How Music Can Affect Our Lives

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“If music be the food of love, play on; Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting, The appetite may sicken, and so die.” In William Shakespeare’s play ‘Twelfth Night’ Orsino uttered these lines after he was frustrated in his courtship of Countess Olivia. Perhaps Orsino believed that an excess of music might cure his obsession with love the way eating too much removes one's appetite for food. But he was wrong. An old adage says music is the food of soul. The more you listen to it, the more you crave for it. Music has been defined as “vocal or instrumental sounds (or both) combined in such a way as to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion.” Music is perhaps as old as time because it is the way that humans found to demonstrate what happens inside their minds. A study of the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Sumer and Babylonia, shows that they had highly developed music culture, especially for religious rituals. “A look at the Old Testament reveals how God's ancient people were devoted to the study and practice of music, which holds a unique place in the historical and prophetic books, as well as the Psalter," writes religion and music historian Herbert Lockyer, Jr. According to the Larousse Encyclopedia of Music, “The music of religious rituals was first used by Prophet and King David, who used to sing hymns and psalms on lyre. If Biblical traditions are to be believed, Prophet David used to play harp and sing to calm and comfort King Saul, the first king of the United Kingdom of Israel, whenever the latter fell into a mood of despair. Apart from its importance in religious rituals, music also plays an important and integral role in our everyday life. Scientific researches show that music helps the ... ... middle of paper ... ...ds of music connote different stories, different thoughts and different secrets and induce different emotions and different moods. One western musician rightly said that “music is the best and healthiest way to get high.” Everyone enjoys some sort of music which is why it is everywhere. Music is used in waiting areas because music – especially the right music – is very soothing and relaxing: in elevators, at airports, at restaurants, at bus terminals, and at train stations. Even while on-hold during a phone call there is nice music to listen to as we wait for the next available operator or salesman, or whatever. Each adventure requires an anthem, a slogan, every joyous or melancholic moment needs a melody, and all of life’s little pains deserve a devotional rendition. I believe life without music would have been very boring, colourless and depressing.

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