Music surrounds us in the daily lives we live in. Everyone knows about music and hear a form of it almost every day in their lives. Music can be heard in restaurants, at the doctor’s office, in the car, and several other places. While many people know music, many underestimate the power and value music has on everyday lives. Music is more than the simple lyrics and melodies people hear on a daily basis, it is a powerful tool that plays a big role in shaping the lives of many people today. Music has been found to have the power to influence mood and behavior and can be used this way in almost every available opportunity. This thesis examines the power of music through enhancing emotion, decision-making ability, intelligence, soothing and relaxation, and its power in politics.
Emotion
Music can be defined as an art of sound in time which expresses its ideas and emotions through the use of various elements such as melody, harmony, and melody. It is difficult to define music accurately without including its emotional aspects. The emotional aspects of music are applied depending on the type of music. The human brain responds differently to different styles and tempo of music. Slow music is used to enhance the sad and soothing emotions while fast music is used to enhance happy emotions that can be used to boost one’s adrenaline.
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One application of the power of music to enhance emotion is used in movies. Movies heavily rely on music to convey a sense of emotion and assist the audience to gain a connection with the characters. Whenever there is a significant scene in a movie, there is bound to be complementary music that accentuates the mood or the action sequences. Suspense scenes have a unique sound which is used to build anxiety within the viewers. Apart from simply being used in movies, the emotional aspects of music are usually applied everywhere. They can be applied in retail shops to enhance the mood of shoppers.
Music is also used for entertainment purposes for groups and individual activities. Music is usually played as in skating rinks and dance clubs to produce a feeling of power. Faster music can control the speed which one puts in activities as it increases the mood in carrying out activities. Gyms make use of music as a way to get pumped up. Music that goes on a faster tempo can be used to increase motivation and speed. The increased tempo of music increases one’s ability to perform simple activities.
Decision-making
Palazzi, Wagner Fritzen, and Gauer (2018) studied the emotional effects of music on decision-making. Their studies showed that music can be a powerful and engaging stimulus which can influence the decision-making process and risk-taking abilities. Music can affect the behavioral choices of customers because it forms the basic interaction between mood and decision-making. Background music was especially found important in arousing mood and serving as a mood inducer. Music-based interventions were also found to decrease aggressive behaviors.
The emotion and decision-making power of music has been mostly applied in advertising. Almost every advertisement today uses music to get the attention of a potential customer or client to purchase a product or service. For instance, jingles are mostly used because it is easier for people to remember them compared to plain information. Companies use the songs of popular artists as a medium to advertise their products. The songs are usually used in hopes to get the attention of a certain demographic. Using music in advertisement helps the listeners associate the song or tune with the company’s product or service. When they hear the song, they will be able to associate with the products and service and thus remember what is being sold.
Music and intelligence
Music has a powerful influence in strengthening memory and cognitive skills. Take the example of small school children who are taught songs which enable them to remember the important lessons in school. Even when the child is not able to know the lyrics of the song, they can hum the tune of the song and thus recall the information. Brain functionality has been found in children to be enhanced with the use of music where it improves listening and reading skills. Hallam and Council (2015) note that children that are exposed to music at an early age are more receptive to music, listening, and can respond better to recorded or live music. Their studies also show that music helps students personally and socially.
Music can be used to increase intelligence skills and help children in other academic areas that are not associated with music. The study by Hallam and Council (2015) went on to show how children that write and play music show an increased level of brain functionality and thus have a higher IQ. The study established that musically trained children perform better in memory test and have better general intelligence in skills such as verbal memory and literacy. Children that actively participated in music lessons were found to have an IQ score that was 2 or 3 points higher than children that were not exposed to music.
Soothing and relaxing effects
Slow music has soothing and relaxing effects that can be applied in different situations. The soothing effects are usually applied to people before they are even born. Music has been used by expectant mothers in their fifth month of pregnancy. The baby’s hearing is quite developed by the fifth month and they are able to hear noises outside the womb. Prenatal simulation through music provides the babies with a sense of confidence and relaxation (Thaut et al., 2014). Music can also be used to relax and soothe people after a stressful event. Classical music can be especially calming because it relaxes the body and mind. Music can be used to induce a positive state of mind and can enhance human senses.
Therapy
The soothing effects of music has seen it become applied for its positive therapeutic impacts. Individuals that suffer from some diseases like autism, dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease can benefit. Music is used in these applications because it has significant positive effects on both the mind and the body. The benefits of music to the mind is the reason why it is used for most interventions. Music has the power to heal, reduce stress, and improves one’s socialization. Research by Thaut (2014) shows that music follows a structured auditory language that involves complex cognition, perception, and motor control of the brain. The advanced nature of the language can be used for healing purposes to re-educate an injured part of the brain.
Music and politics
One of the most powerful effects of music is that it can be used in politics. Music is a strong way of expressing inner thoughts and feelings and can be used to express the political views of people. Music has the power to get large crowds pumped up and is predominantly used to call the support of various causes. For instance, music can be used in war times by governments where it is used to boost nationalism and to promote fighting. Music and politics are used as an expression and reflection of views and opinions. Music thus serves as a truth bearer for citizens of a specific country.
The power of music can be seen in political history. Soul music was used in the 1930s where it demonstrated the hardships experienced by Afro-Americans. Rock and roll was used in one of the anti-war protests in the 1960s and folk music was used to stand for civil rights. National Anthems are highly respected by citizens of their countries because they promote the beliefs and nationalism of its citizens. The American government made use of songs to support their views. For instance, the song “God Bless America” was used in world war 2 to raise support for troops in war. The protests of Turkey in June 2013 were marked by an explosion of music videos that were distributed in different parts of the internet (Way, 2016).
The power of music is evident in its application in religion. Religion makes use of music as a means to express one’s devotion and faith. Various musicians have written music that follows religious themes and messages. Modern Christian music is derived from music tunes which follow religious lyrics. The world influential and famous composers wrote most of their music for the Lutheran church. Christians believe that religious music is sacred and allows one to touch the face of God through their perception of the world around them. They believe that music is a way which people can understand their spirituality and faith. It can be a direct way to make sense of their lives and their afterlife.
In conclusion, music is a powerful tool that can be used to convey emotion, enhance decision-making abilities, improve intelligence, create soothing and relaxing effects, and politics. Music makes use of strong emotions that can be applied to enhance the mood and feel of movies. The use of music can improve the decision-making abilities of consumers and this can be applied in advertising. Music improves intelligence and the benefits can be seen among children that learn music from an early age. It also has therapeutic effects which are used for soothing and relaxation. Music can be applied in politics to enhance the views, opinions, and support of citizens.
References
Hallam, S., & Council, M. E. (2015). The power of music: A research synthesis of the impact of actively making music on the intellectual, social and personal development of children and young people . International Music Education Research Centre (iMerc).
Palazzi, A., Wagner Fritzen, B., & Gauer, G. (2018). Music-induced emotion effects on decision-making. Psychology of Music , 0305735618779224.
Way, L. C. (2016). Protest music, populism, politics, and authenticity. Journal of Language and Politics , 15 (4), 422-446.
Thaut, M. H., McIntosh, G. C., & Hoemberg, V. (2014). Neurologic music therapy: From social science to neuroscience. Handbook of neurologic music therapy , 1-6.
