In Ellison’s “Living with Music”, he freely defined all the noises he was surrounded by as music, even the disruptive or meaningless sounds. For example, although he dismisses the sounds of “howling cats and barking dogs”, he still included them as a musical occurrence in his life. From this, music has a tremendous influence on his life. The shouts of the drunkard commanded his writer’s block and he discordantly felt the songs of the singer rattle his psyche. His later passion for music was life changing and consuming. Music was a formative part of his identity and affected the way he experienced the world.
In Sack’s “A Bolt from the Blue”, the discussion was about sudden musicophilia, which generally occurred following involuntary changes to the brain. I found it fascinating that all of the case studies were people who had little to no interest in music prior to the event, but eagerly engaged and created music after. The shifts in their identity makes me wonder what the past them would have thought of the change: would they be appreciative, or dislike who they have become? Although they may not have considered all sound to be music like Ellison, music was also a part of their identity. In the case presented by Rohrer, Smith, and Warren, the woman’s relationship with music before the sudden musicophilia was of avoidance, such as not listening to music or closing the door to block out music. In conclusion, music can effect one’s self-identity regardless of personal appreciation or aversion.
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Music is the manifestation of one’s identity as seen throughout history authors Oliver Sacks and Ralph Ellison describe their relationship to music as an essence of their being. In the essay Musicophilia, Sacks examines music, using experiences gathered from patients, musicians, and everyday people. In the essay Sacks interviews a man who is struck by lightning and is suddenly inspired to become a pianist and noted the experience as “very spiritual” (Sacks 7). Similarly in Ellion’s Living with Music, he notes he gave up music {trumpet playing} to be a writer which he also played as a child knowing that the sounds of the trumpet were the healing he was in search of to be himself again.
Known to influence thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in music it was no surprise that Ellisons frustration and resentment towards the singer grew with each note she sang. His choice of swapping one tool for the other was symbology of leaving a part of himself behind. Although his skills were not too professional standard the vibrations of the sound, the muscle memory of playing the brassing instrument, and the support he had from neighbors were enough to engrain being a musician into his DNA. He needed music bot just the loud bustling city sounds of New York but the sounds that resonate within him. While playing the trumpet may not have been part of who he was at the time of this essay radio systems were. The familiar sounds blaring from the speakers allowed him to reconnect to a part of himself he once forgot.
Music has a power that not only allows us to reconnect with our former self but also finds ourselves. Throughout Musicophilia Sacks interviews Cicoria who lived an average life until struck by lightning. Much like Ellison Cicoria played amateur piano as a boy with no ambitions of improving. Interestingly the accident caused by nature manipulated Cicoria’s neuro structure which eventually led him down a path of finding himself and his identity. Dedicating days and nights to getting composing music and the need to play the pain of allowing the strings to echo the sounds in his head was a new unexplainable passion. Although along the way of self-discovery he lost the social constructs he once felt defined him as a husband and doctor, he chose to honor the musical identity that was ruminating in him.
Throughout life, everyone uses music to find and reconnect to identify whether it’s through other musicians or their own. Periods of time remind us of single memories like Ellison said they can also help us create a new one like Cicoria when he found himself playing his own compositions for audiences he never dreamed of. Music shapes the world even when it changes one person.