Why Musicians Ponder

Pondering is an act of sitting in silence and thinking of something deeply. A beautiful quote with an air of depth often makes us think how much the author had pondered over it. Everyone ponders at something at some moment in their lives, but often we see musicians, writers and artists doing the act along with the companionship of silence and solitude.

Of course, it seems natural for musicians to ponder; after all, they have to write or make something that touches their hearts, hoping it would touch the hearts of others as well. But it's not always what it seems. The simple act of just thinking about something awakens certain things, like memories or dreams. The very act of hitting a note or scratching on a piece of paper can denote the maker's feeling, intention, or sometimes even rationale.

Pondering asks for silence, for it means 'hearing' yourself. It's, certainly not impossible, but not very plausible to think over something in a noisy environment. That is why we don't see the 'ponderers' often - they're too busy finding answers within themselves.

Musicians particularly Ponder over a sad song, I've seen. There is a certain melancholy associated with silence, a congenial sadness. Perhaps it's because it is the sadness that teaches us where to go, and the teaching comes when we think over it. Songs often reflect what the musician was taught by her sadness, and people feel the lesson as they listen to it.

That's why some songs, particularly sad songs, are so soothing that we completely delve into it, and then cannot express what we feel. We feel the pain, but there is a beauty in that feeling. I've personally been a very big fan of Steven Wilson, because he apparently shares this view and makes beautiful sad music. There is a pleasure in the pain, an ecstasy in the way the maker has presented his melancholy that can't really be expressed.

The answer to 'Why Musicians Ponder' can be subjectively concluded that, it is because they want to integrate themselves in the process of learning. Everyone has their own way of learning things, and making music is one of them. And music is made by thinking over things and attaching anything you come up with inside to the 'outsides' of it.

A sincere thanks to all those musicians who have pondered enough to make beautiful songs where the sadness in it lead a lot of us to bliss, making us realise that sadness isn't really an opposite of happiness. Perhaps apathy is.