The emotional effect of music

[12voltman59]

I know that for me---while I do not make music myself---music is something that is a very important aspect of my life. It is probably as an important aspect of my life as is nearly anything else.

I know that in a few times in my life where I was down, depressed and blue---along with help from caring people---it was music that helped pulled me through such times.

It seems that quite often---it is "sad music" that has been as much a comfort, if not more so, than was "happy" or more upbeat music.

Even when things are going good and all is right with the world--I do put on such music for a dose of "music therapy."

It is something---I have some songs--I can hear a certain line---and no matter what---it can bring a tear to my eye, maybe kick me into a more sad or contemplative mood.

I think this is just fine---that I can work out whatever I need to work out via "music therapy" is a goog thing I feel.

I do tend to feel much better, even if I thought I was feeling OK before I did that.

I find that very often too--a certain line in a song I am hearing for the first time will bring up an emotional response and once I do that with a song----it seems it will almost always do that upon subsequent playings.

I actually have certain songs, by certain artists that when I get into one of those moods--I have to play.

I was wondering-----do you guys get the same way with music that you listen too?

I know that I think that music is something that is almost a part of our genetic makeup.

I find it hard to believe that there are some religious traditions that believe that music is something "evil" (the most extremist Islamists believe this).

To me----the making of music is about the most sacred thing we human beings can do (at least most forms of music have some degree of good in them).

It is interesting to note that neurologists studying areas of the human brain after people suffer "brain events" like strokes or hard blows to the head that impair functioning--have found that the areas of the brain that "store" memories of and control music making capacities do not get damaged--and by some techniques they are developing---have been able to help rehabilitate victims of such problems so they can begin to talk again, move parts of their bodies and other similar things by stimulating that part of the brain.

We do not lose our capacity to recall and appreciate music except in the most severe cases of such brain "events."

So--is music important to you????

Do you have your own form of "music therapy????

[darkeyes]

It is often said music is food for the soul. I dont know who said it, but whoever did so, was a very wise person indeed.

I was raised with music, learned guitar at an early age, was taught piano, and have learned the fiddle. In the last couple of years I've been learning Spanish Guitar. Now there is something to keep the fingers dextrous. I love music of most kinds. Jazz, blues, rock, classical, folk.

We often have a family jam session and it is wonderful to watch our children pick up an instrument and do their thing. The younger is much too little to be able to play but she loves her tamborine, drums and harmonica. Tuneless but she loves it and we both think she will be like her sister and have a talent for music.

It means so much to all of us. Whether sad or joyous, there exists music to meet all moods. Late at night when I'm feeling stressed or a bit down I nip upstairs to the music room and love nothing better than to strum away on acoustic guitar. Its a stress reliever par excellence.

Of all the many great arts humanity has developed over time, none quite matches the spirit and beauty of music... none has the capacity to lift humanity from mediocrity than music, none the ability to raise the spirits and lift despair from humanity's shoulders as music.:)

[Cherokee_Mountaincat]

Voltie-honey, music is universal and belongs to us all. It has a way of touching the very soul of a person and touches a cord in each of us in a different way. Music greatly influances my writing, and effects and relects my mood all the time. Some days a person is in a tender, pensive, meditative mood, can bring on a case of out and out sobbing to release some hurt and sorrow-- other times we're up for some playful bopping. And other times, sensual, erotic music can bring out the beast in all of us..lol (I personally love the mischievious playful bopping, myself)
Just let it continue to move you as it will, Hon. That's what's its there for.
Hugzz
Cat

[_Joe_]

There is one classical piece that moves me into tears each time. Thankfully only two people know which piece.... so ya, music can have quite an impact on one's physche.

[Realist]

Here's one of my favorites.....I've been in love with Sarah Brightman since I first saw her sing and watched her beautiful face. Figure's not bad, either!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_JLkIOnq04

[tenni]

I seem to prefer silence.

I'm a visual artist. You would think that music might interact with me better...lol I never play music while working on my art. I use sounds in my videos but when I paint or stuff, I don't want music interfering with my art.

I tend not to listen to music except in the car. I had been listening to the CBC radio where you get not just music but stimulating interviews on all kinds of topics. Then I accidentally turned the dial one day. I have on Virgin or something. It is giving me the more mainstream pop music to the point that I thought ...hmm didn't I just hear that...lol

I also use to teach the history of rock and roll at one point. I have a large collection of tapes, CD etc. I'm much more inclined to put on old Blues and R&B. I just like it best.

I agree that I too will turn to sad songs when down. Other times, I'll close the curtains suck back a glass of wine and dance ...sometimes naked...lol

[darkeyes]

Here's one of my favorites.....I've been in love with Sarah Brightman since I first saw her sing and watched her beautiful face. Figure's not bad, either!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_JLkIOnq04

Sarah Brig....... God Realist hun.. beautiful face????? K... accepted we all hav diff ideas a who can sing an who is gorge... forgive me if me takes issue... all me can say is she wos lucky 2 b married 2 who she wos.. :rolleyes: But ..u like 'er..an fancy 'er..an that is all that mattas...:)

[rissababynta]

Music is one of the most important parts of my life. I almost took a scholarship in high school to go to college to teach music, which I kind of regret not taking. However, I had something happen to me one day that made me second guess if I wanted music to be such a major part in my life, which is why I made the "mistake."

