Music and Movement

One thing is always the result of another. This is true for music and movement. Music (sound) is heard because of the movement of objects that produce vibrations. In the same way, movement is the result of responding to the music/sounds that we hear.

I hear/feel sounds everywhere, every time. Even when I’m asleep, my ears never stop hearing sounds. Even if I try to cover my ears with my hands, I could hear the sound of blood rushing through my veins. (Which is like a drone by the way. The heart on the other hand is the like a drum beat.) For me, these sounds are organized in such a timely fashion that I consider it music. (Music such that music is the organization of sound and silence.) I believe that subconsciously, my body responds to that music. Sometimes, I wonder why all of a sudden I tap a certain rhythm. Then I would realize that I’m tapping the rhythm in response to the footsteps I hear.

Another example of music and movement is my heartbeat. Its purpose is not just to pump blood throughout the body but also to give us a steady rhythm. This pulse that we unconsciously hear contributes to movements such as walking, breathing, etc. The steady thumping is like a drumbeat that harmonizes our movements with the music of Mother Nature.

Okay, maybe I went too overboard and too cheesy with my statements about sound and movement. I might’ve just been thinking too much. Let’s try this again. Let's start off when I was a small child.

I used to dance to whichever music I hear. I remember one time, I was dancing to the music while walking down the stairs. Ofcourse my body wasn't well-coordinated enough that I fell down the stairs. That happened twice. That's the reason why I have this big bump on my forehead.

In elementary, during school celebrations, we always prepared productions that would include singing, dancing and acting. In high school, the most popular group projects were theatrical presentations. Never did I see a presentation without music. Yes, we always had background music. The idea to this is to add effect on the movements of the characters and to set the atmosphere.

Another instance is: whenever I play the piano, I move my fingers to strike the key and produce sound. Listening to the music is pleasing. But looking at the motion of my fingers, along with the simple body movements I do in reaction to the sounds I hear, adds to the beauty of the art. It’s almost like a theatrical performance too. The movement contributes to the music and vice versa.

Also, when I’m listening to people playing music, I sometimes tap/conduct to the beat of the music. When I feel like it, I sway my head to the phrases. Or, when I listen to rock or pop music, I freely bang my head or stomp my feet. I even pretend sometimes that I’m a rock singer and do some funky moves.

With all these situations and experiences I’ve written, I believe that there is a great correlation between music and movement. Without music, there is no movement. And without movement, there is no music.

Musical Autobiography

Being born and raised in the Philippines, Western Art music wasn’t the first type of music I was exposed to. My first introduction to non-Western music dated back to when I was still a baby. My mother used to cradle me in her arms while humming “Uyayis” (Filipino Lullabies). Some of them were entitled, “Ugoy ng Duyan”, “Ili-Ili Tulog Anay” and “Dandansoy”. According to my mom, every time she sang one of the familiar tunes, I knew that it was time for me to sleep already. It always worked!

When I got a bit older (probably around 2 years old), I wouldn’t sleep without background music. And, whenever someone turned the cassette player off, I would wake-up and cry. One odd thing though was my music preference. It wasn’t a lullaby I liked listening to. It was rock music! My father would always laugh whenever he tells me this story.

It wasn’t long until I was taught how to sing Tagalog, Ilocano and English nursery rhymes. I was also taught how to sing some Filipino folksongs namely, “Bahay-kubo”, “Leron Leron Sinta”, “Tong, Tong, Tong”, “Magtanim ay ‘Di Biro”, “Paru-Parong Bukid” and many more.

When I was 3 years old, we moved near my grandparent’s house. Everyday, my brother and I always visited them. My grandfather loved old songs, and that was whene I began listening to music by Elvis Presley, The Beatles and Kenny Rogers. Up to now, whenever their songs are played on the radio, I could still sing to them.

I was 10 years old when I started learning the piano. Since then, I seriously played Western Classical music. I became extremely inclined to it that I decided it’s what I want to do for the rest of my life.

I entered an arts high school. One interesting thing regarding that high school was that we actually had subjects like Rondalla, Ethnic Music, and Art Studies. In Rondalla, we were taught how to play folk dance music using Rondalla instruments – Banduria, Laud, Octavina, Guitara, and Double Bass. Then, every term we always had a culmination activity with our resident folk dancers. We accompanied them while they danced. In Ethnic Music, we studied the different ethno linguistic groups of the Philippines, their music and their instruments. We also studied how to play the instruments and do improvisations on them. It was an enriching experience. In a class called Art Studies, some of the topics were about Greek music, Indian music, Western Art music, Chinese music, Japanese music, and Anime soundtracks. We were able to listen to a lot of selections.

In my High School, I lived in a dormitory. Whenever I had free time, I enjoyed watching Hollywood, Bollywood, Japanese, Korean, and Filipino movies. As a musician, I became aware on how distinct each movie was film scored.
I think I have been exposed to a lot of non-Western Art music that this list could go on and on and on and on. But I’ll stop here now. My brain is already exhausted and I need to rest. Bye!