As someone who spends 90% of his time with some sort of music in his environment, it is safe to say I am well acquainted with the various reactions the human body can have to different music. You could say that all music does the same, but when you hear a violin playing in real time the hair on your neck stands up and you can just feel the music so deeply. In the last year I have come to realize that music is much more than just something we listen to or sing along to. Music is emotional and powerful, it can be the biggest, loudest, most gut-wrenching sound you’ve ever heard. or it could be the smallest, quietest, whisper, that only some can hear. Though to most music is a simple thing we enjoy, it can be so much more than that. Research has shown that listening to music can reduce anxiety, blood pressure, and pain as well as improve sleep, mood, and memory. Different receptors in our brain act differently as we listen to music: The Nucleus Accumbens which is partly responsible for the release of ‘happy chemicals’ releases dopamine when you’re listening to music, the Temporal Lobe is responsible for processing what we hear–without your temporal lobe you wouldn’t enjoy music, you’d just listen without any feeling. Other parts of the brain like the Amygdala connect us to music emotionally, this is why one could get emotional listening to certain music. The Amygdala works alongside the Hippocampus–the memory retriever–to connect certain songs or sounds to a part of your past, but what do all these fancy things have in common? All of these come together to create the experience that really is music, which is now being studied as a possible form of therapy. Music therapy has been proven to reduce anxiety, depression, and other mental illnesses, as well as help Dementia or Alzheimer's patients recover parts of their memory: All by listening to music that we connect to. Personally, music has been a way for me to just fade into my own little reality, and find a little distraction for anything that may be bothering me at the time. I’ve used it to keep myself calm and relaxed, to focus, and to improve my mood and mental state. Music is easily available to all of us, so take advantage of that. Music has helped me through various big moments in my life: a breakup, moving across a continent, bad days, and simpler everyday things: studying for that big test, walking home, while at work. Music has the power to not only connect us to ourselves, but to bring people closer. Anytime you listen to music from now on, I encourage you to think about how that music makes you feel. Are you happy? Does this remind you of something? Someone? Text that person a lyric from the song and tell them you miss them, show your friend a song you think they’ll like, and most importantly, notice how lyrics, and songs can always connect to us.
Mateo M
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Music, what is it? Music is the structured arrangement of instrumental sounds and vocals to create a mixture of noise that appeals to the brain, otherwise known as a song. These things called songs can be very powerful in ways. Music has been a form of entertainment since the age of humans. Every culture has their own diverse variety of genres. Music has played a very large role in my life ever since I was young. My dad introduced me to all kinds of legendary bands which got my whole interest in music started. My dad is a huge music nerd, so he has been teaching me all sorts of things about music and artists over the years. Sixth grade was really the year I started to develop my own taste in music. I didn't really know how to find the artists I liked so I spent most of my time watching music videos. Those music videos are what really sparked my interest in the rap scene. My music taste has been all over the place in the past years but it is never bland. I always listen to a wide variety and have multiple playlists for various occasions and moods. Music is one of my go to coping methods, there is always something available. I listen to music to work through my problems, to hear and feel through sound that what I'm going through, I'm not doing it alone. Whenever I'm struggling, I know I can always find comfort in my songs. Music is a great strategy to help cope rather than turning to self destructive methods. Music is also a great way to bond, communicate, and find a sense of belonging. Music can develop great communities based on different genres or artists. My best friend and I started our whole relationship based solely because we both liked Lil Peep, and $uicideBoy$, we ended up having way more music taste in common and just kind of went from there. Making music is also a great passtime. I recently downloaded a software that allows you to create beats virtually called FLstudio. It allows you to create your own creative sound, or re-create the sounds of other artists. You have complete control of the sounds. Hewitt L Almost everybody I have talked to has at least one specific way or thing that comforts them and touches deep to their soul, whether it’s; working out, food, music, hanging out with friends, spending time around animals, being alone, reading - really anything that takes their mind away to a different space. Music is my thing. I say to myself everyday (not to be dramatic) that if today were my last day, did I listen to good music? There is something about music that makes me feel like I am in the song, I can feel it in my bones and throughout my