In times of sorrow, grief, and loss, music is often one of the few things that brings comfort.
Steve Siler is the Founder, Producer and Creative Director of Music for the Soul. He shares the stories behind his unique projects and teaches us the ways in which music can speak directly to our minds and hearts.
“The interesting thing is music speaks to both hemispheres of the brain. That’s because the language is processed primarily in the left hemisphere of the brain, whereas melody is processed primarily in the right hemisphere of the brain.
“When people talk about a song ‘touching mind and heart,’ that’s really what they’re referring to. Because a song is kind of an ‘all skate,’ it gets all of the brain involved.”
God has wired us to be responsive to music.
“With lyrics, you also have the melody piece and the lyric piece combined to create a memory device. So if I sing something to you, the studies show that you’re nine times likelier to remember what is sung to you, than what is spoken to you.”
Steve has completed 12 full-length albums, and several single songs that individually address an area of suffering or loss. He explains the heart behind the compilation of each album,
“I don’t believe people will trust you with their hope, unless they believe that you understand their pain.”
“Our projects start in the pain so that the person listening feels known and understood. Then we move through the steps of healing with the idea being that people are set free with the hope of Christ.”
Many of these songs include important topics, such as; cancer, the loss through suicide and eating disorders.
“People around these issues they feel like they’re the only one. It’s very typical for somebody to think ‘Nobody’s ever been as bad as me, nobody ever had the kind of shame or guilt or pain that I’m feeling.’”
Music reminds us that we are not alone.
“People feel isolated and when we’re isolated we can feel shamed. When somebody hears a song and it’s speaking their truth, it’s like, ‘Oh my gosh, if there’s a song about this than how could I be the only one who’s ever felt this way?’”
It can also connect us closer to God and to the faith community around us.
“Feeling known and understood by God and by other people is the beginning of realizing that we’re part of a community of faith; that others can walk with us, that there is hope, that there can be freedom, and that most importantly that God understands and is right there with us in whatever we’re going through.”
