Music & Rituals!!!

         Music and Rituals are the topic for this blog, and I feel it’s going to be a breeze for me with speaking on such a thing. Here’s why…

        I am a musician and I sing and play for many different engagements. In the music world many performers call these things “gigs”, I’m now realizing it’s a form of a ritual. I’ve had many gigs involving weddings, birthday celebrations, holiday celebrations and more!!! 

         Speaking on weddings, one of the many common songs that is requested and I also love to play is “Ribbon in the sky” by Stevie Wonder. This song is so beautiful, it came out before my time, but I’ve been able to witness the usage of it from many occasions and now able to play along side of it. This song is so beautifully written from the words to the instrumentation. The words are basically vowels for your loved one & originally Stevie wonder wrote, sang, played the piano and even had an harmonica solo within this here video!

         That was just a little example of one of the songs I typically play for weddings, but that isn’t the only rituals I’ve encountered with. As a Saxophonist we often tend to pick up a lot of birthday gigs. I’ve played for many birthday celebrations from all ranges of ages. Of course the birthday song is to be played, when that is asked I usually play by ear unless someone’s wants it specifically played a certain way. For birthday gigs I play a variety of whatever songs fit the vibe or theme of the party. Below is a clip of a saxophonist playing Happy Birthday and it usually goes a little something like this: 

       So far the two piece I’ve shown I would consider them feel good music. Happy Birthday is exciting and fun. You can tell it’s a form of celebration all about you and your big day, as well as the song about love. Ribbon in the sky is also a feel good song about the person you love and cherish. Your speaking on your vowels and celebrating you and your loved one, but not all rituals are exciting and fun. I’ve also played for funerals as well, and thats not the most exciting occasion but it is definitely a form of a ritual. One of the songs a will forever love is “Better Days” by Leandria Johnson. This song is so beautiful and it assures you better days are coming no matter what you’ve been through on the days before, it gets better!