Overcoming grief with music

Most people find music, as did King David found many centuries ago, to be a gift to the human heart, mind and soul.
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil,” he continues. It was King David then, and today it is you and me.
In the midnight of the soul, when we feel most besieged by grief and alone in sorrow, music offers most solace.
When the rhythms of our lives fluctuate between joy and despair, music helps us connect with the past, present and the future.
Realising the power of music in offering healing in times of bereavement, different cultures the world-over have got hymns that suit the varying circumstances that they may find themselves in.
The hymns are specially chosen to provide emotional first-aid to the bereaved family, friends, and colleagues who gather to bid farewell to the dece-ased.
As we cope with the losses that beset us throughout life, certain songs and musical works bring to mind poignant memories that refresh our grief.
At the death of Princess Diana in 1997, Sir Elton John did a rendition of Candle in the wind, a song whose lyrics were done by Bernie Taupin in 1973.
In listening to music of various styles and genres, it is interesting to pay close attention to any references to death, and ask oneself about the messages being conveyed, attitudes being expressed and emotions being shown.
Over and above being a means of moderating extreme passions, music can be classified as the purest form of communication.
In the context of mourning rites, hymns can be part of cultural beliefs, traditional, religious and sometimes can depict the status of the deceased person.
Although Ch-ristian beliefs and hymns have dominated the conduct of funerals throu-ghout Africa in general and Zimb-abwe in particular, hymns sang at funerals differ depending on cultural beliefs and traditions.
In the majority of cases where the Christian influence is strong, when death occurs, the church generally serves as the glue holding the bereaved families together.
It is not uncommon to find the church providing comfort to families that have experienced loss, though the deceased may have been “unchurched” or lacked regular church attendance or membership.
Where the deceased person’s family members are or were churchgoers, especially the parents, grandparents, or siblings, enough of a tie may remain for the church to extend its collective fellowship and support to the bereaved family.
In areas where Christianity is not the dominant religion, mourners tend to choose songs that identify with the deceased before he died.
The reality of death, as expressed through song and dance, occurs within a particularised context. A typical example is when a nyau dancer dies and his colleagues play specific songs in line with their rituals.
However, in the context of mourning rites, music assumes four forms, which come as: Laments, Blues music, Gospel and Reflections. 
Laments
Laments are a bridge between the worlds of the living and the dead, as well as an invitation to mourn that reinforces bonds b-etween survivors in their collective grief.
Musical lamentations draw on a wide range of styles and genres that vary from culture to culture, just as funeral rites themselves vary from one region or social group to another.
Laments range from improvised wailing to carefully, constructed poetic tributes.
Vocally, the characteristic lament is termed keening, an emotional expression of loss and longing.
Keening is associated with Irish mourning customs, traditionally being performed over the body while it is in the house, during the procession to the graveyard, and at the burial.
In African societies, keening can be likened to the traditional funeral all-night vigil in the room where the deceased would be lying in state.
Mourners spend the whole night in song and dance, beating drums and other musical instruments as a way of bidding farewell to the deceased and lighting his way to the next life.
Blues music
Blues music de-picts the mood at funerals, sometimes showing great loss and longing, trials and tribulations, separations and expression of regret in the wake of a loved one’s unexpected death.
At times, the lyrics remind us that death has brought relief from overwhelming pain.
It is important to note that, even though blues lyrics typically speak of regret and sadness, the overall blues musical style tends to convey a sense of ultimate well-being, a musical testimony to the inherent capacity of human beings to cope with even the most painful tragedies.
Gospel music
Traditionally, gospel songs speak of overcoming adversity, of maintaining hope over despair. Faith in an eventual triumph over earthly pain is the hallmark of gospel music.
They are songs of solace and hope which sustain and encourage people through emotionally difficult times.
Faced with intense sorrow, confused about how to go on when life no longer seems worth living, gospel songs promise the bereaved that a time will surely come when the dark night will pass.
It will once again be “morning,”and we’l be able to “tell the story of how we’ve overcome.” In keeping with its spiritual roots, gospel music refuses to abandon the bereaved to hopelessness. After all, the very meaning of gospel is “good news.”
Reflection
As we cope with the losses that beset us throughout life, certain songs and musical works bring to mind poignant memories that refresh our grief. It has the capacity to catalyse the recall of happy moments shared with loved ones whose death left us bereft.
Music can address physical, emotional, cognitive, and social needs of individuals of all ages. Music therapy improves the quality of life for children and adults with disabilities or illnesses.
Music therapy interventions can be designed to: alleviate pain, decrease anxiety, increase relaxation, enhance memory, improve communication, express feelings and increase quality of life.
Having realised the importance of music in times of family bereavement and also to help families cope better with the loss, Nyaradzo has introduced Piano music at their chapel and gone on to record an Instrumental double CD gospel album
In Jamaica, funerals are increasingly becoming centres for entertainment and revelry.
Dance-hall lyrics are recited in processions, and at some cemeteries, the latest dancehall music is played from massive speakers.
In some respects, this is not dissimilar to the jazz funerals in New Orleans, where the band accompanies the mourners to the cemetery.
The Dahomean and Yoruba Cultures of West Africa use dance and music to reflect that death is a way to the realm of the spirits.
Rejoicing at funerals was used by African-Americans to respond to a life of enslavement and oppression, and so they viewed death as an emancipatory experience especially during slavery and the years after.

– Philip Mataranyika can be contacted on e-mail: mavmat67@hotmail.com