The Blues Fuels the Blues: Post for 10/19

This story, Sonny's Blues, was a tough story to get through. Not because it was boring or difficult to understand, but because there was so much going on and most of it was very sad. The title of a story can tell you a lot of things about what is going to happen. When I first read the title, I won't lie, I thought Sonny was going to be a girl. A sad girl, but still a girl. I quickly figured out that Sonny was, indeed, male. I did get something right, though. Sonny had hard times in his life, some of it brought on by himself and other things that he couldn't control.

Another thing I didn't realize was that "blues" had two meanings. It did not just represent sadness, it also represented the type of music called blues. Sonny had started out wanting to play jazz, but ended up playing the blues at the end of the story. Jazz is much more carefree and peppy than blues. I believe that, because Sonny had gone through so much in his life, he could relate to blues more. A quote I liked from the story was, "Sonny's fingers filled the air with life, his life." (p.409). When Sonny began to pour himself into his music, that was really when the music thrived. He needed to put his passions and pains into notes and chords. I have noticed that this is true for more than just music. When someone puts their heart, their life, into something people respond better. People can feel the emotions within the song, book, etc. that they have experienced, too. They can relate to the work in a way they couldn't have if someone's passion had not been poured into it.

I know that this has nothing to do with the whole title discussion in the other paragraphs (except that it involves blues) but I really loved the way the author described music. The author made the music sound like a dialogue between the musicians. It was almost like the instruments were speaking with words. The author showed this by using phrases like "the drum talked back" and "the horn insisted". The music became much more than just sound among the musicians and even to some of the audience members. I love this description of music because it is a great way to show what music is all about. I love all types of music, but the best music is the kind that says something to you, you can relate emotionally to, and you connect with. That is why some music is so addicting. There is no certain genre that does this the best. For every person it is different. For Sonny, it was the blues.