At Hear and Play, we’ve always approached music as a language – the only universal language capable of bringing people from all over the world together.<\/p>\n
“Notes are like alphabet letters, chords are like words, progressions are sentences, verses are paragraphs, and songs are stories,” we often say. “It is the lingua franca of the human soul because it can be spoken, read, written, heard, and understood by anyone.”<\/p>\n
Regardless of what was ever going on in the world, music has had the ability to transcend both positive and horrid realities of society. <\/p>\n
Although Jim Crow laws of the South separated people and upheld inequality, injustice, and hatred, towns of all of ethnicities filled auditoriums, anxiously awaiting to hear their favorite black singers.<\/p>\n
That’s because music somehow spoke a different language that bypassed co-existing beliefs of racism, prejudice, and hatred. Music, like water, has always sought to flow where it can, creating unity and bliss, even if for just a concert’s night.<\/p>\n
How ironic a time when, absent their music, black singers would not be welcomed to dine and lodge in many of the towns they performed in. But it was entertainers like Ray Charles, Sammy Davis Jr, Lena Horne, and eventually Nat King Cole, and others, who risked it all by refusing to perform for segregated audiences any longer.<\/p>\n
Songs like “People Get Ready,” “A Change Is Gonna Come,” “What’s Going On,” and even songs without lyrics like John Coltrane’s “Alabama” mobilized and inspired listeners to continue to fight for change.<\/p>\n
Music wasn’t silent then, and music isn’t silent now. <\/p>\n
As musicians, we know the timeless power of music. But separation, politics, geography, hatred, and poisonous ideologies have overpowered it at times.<\/p>\n
We will continue to loudly sing the melodies and harmonies of freedom, equality, and justice for all and will never be silent.<\/p>\n
Founded by a black teenager in August 2000 with a dream to share the gift of music with the world, Hear & Play is a product of what happens when all members of society are given opportunities to contribute.<\/p>\n
With your support, we’ve gone on to help hundreds of thousands of musicians from over 107 countries, learn the only language the entire world understands. Without you, this vision wouldn’t be possible.<\/p>\n
Today, we remember George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and the many before them whose lives were cut short due to police violence. <\/p>\n
Today, we stand with the rest of the country and world committed to the fight for equality and justice for all.
\nMusic isn’t silent and neither are we.<\/p>\n
Jermaine Griggs (Founder) & The Hear and Play Team<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
At Hear and Play, we’ve always approached music as a language – the only universal language capable of bringing people from all over the world together. “Notes are like alphabet letters, chords are like words, progressions are sentences, verses are paragraphs, and songs are stories,” we often say. “It is the lingua franca of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21192,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,179],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new","category-founders-blog","post-wrapper","thrv_wrapper"],"yoast_head":"\n