whole body, and to be completely honest, music heals me from this. If I ever get too deep into my head, get in an altercation, go through something emotional, I always fall back to my music. I will; crank the music in my shower, in the car, in my headphones, or in the house when I’m alone, and I just let the music do its magic. It works every time. I will dance, sing or just simply listen, even if it is only one song, I feel better. There is a study that the “Sleep Foundation” wrote, stating: “Several studies suggest that music enhances sleep because of its effects on the regulation of hormones, including the stress hormone cortisol. Being stressed and having elevated levels of cortisol can increase alertness and lead to poor sleep. Listening to music decreases levels of cortisol, which may explain why it helps put people at ease and release stress.” It is reassuring that music is actually scientifically proven to relieve stress. Music takes me back in time - there are certain songs that I associate with past memories, people and events. What I love about listening to these certain songs, is that it doesn’t make me dwell on the past, it makes me feel extremely thankful for how life has played out, even the bad times. Sam Cooke (the King of Soul) was an artist from the 1950’s and 1960’s, he is not only my favourite artist, but he is also my biggest role-model and inspiration. I am not putting this lightly when I say discovering his music changed my world. It opened up my mind, changed my perspectives and gave me a deeper understanding of this crazy world. If you love old music, here is a link to my playlist. Listening to music brings people together. Strangers, friends, families, partners, it has a way of uniting everyone. Singing along to you and your best friend's favourite song, howlin’ away at a classic song with your family, belting out “I want a hippopotamus for Christmas” on Christmas day - there is something very special about it. Even if nobody knows the lyrics or what the song is saying, there is always someone tapping their foot, humming along, dancing, or simply just listening to the song. A large amount of the music I listen to is in a different language, and I have absolutely no idea what the song is saying, but I can still always feel the music. You can really get to know someone based on their music. I truly believe that the music a person listens to, reflects who they are as a person. Many of my fondest memories involve music; sitting around the campfire with the speaker, shouting songs in the car, working with the music playing, dancing with my friends, singing with my grandma, it is such an influential part of my life. I really mean it from deep within me that it has a way of healing. Next time you are frustrated, sad, happy, excited (anything), play your number one favourite song, and see how you feel after.
Claire B This past weekend I watched the 2021 Grammy music awards as lots of others did. I watch the Grammys every year and look forward to it, but I’ve come to realize many flaws in the award system. Many artists are deserving of these awards and I wouldn’t say otherwise, but that doesn’t make it right that many artists get no recognition when it's deserved. To start, the way the awards are supposed to be run is by the board receiving a multitude of artists, albums, and songs that get filtered down into a list of 20 applicants for each award. From there, they (supposedly) use stats of how influential the options are to then narrow it down to a total of approximately 5 nominees per category. This, however, is not how the awards are run. After some research, I discovered that the board of directors operating the Grammys, aren’t as knowledgeable, diverse, or non-biased as you may think. They don’t even have to listen to all the songs nominated. This means that when it comes down to the final nominees, most of the people giving their input and votes are people from the same background and living environments. Most of them are also rich, white, old, males. This can heavily impact the outcome of the Grammy winner. Not only is this an issue, but the process of voting is to simply click who they like the most, and submit it. There are also “secret committees”. This creates discussion as to whether or not they have the ability to accept money for voting for a specific artist and how the people voting can choose their favorites even if statistically, they aren’t qualified to beat another nominee. According to Rolling Stone, they interviewed people who previously worked for the Grammys. They were fired because they spoke up about the corruption around the awards, and how one of them even “engaged in financial lobbying for votes during the nomination process”. While all this may be true, it doesn’t mean that all of the people behind the Grammys partake in these actions and many take their jobs very seriously. Whether or not there are major flaws in the voting system, doesn’t mean this is an excuse to blatantly state that the winners of any award are undeserving. Artists work hard for what they do and to receive such a major award is a big deal. My points just open up the discussion that other artists should be given the spotlight too. Some artists who have spoken up about this are the Weeknd who boycotted the awards due to his chart-topping album being snubbed by the Grammys, Zayn Malik who tweeted about the show, Nicki Minaj who spoke up about the lack of recognition she received for her music, and Teyana Taylor