It’s been one of those months. You know the kind. The kind where life seems to throw one thing after another your way, your mind is running in seventeen different directions, and even the simplest things feel like they require more energy than you have.
Stress has a funny way of creeping into everything. It takes up space in your head, messes with your sleep, and sometimes makes it hard to just sit still and enjoy the moment.
But I’ve been reminded of something lately: music has a way of bringing us back to ourselves.
It doesn’t fix what’s going on or magically make everything fall into place. But it does something pretty wonderful. It gives your brain a break.
There’s Something About Music
After playing Irish fiddle for over 25 years, you’d think I’d have figured this out by now. But sometimes I get so caught up in the mechanics of playing — getting the notes right, working on my bowing, improving my timing, learning a new tune — that I forget one of the biggest reasons I started playing in the first place.
It makes me feel good.
There’s something about picking up my fiddle and playing a familiar tune that shifts my attention away from whatever is weighing on me. My mind has to focus on the melody, the rhythm, and the movement of the bow. For a little while, the noise in my head gets quieter.
And it doesn’t have to be a complicated tune or a perfect performance. Sometimes it’s just playing through an old favorite, stumbling through a few notes, or finding a melody that feels right that day.
No audience. No expectations. No pressure to get it perfect. Just music.
The Science Behind the Feeling
There’s actually some science behind why music makes us feel better.
Listening to music can influence the body’s stress response, help regulate emotions, and reduce feelings of anxiety. Research suggests that music can help lower cortisol, the body’s primary stress hormone, while encouraging relaxation.
Music also activates areas of the brain involved in emotion, memory, and movement. That’s why a familiar tune can transport you to another time and place, bring back a happy memory, or change your mood almost instantly.
Ever notice how a lively reel can make you tap your foot before you even realize you’re doing it? Or how a slow air can make you stop whatever you’re doing and just listen?
That’s the beauty of it. Music meets us wherever we are.
Give Yourself Permission to Play
If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed lately like me, here’s my suggestion: make a little room for music.
You don’t need to be a musician. You don’t need an instrument or even any musical talent. Put on a favorite playlist while making dinner. Listen to a tune that brings back a happy memory. Sing along in the car (badly, if necessary). Dance around the kitchen (which I do on the daily).
And if you do play an instrument, don’t make every practice session about improvement. Forget the metronome, the mistakes, and whether you’re getting better. Play because it feels good.
Give yourself fifteen minutes where the only thing that matters is the music.
I’m not going to pretend a few tunes can solve life’s bigger challenges. Sometimes things are just hard, and we have to work our way through them. But we all need little pockets of happiness along the way.
For me, music is one of those things. It’s an escape, a creative outlet, and a much-needed reminder to take a breath.
So if life has been a little overwhelming lately, find your fiddle, guitar, piano, or favorite playlist.
Turn it up. Take a breath. Let the music do its thing.
Because sometimes the best way to quiet the noise in your head is to fill the room with a little music. 🍀🎻