There have been many times that I have sat down at the piano, whether with a song I wrote or a personal favorite, and I have cried the whole time I've played. I wish I could say it was a certain type of music, but I can't. There are so many different types of songs by all different types of artists that for one reason or another hit me.

[Cherokee_Mountaincat]

So many songs can bring back memories or dredge up old emotions, as well. I cant listen to Kenny Loggin's Back to Pooh Corner without having my throat tighten up, or shed a few tears. And I Definately cant listen to Jim Croce's Photographs and memories..it'll send me into tears and depression every time. Reminds me of my Mom amd brothers too much.
That's why I like upbeat, good paced music most of the time. Keeps the heart and mind happy, and gives you a good, positive outlook in life. :}
Cat

[FalconAngel]

Music is a very powerful thing.

For most of us, it reminds us of events in our lives, bringing us back to what could be simpler times, tragic events or just anything that we are reminded of. The TV show Cold Case is a fine example of that for me. No movie would be complete without a soundtrack to drive the mood and emotions that a director wants his audience to experience and the best examples are Somewhere in Time, Lord of the Rings (the scene where Boromir dies in The Fellowship of the Ring or the battle for Helm's Deep in book 2), Pearl Harbor, King Arthur, Apollo 13 and Alien.

Of course, in my case, music is a wonderful addition to my riding. When the music is just right and the traffic is right, then it is the perfect synchronicity of man and machine, just like a soundtrack to a movie.

Also, when I hear some movie soundtracks, I can envision a lot of different scenes that were not from the original film. Classical is very good for that.

I do have a few songs that are my absolute favorites:
The Lisa Kelly/Celtic Woman version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RugSclNY4y8
I used this one for the backgroud music at my Mother's Funeral:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPbMcJ6qD_g
And this one from Titanic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saalGKY7ifU

[goldenfinger]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uy6BN1PdUDY&feature=related
Is she HOT or not.

[darkeyes]

When Kate and I seperated a few years ago I was distraught. It didnt matter that I had brought things on myself, but when on my own I used to sit in my flat miserable as sin and listen to the saddest music I could find. Certain songs turned tears of sadness into streaming sobbing wails. No art form quite tunes in to emotion like music. One such song was Linda Ronstadt's Long Long Time. The lyrics werent my story but it did hit a raw nerve like no other piece of music as I sunk into self pity and remorse. It is quite the saddest song I know.

Now I listen to that song quite often deliberately. It still hits that nerve, but what it does most of all is remind me of just how lucky I am to have been given the opportunity to make up to Kate for my selfiishness and stupidity and never to repeat the mistakes which were responsible for my.. no thats not right..our misery.:)

[by~his~side]

The Rainbow Connection always makes me cry.

:frog:
Even when Kermit the Frog sings it.

[91CuriousKitten]

I am the same yet different, I do nto get sad and then listen to songs, nor am I sad and a happy song cheers me up, music contorls my everythgin, my mood, my eprsonality, my entire day, Some days, I will be havign the msot amazing day fo ym life, and feeling so great and one song comes on, and like that I am donw, wanitng to jsut die, Personally I havent cried in years, which is why I hate sad songs, becuz I wish for nothgin more then to cry, to release all the held up sorrow inside, but it gets to the veyr very brink, and then disappears, as if it never hapepned, now the same can be sad for happy songs, when I'm in a nutral ro good mood, and a happy upbeat song comes on I just get pumped up! lol so no you are not alone, I'm a music freak to

[CuddlyKate]

When Kate and I seperated a few years ago I was distraught. It didnt matter that I had brought things on myself, but when on my own I used to sit in my flat miserable as sin and listen to the saddest music I could find. Certain songs turned tears of sadness into streaming sobbing wails. No art form quite tunes in to emotion like music. One such song was Linda Ronstadt's Long Long Time. The lyrics werent my story but it did hit a raw nerve like no other piece of music as I sunk into self pity and remorse. It is quite the saddest song I know.

Now I listen to that song quite often deliberately. It still hits that nerve, but what it does most of all is remind me of just how lucky I am to have been given the opportunity to make up to Kate for my selfiishness and stupidity and never to repeat the mistakes which were responsible for my.. no thats not right..our misery.:)

*Hugs Little Miss Vanity*:)

[darkeyes]

:kiss::love1:
*Hugs Little Miss Vanity*:)

[sammie19]

:kiss::love1:

Do the two of you never give it up?

J xx

[darkeyes]

Do the two of you never give it up?

J xxNope..bit like anotha tart an 'er tart me knos...:tong:

[FalconAngel]

The Rainbow Connection always makes me cry.

