Jordan Green gets thoughtful with the power of music

by Jordan Green

I once heard someone say that music is the food of life. That person wasn’t wrong.

As most of you know, I started college this week. It’s a new chapter in my life, and I’m excited for it.

In just my short time at college, I’ve learned a lot about how things change. Being away from home is different, and I now understand just how often people take for granted the pleasure of living in the same place for 19 years. For example, it wasn’t until I had already cooked a bowl of macaroni and cheese that I realized I had forgotten to bring spoons to my dorm. Ice cream scoop here I come!

I’m proud to say I now have in my possession every utensil I could ever need.

But I digress. Back to the point.

Many things change as we grow older, but some things never do. For me, one of life’s few “constants” is my love of music.

I sang in choirs all throughout my time in middle and high school, and I loved every second of it. I had one of the best high choral teachers in the world, Jacquelyn DiMarco. My private voice teacher, the lovely Wilma Harman, was just as good.

After I graduated from high school, I signed up to sing in choirs in college. I pined away all summer long, just waiting for the day I could once again open up a piece of music and “jump in” on some sweet tenor harmony.

A couple of weeks ago, my wish was granted. Orientation day was Saturday here at Northwestern Oklahoma State, and the University Singers — of which I am one — performed “Good Old A Capella” in the student center.

When I first joined voices with the rest of the singers, I was flooded with feelings of joy and excitement. We didn’t know each other. But there we were, coming together as one to make beautiful music.

With each and every passing bar line, our voices blended closer together. Before long, we sounded like we knew what we were doing — and with whom we were working.

We stopped between songs to talk and get to know one another. The conversation was easy, the laughs were hearty, and the smiles were genuine. After just a few hours of singing together, all of us felt like we had known each other forever. We started making up our own handshakes, and we began drafting plans for fun trips together.

For someone who likes to sing and make friends, it was an excellent opportunity.

And you can have the same one.

As someone who has been a musician for quite some time, I can tell you that few things other than music allow you to make such great friends so quickly. Music engages the mind, strengthens the body, warms the heart, and fills the soul.

The best part: Anyone can do it.

Even if you’re not the next Dean Martin or Glenn Fry, you can still sing or find an instrument to play. You just have to work at it.

It takes quite a bit of practice to become a good musician, but it takes an even greater amount of commitment. You have to learn to love your failures, and you have to learn to build upon your successes. You might not always hit the high notes on the first time. But you’ll get there, and it’ll be worth it.

Music is not easy for everyone, but it is something that you can do if you put your mind to it. In my opinion, you should try it, too. Why not give it a shot?

Whether you have plenty of loved ones in your life or not, there is always room for one more. And the best way to meet someone, to me, is though music.

For me to make some awesome new friends, all it took was a song.

That’s the power of music.