Confessions of a Dancing Cellocher
I use music as a tool, to perk me up when my brain doesn’t want to undertake the task at hand. A lot of the time this is my day job or housework, but it applies just as easily to exercise and even driving.
People listen to music during those activities, but I don’t think many of us go beyond politely mouthing lyrics that stir up an emotion. Me? I have a tendency to let myself go into the rhythm.. sometimes at work I’ll shake my feet or tap my fingers to the rhythm of whatever I’m listening to. Sometimes I’m worried I look like a happy dog, wagging my foot playfully with a goofy drooling smile — ❤ Childish Gambino.
I first noticed the way I used music when I was hiking Mount Kosciuszko with family in 2015. More unfit than I’d ever been in my life, I somehow jogged and even broke into runs on that mountain… yet you’d never catch me do more than a light sprint across a busy road in daily life. So what happened? Good tunes.
Instead of breaking down into a dance though, I used the music as a source of power. Each bass hit propelled my legs, the lyrics and singing kept my head bopping and my mouth lip syncing, forcing me to focus on my breathing more in order to maintain pace.
I seem to have a similar pattern when I listen to music and code — I’ll use faster music to energize me and help me pump out productivity, slower music to inspire and guide me through solving a problem. The continued use of music in this way has led my brain to start playing songs when it’s quiet… suggesting the next track to pick or at least whistle to get me through whatever I’m up to. Sometimes I’m just trying to make a coffee and lacking the energy, so the Stargate SG-1 theme comes to the rescue.
Oh, and a Cellocher is an alien species I made up for my game. You can find out more about them here.
To quote the Cat Empire — “Music is the language of us all”.
Thank you for reading! Want more content? Follow me on
- Medium: https://medium.com/@paulbrzeski
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-b-23620b209/
- Website: https://www.paulbrzeski.com
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@paulbrzeski4237/
