The Many Sides of Music Music is the most diverse form of art in existence. In modern days, some may view music as merely a bass heavy atmospheric tool for a night of clubbing and mischief, but despite this minority perspective, music is by no means purely background noise. Music is not only a beat, a rhythm, melody, lyrics, and a voice; it can change lives. Since what I would say was the early 1990's, music has taken a turn into seemingly meaningless club anthems and repetitive hooks with heavy bass and shallow lyrics. While I can enjoy an upbeat poppy tune, there is no depth present, there is no thought put behind such creations. I have found that culturally underground music is much more poignant, as well as more emotionally relevant and revelatory than your standard Billboard top 100 single, as such is usually produced for financial gain rather than cathartic expression. Emotional relevance can form in any number of ways, both on a personal level, and on a societal scale. There is something to be said for music that is created as a product of emotion, as it more often than not captures the audiences sympathy. Music that an audience can relate to, and can identify with is more likely to stick with the audience in question. Personal connections transform the way we view music and specific songs, but with the massive exposure to music lacking depth and meaning, we are taking larger and larger cultural steps backwards. Not only in our ability to express personal values, morals, and individualist qualities, but in the way that we interact with each other and construct emotional ties. Music education has always been an underappreciated concept, but as a future teacher it terrifies me to know that there are children that be... ... middle of paper ... ...gether, my points on the many dimensions of music stand. Not only does music harbor emotional capacity, potential for empowerment, and uniquely represent self, it does in fact change lives. Works Cited "Music Therapy and Social Justice: A Personal Journey" by Sandra Lynn Curtis, from the journal The Arts in Psychotherapy. Volume 39. 2012. 209–213 This is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession by Daniel J. Levitin, Chapter 8 “My Favorite Things”. Plume (Publishing company), 2006, New York Kiana Lafleche. Songs That Transcend Boundaries. 2013. Playlist. "Outline of a Proposed Model of Sources of Variation in Musical Taste." by Albert LeBlanc, Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education. No.61. (Winter, 1980): 29-34. Web. 11 Dec. 2013. .
Peter J. Rentfrow, Lewis R. Goldberg, and Daniel J. Levitin reveal in their article, The Structure of Musical Preferences: A Five-Factor Model that, "It (music) is composed of specific auditory properties, communicates emotions, and has strong social connotations. There is eviden...
I have always believed that a musician writes music to express his/her emotions, thoughts, and beliefs in a way that can be both hidden and quite apparent to their listeners at the same time. It can be viewed as a release or a medium through which to share an experience. These artists attempt to relate to their listeners and even hope to provide the listener with the words to express their own feelings. Music has proven to be a very important part of society, both past and present, for just this reason: expression. This medium of expression becomes even more important when the feelings being expressed are those which are not easily accepted by society.
Knox, Richard A. "Sweet Taste in Music May Be Human Trait, Harvard Study Finds." Boston Globe, 5 September 1996, pp.A6.
For this paper, I listened the RadioLab episode on musical language. I chose this one because, being a musician myself, I’ve always been interested in the psychology behind music, specifically why certain sounds can so drastically alter our emotion. After all, they’re all just vibrations. So what is it about some vibrations that make them so much more significant to us than others? This is one of the primary questions addressed in this podcast.
Many take music for granted and just perceive it as a form of entertainment for centuries, but it is utilized for much more than just entertainment. From therapy to politics, it has been deemed useful for various reasons.
If one were to look back into the world’s history, one would find that an important and consistent element is the world of music. Music has presented itself in various forms throughout its spread and through our identification of its magical realm, people have been fortunate enough to come across a means of relation. Whether it is blues and reggae or rap and pop rock, there is music out there for everyone. Music can serve as a stabilizer for some, a relaxant to others, and to many a form of inspiration.