:frog:
Even when Kermit the Frog sings it.

I love "Rainbow Connection" I used to have the vinyl record of the Muppet Movie.

[PyreBi]

Whenever I get tired or bored, Green Day is like a shot of caffiene to me.:tongue:

[bret5668]

I, like the rest that have posted on this topic share the love of music, the best thing about music to me is that we can take whatever tunes we enjoy, interpret it in our own manner, take it into our hearts, our souls, and our minds, make it our own, and no one can ever take it away from us. Just my :2cents:

[Hephaestion]

Music can be a measure of one's resilience and frame of mind. Too beautiful to be without and yet too painful to listen to. Don't know how e.g. ABBA were able to perform their own lives in the way that they did. Maybe it numbed the pain.

At other times it is such a pity when something is stirred and one strives to understand the lyrics only to find that they are complete nonsense. Equally so when it's the other way around. But when it's right, it is just so.

The music collection has outgrown my ability to remember what I have and who played it. Love singing but am losing the range and stability. Need to be careful that when I sing, the lyrics do not give away too much at the wrong time.

[miles69]

“Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, a charm to sadness, gaiety and life to everything; It is the essence of order and lends to all that is good, just, and beautiful.” – Plato (http://livebyquotes.com/2012/music-is-a-moral-law-it-gives-soul-to-the-universe-wings-to-the-mind-flight-to-the-imagination-a-charm-to-sadness-gaiety-and-life-to-everything-it-is-the-essence-of-order-and-lends-to-a/)

[darkeyes]

..over the weekend we had a lil emotional upset at home... no, nowt 2 do with Kate and I.. we have several cds we have knocked up to make love 2... listening to 1, while we hadn't intended to make love, this came on.. I mentioned it in earlier post... it set me off in tears for reasons I wont explain, and Kate and I made the most exquisite and tender love we have in a long long time...:)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0qm8nq8RcA

..k.. its mushy.. but I am nothing if not a mushy kind of person... and have never been ashamed to say so...

[Paddarick69]

if it weren't for Beethoven, The Beatles, and Bob Dylan I'd have packed it in long ago

[void()]

I love big band jazz. Even some of the most melancholic songs, in big band jazz, seem quite happy and full of joy.

[Realist]

My World History professor in college, said, one time....."It's been said, among European historians, that when Germans hear Wagner being played, they feel the supreme impulse to march toward France!"

I know, that's tacky, but it was amusing at the time.

[Paddarick69]

tacky or not it has the ring of truth! hah! I remember in the early 90s when Dennis Miller was still doing the news on SNL and he reported "east and west Germany officially completed their reuniting this week... in a related story, France is already drawing up the surrender document"... I laughed so hard I almost pissed myself

[curiousIowa1]

Being an ex radio broadacaster i have always had a large favorites playlist, i like all types of music. Music therapy ? heck yes just depends... anything from the 60's to Elvis to yes even the days of disco.

[CelticBerserker]

Visceral yet oddly uplifting. I love the pseudo-gospel feel Swans had on this album. My g/f thinks it's music to hang yourself to, but I maintain my original statement.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH3-Koc0QHQ

[pepperjack]

Being a drummer( man's first musical instrument ) music has always been integral to my self-expression; played in a rock band during the tumultuous 70's. I have a nice , varied collection but a piece that stirred my soul to unimaginable heights was the soundtrack to The Last of the Mohicans, an 80's film, especially the beginning cut. While listening to this on headphones, I was totally enraptured. It was cathartic, therapeutic for several years. If I were to plug it in right now....it could very well have the same effect and I could use that lift at this time.

[i_shoot_blanks]

I am a musician, although I don't play anymore. My daughter is a music professor and professional singer. PepperJack reminded me of a special recording in my life that reappears every two years. When in military school I was a bugler and in my senior year, commander of the drum and bugle corps. I found a record by Felix Slatkin called "Charge". It was filled with martial music and bugle calls. One cut however has always stuck with me, a piece called Bugler's Dream. It is beautiful and evokes many different emotions. I tried to find a CD of "Charge" a few days ago, and the least expensive was $120.00!!!!!!! The beautiful cut, Bugler's Dream, reappears every two years as the theme music for the Olympics!!!!

[pepperjack]

I am a musician, although I don't play anymore. My daughter is a music professor and professional singer. PepperJack reminded me of a special recording in my life that reappears every two years. When in military school I was a bugler and in my senior year, commander of the drum and bugle corps. I found a record by Felix Slatkin called "Charge". It was filled with martial music and bugle calls. One cut however has always stuck with me, a piece called Bugler's Dream. It is beautiful and evokes many different emotions. I tried to find a CD of "Charge" a few days ago, and the least expensive was $120.00!!!!!!! The beautiful cut, Bugler's Dream, reappears every two years as the theme music for the Olympics!!!!

Awesome!!! Thanx for sharing this. As a lifelong athlete I might just find it equally as stirring. Going to research it.