MUSIC
We all know what music is. we all know to appreciate music albeit different music is appreciated by different people. We don't all enjoy the same music. This leads me to believe that music affects all of us in different ways and therefore we have different tastes in music. Based on our personalities, preferences and personal histories we will have different experiences when exposed to a particular piece of music. For some a particular piece of music may elevate their anxiety levels and for others it may significantly calm them down.
Further reading has led me to some research carried out by Daniel Abrams, lead author and postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University School of Medicine. He has found that brain regions involved in movement, attention, planning and memory consistently showed activation when participants listened to music -- these are structures that don't have to do with auditory processing itself. This means that when we experience music, a lot of other things are going on beyond merely processing sound.
Majority of the time I find that I may like a tune but what really makes it resonate with me are the words and the memories attached to the song from all the times I have heard them play. For instance there is a song called cups from the movie pitch perfect. I actually came across the song by accident this past summer and was amazed at the rhythm and harmonies and all the different cover versions that were available online. After the amazement subsided I found myself playing it all through the summer at the request of my son. Now that song has a special place in my heart as it brings back the feelings and fun times I shared with my son watching the clip and attempting to copy it with him. it is safe to say that I have possibly heard/watched every version of this song on YouTube.
This next song, I actually came to love and appreciate the tune after I paid attention to the words. I felt like it spoke directly to me. After a while of listening to it, it didn't make a difference with or without the lyrics, it made me feel like I wasn't alone at that particular time. A time in my life when I felt alone and misunderstood. The mood of the tune matched the lyrics beautifully. I found it easier to give this song to people close to me to help them understand how I felt at the time and what I was going through rather than trying to talk about how I felt. Hearing the song quite a few years down the road, it still resonates with me and reminds me how far I come. Good feelings all round even though its associated with a difficult time in my life, it gave words to my feelings that at times were too painful to express. It supported me like a friend would.
My taste in music has evolved and changed over the years. Different periods, different happiness or struggles means that different kinds of music resonate with me at different times. Not always am I in the mood of an upbeat song. Sometimes I would just like to allow myself to wallow and listen to some sad tunes other times I will listen to something upbeat to shift a bad mood. I would say that all types of music has 'spoken' to me at one time or another. However the one genre that I can say I have never felt a real kinship to, is the heavy rap. I'm not sure if that's because they don't usually have a musical tune (some do and those I will listen to the chorus) or if its the violent nature of the lyrics. Either way that isn't the music I ever find myself listening to. But who knows what the future holds.
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