In the meta-analysis “Music: A Link Between Cognition and Emotion” Carol L. Krumhansl dissects the emotional impact of music and how the structure of it can alter the emotions that are expressed. Krumhansl starts by throwing out multiple theories of why emotions are tied to music and finds that the notion of musical tension and the expectation surrounding it is the answer to what effects human emotion. Gathering information from multiple studies including some of her own work, Krumhansl concludes that tempos, dynamics, pitch, and note density play major parts in attributing to creating musical tension. Tension is apparent in all emotional types of music, but it takes its form in different ways depending on the selected emotion. The tension of a song is created by the expectation of the listener. Once the expectation is fulfilled, the tension
Music is one of the most fantastical forms of entertainment. Its history stretches all the way from the primitive polyrhythmic drums in Africa to our modern day pop music we listen to on our phones. It has the ability to amaze us, to capture our attention and leave us in awe. It soothes the hearts of billions, and it is so deeply rooted in my life that it has touched my heart as well. Everyday I walk to the beat of the song stuck in my head and hum along to the melody. For me, to listen to music be lifted into the air by the hands of your imagination and float around for a while. You forget about your worries, your troubles and find peace within the sound. Every chapter in my life is attached with a song. Every time I listen to a certain song, thoughts of my past come flooding back
Music is one of the most influential notions available to human beings. It has influenced my existence in ways I never would have presumed it would. The earliest form of music was first prominent around 4000 BCE by the Egyptians in the form of a percussion based instrument, similar to a drum. Ever since the dawn of time, people have been incorporating music in their essence. Whether it is the chirping of birds melodically, or the beat of a band on stage. Music has evolved in ways much more beyond theme and tune. It has emerged into a doctrine. It has become so much more than just a beat. Music is empowering, a mood-changer, strength in hard times, a memory creator, and so much more. The beauty of music is more importantly what it is to each
Music means many things to many people. Music has the power to transcend boundaries, motivate, inspire and influence our emotions among other things. Throughout my life music played an important role, especially during my more troubling moments. Many of my dearest and fondest memories are easily relived by merely listening to music. My musical tastes have changed as I have grown. During different time periods in my life my musical sensibilities provided the soundtrack that I lived by.
There are many ways in which music affects and surrounds us. It is our creative outlet, our passion, our distraction, our night out or simply our moment of relaxation. Throughout the centuries, music has played a vital role in our lives. We as a society immerse ourselves in music day to day. From grandiose social gatherings and dances in the Middle Ages, to live concerts and monumental performances to date. Music is in films to elicit emotion and in television commercials to make us consumers of the newest technology. More importantly, it is in our preferred listening device because we choose the particular songs and artists we like and want to hear. The Marriam-Webster dictionary defines music as “sounds that are sung by voices or played on musical instruments; the art or skill of creating or performing music.” But why do we choose attend the Bruce Springsteen concert at Wrigley Field and not the Chicago Symphony Orchestra? What makes us enjoy one type of music or artist and not another? Whether you make music or simply enjoy it by listening to it, we are all connected to music in a variety of ways.
Music, a form of art, made up of unique and special sounds containing elements of pitch and rhythm can powerfully soothe one’s soul. Firstly, there are different types of music, and each has its own features. These sounds and features are what I admire in music because to me it creates a new form of communication to one’s consciousness. It stimulates our mind and gives it a sense of harmony and peace through the hardships that life poses for us. As a kid, I would always listen to music from any genre, deciding which genre would complement me the most as I grew older. In middle school, I remember going on the computer and finding a website/program where I could make my own beats. From that day on, I spent countless of hours each day making sure the tune sounded proper and pleasurable for my ears. At first, it wasn’t good, but eventua...
What is the meaning of music to most people? Few people can really feel the charm of music. Music plays a big role in life, just as people need to communicate in the same language. I can hardly imagine the world without music in the future. Music comes from people’s voice, it is everywhere; music let us listen to the rhythm of the world; music comes from people’s heart. Voice is not only “the main source of power in your writing” (Elbow 107), it is also the enlightenment teacher of music. Music is an indispensable partner for me.
According to Havighurst (2015), the media or technology is one of the reasons why music is being degraded. People tend to think that it is “just” music and think so lowly of it. If you compare the songs currently, from the songs of the 19 hundreds or 18 hundreds, I can say that their songs are much better. Yes, our songs are funky or groovy and hit. But if you look into the meaning of some songs, it’s basically about either love, sex, women, and etc. The songs lack meaning and it’s very disheartening to know that.