have the power to change what the music industry churns out, we do have the power to change our environments and what our children are exposed to. That does, of course, mean that you have to clear out from your world all the poison. No TV, no radio, no unsupervised access to the internet, only wholesome films and no smartphone babysitting (I have never even owned a smartphone).
Last night, over dinner, I suggested to my daughter that she chose a beautiful old song instead of succumbing to peer pressure and choosing a modern popular song. I said, 'Imagine if you chose The Skye Boat song. Maybe none of them have ever heard it. It would blow their minds. I bet they'd sit there with their mouths open.' I hope she finds the courage to be such a rebel. Isn't it sad though that a child has to feel so daring to present something so beautiful? How badly wrong our society has gone.
I have the chance to expose adults to rebellious music, which was once completely normal. I sometimes get negative feedback but generally people are very appreciative. One woman walked out muttering, 'It's like a church! I had to learn all those songs when I was a child!'. Oh well, bye! One young woman stood as still as a statue as I played Mozart one day. Her eyes were glazed over and her mouth was agape. The statue started to move my way and she asked, 'What is this?'. I wasn't sure what she was talking about so asked, 'What is what?'. She asked, 'What is this music?' to which I replied, 'Mozart.' 'Oh. But what type of music is it?' she asked. 'Classical music'. Had she never heard classical music before? How wonderful that I had introduced her to something that would bring her so much pleasure but how sad that neither her parents nor her school had done it before?
I have never for a second regretted my decision to raise my child in a wholesome environment full of happy, fun, beautiful and positive music. Even if every other child in the entire world has been raised on modern music, I will still believe I made the right choice. When you know the bottle on the shelf labelled 'Drink For Kids' in fact contains poison, you stop pouring it down your child's throat. Or, at least, you should.
Give your child a rich musical education by playing classical music, Latin, Flamenco, European folk, jazz, swing to fill their hearts with love, encourage them to sing joyfully and make them dance like no-one's watching. If you don't expose them to beautiful music by talented artists, who will? How are they ever going to know what real music is if you don't show them?
What we put into our childrens' hearts today will be what we reap from society tomorrow.
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