The Year of Music: January 2021

2021 is officially the Year of Music on This Old Soul.

As I’ve thought about the past 12 months, I’ve realized there are so many moments where music spoke the feelings I couldn’t put to words.

Music has a way of doing that, wouldn’t you say?

It can cross boundaries and connect the most unlikely of people. It can provoke intense emotions, but also make us laugh and dance in circles like little kids.

Music is truly part of the soul of humanity.

You need to know about my history with music to understand why I have such a connection to it. I am a classically trained musician and have played the piano for 26 years (it feels strange to write that, but even though it’s true I am by no means a prolific player).

I have two degrees in music.

The first is Music Theory/Composition and this is where my intense love of music, notes, chord progressions, and harmonies came alive. It was only in college that I started writing music and it became a fervent passion. It was also during these years that I grew a love for studying about women composers.

Fast forward 3 years, and I decided I wanted to take my interest and curiosity for women composers another notch forward. I spent about 1.5 years in England completing a Masters in Musicology (which is basically a music research degree) where I focused intensely on the work of Elfrida Andrée, a women composer from the late 1800’s.

You could say that music is a part of me. We are deeply interwoven.

There are days where I can’t put into words the sorrow I feel, and so I put the same song or piece on repeat for hours (it drives my husband nuts so, yes, I wear headphones).

Other times my daughter requests a song to dance to in the living room and we jump and bounce around together, feeling the beat beneath our feet and finding joy that is best understood just in that moment.

Some days, I need concentration music for work or writing.

I guess what I’m trying to say is, music is life.

It picks up on every aspect of my emotion, and there are very few times where silence is the response to how I’m feeling. I guess you could say there’s always a soundtrack playing in my head.

As I was considering a theme for this year, I decided that 2021 should be the year of music.

A playlist for every month of the year, designed to encourage, inspire, and comfort you during this continued season of global uncertainty.

So, without further adieu, here is my January 2021 playlist.

An eclectic combination of songs, pieces, and artists. Click here to go to the Spotify playlist.

I hope it brings you some joy during this winter, post-holiday season.

What are you listening to these days? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Like this post? Be sure to share it with your friends so we can spread the joy of music to as many people as possible this year.