Many of us have experienced a moment where a song, a concert, or a even a brief excerpt of music has had a deep impact on us. Something about the way that it reached us at that time had a special effect, a quality so purifying we could never fully explain it to anyone else. This is a beautiful and sacred feature of music that few other experiences in life accomplish so simply and immediately.

In our present days of personal struggle, economic hardship, war, poverty and numerous other challenges that each of us face in some way or another, music provides a brief solace. It reduces the external noise that we confront at the cerebral level and enables us to regulate and re-harmonize internally at an empathic level. The forgiving sounds of gentle timbres may help to soften us again to life and remember that beauty is just a melody away.

One of the most heart-warming stories that touches on this sonic phenomenon is the story of a World War II veteran, Jack Leroy Tueller. The video below exhibits the incredible compassion of a man who heard his heart and against the orders of his ranking officer let it speak through his trumpet. These two minutes will remind you of how truly powerful music is and that it contains indescribable yet effortless healing properties.

The Power of Music – Jack Leroy Tueller