Self Reflection: Musical Theatre Music

Dea Ratna
Dea Ratna
Aug 24, 2017 · 2 min read

I’ve always loved a good musical. Hell, even sometimes a bad one. But I was not into music in general. I enjoy listening to music, but I did not LOVE music the way I love the songs from musicals.

A few days ago I discovered that one of my Daily Mixes that Spotify provided me is basically just filled with musical songs, both on stage and off, like Moana and Rent and Book of Mormon and even Trolls. (The last one is probably because Spotify knew that I like Anna Kendrick.) As I was listening to these songs, I tried to figure out what exactly it is about musical songs that sets them apart from other music. You can tell if a song is from a musical or not, whether the song itself is a typical epic ballad of a song, a more rock opera type of song, or even an up beat pop-y song. And the common thread is that all these songs, no matter the genre, has mainly one focus, and that is to push a narrative forward. These songs are created to be a part of a bigger story. These songs are telling stories.

And that’s when it everything fell into place.

I’ve recently made a self discovery that I love, love stories. I love them in all kinds of forms. My favorite anything are those that has a story in it. That’s why I have a love for musical songs, but not any other stories. That’s why I’m not a big fan of movies that doesn’t have a clear narrative or is only made to invoke feelings. That’s why I love artworks that have a story and background behind it compared to those that are made just to be pretty or to prove a point.

I think my ultimate goal in life is to be a storyteller. I just have to find the best way for me to do that.

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Dea Ratna

Written by

Dea Ratna

Aspiring visual and literary creator. Currently based in Singapore.