Notes on a Rhythm #1 - A Melody Softly Soaring Through My Atmosphere

This month is the four-year anniversary of the purchase of my first iPod, so I've decided to devote a few days to something that means very much to me.
Music.
This series will be known as "Notes on a Rhythm."
I can't remember a time when music didn't have some impact on my life. Even when I was two, I remember singing along with my Mom in her little orange Honda hatchback. "New Kid In Town" by The Eagles still takes me back to when we used to go shopping with Mary, the lady who lived next door to us.
Several of my toys were music-related, and when I was seven, my parents got the notion to giving me piano lessons. I was overjoyed. My first piano teacher was Mrs. Berry, and she was the nicest lady in the world. I played "Chariots of Fire" for my first recital, and boy, was I nervous. Eventually, I moved on to other, more strict teachers; and in high school, I took lessons from Rita Butturi, who gave me exactly what I needed to prepare me to major in Piano Performance at Kentucky Wesleyan College. That's where I first fell in love with Mozart, Debussy, and Gershwin. I excelled in music theory and eartraining, but found music history boring. After four years, I was so burnt out, I never wanted to see a piano again for the rest of my life. But after joining the Air Force, I found myself playing once again, mostly at Church and for fun. And that's the way I like it.
I think spending so much time learning about music has enabled me to appreciate it more. When I hear songs on the radio, I pick out chord progressions, harmonies, and time signatures. I make comparisons to other songs and sometimes, to pieces I remember from college. If you've never taken any kind of music classes, you should think about enrolling in a music appreciation course. It will definitely help deepen your understanding of where composers and songwriters are coming from, even if you don't like what they've written.
Hearing old songs takes me back to different times and places, forming a nostalgic soundtrack of sorts. And when I hear a new song, I wonder if one day, I'll hear it again and it will bring me back to this place. It's haunting and exhilarating, enigmatic and euphoric, emotional and animated. Great music is truly the voice of God, and it's presence in my life is something I could never fully explain. But I'm grateful for it.