who spoke up about the sexism within the R&B category. (NBC News) Eminem has also on several occasions over the years spoken up about being snubbed at the awards. This year, I saw more POC recognized during the show, and could see a degree of effort was made but there is still much work to be done. One major example is BTS. This world-renowned Korean group was nominated for best pop group performance at the 2021 Grammys but lost to Rain on Me by Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande. Good for them for their win but there are some speculations I had while researching this award. Seeing as it goes to the best ‘performance’ specifically; BTS gave an entertaining show several times for their hit single Dynamite, topping charts and beating records while Rain on Me gave a total of one live performance. Gaga and Ari are undoubtedly talented women in music and I have no intention of taking their achievements away from them but for this specific award, my personal opinion is that BTS could have at least been recognized. Originally, BTS requested one of their Korean tracks, Black Swan, to be up for the award but it was immediately turned down due to it not being in English. They created Dynamite to be played in the states by purposefully creating an upbeat sound with English lyrics the Western industry would allow to be played on the radio. The issue is that they had to create something for Western culture in English which isn’t their first language, to cater to the Grammys before even being considered. This is a major disadvantage to any international artist shooting their shot at a Grammy. Many other Kpop groups are just as influential but don’t have the opportunity to be in the limelight due to this. My personal favourites are NCT, EXO, and SuperM. Some other popular groups not acknowledged are Black Pink and Shinee. These are the members of SuperM: International music is minimally represented at the awards other than some honorable mentions such as Bad Bunny; a Puerto Rican rapper who won the Grammy for Best Latin Pop Album. Eventually, it would be interesting to see more diverse genres of music represented at the awards such as Kpop, and Bollywood. With the rise in popularity of K-pop, the degree they are brushed under the rug is astounding to me. Many people have internalized racism towards Kpop and Bollywood music. This doesn’t mean that if you don’t like the genre that you automatically are racist, but if you don’t like it because they’re international genres; that’s a different story. Some of the many heavily influential albums/ songs that haven’t won Grammy’s over the years are; Michael Jackson’s Purple Rain, Beat it, & Billy Jean, No Doubt’s Don’t Speak, The backstreet boys I want it that way, Eminem’s The Marshall Mathers LP, Frank Ocean’s Channel Orange, and Kendrick Lamar’s Good Kid, M.A.A.D City.
The overall meaning behind my words is that even if your favorite artist isn’t nominated for a Grammy, it doesn’t mean they’re any less popular or talented. Brianna S Sources: https://www.rollingstone.com/pro/features/grammy-awards-secret-committees-945532/ https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/music/musicians-call-out-grammys-weeknd-boycotts-awards-ceremony-n1260918 https://www.vulture.com/article/the-greatest-grammys-snubs-of-all-time.html Let me indulge you for a moment. Think of a song that “brings back memories” and go listen to it. Now think about how that made you feel. When you listened to that song, could you see your surroundings? Could you hear the atmosphere? Could you feel the sensation of that moment? It's fascinating how music has the power to encapsulate a moment in time, allowing us to retrieve stored memories with just a few minutes worth of lyrics and melody. A couple of years ago I went on a trip to the South Pacific and Hawaii with my mom, my sister, my aunts and my Nani (grandmother). Every night while we were in Hawaii, we would all go for a nice stroll after dinner to observe the sights and beautiful scenery of Waikiki. The streets were crowded with lots of people so my sister and I would hold my Nani’s hand so that we could help her walk safely among the crowd. As we walked around, we would hear music being played by many of the restaurants, local shops, and hotel lobbies. I particularly remember a familiar song called Billie Jean by Michael Jackson being played outside a restaurant as we walked by. When I hear that song now I am instantly transported back to that time; I can see the smile on her face while I held her hand and I can feel the joy radiating from her while she walked alongside her family in Hawaii. This memory is very special to me because 3 months ago my Nani passed away and all I have left are the memories of the time I spent with her. It happened very unexpectedly and it has been a difficult time accepting her loss. I would never have thought of this as such a special moment until I recently heard this song again, and I could vividly relive the good time we had in the streets of Hawaii once again.
Even though there was a language barrier between us, music was one of the things that could always bring us together. I am afraid that my memories will fade but I know that everytime I hear the song I will be transported back to that time and I will be able to indulge in those moments. “Music is a total constant. That's why we have such a strong connection to it. Because a song can take you back instantly to a moment, or a place, or even a person. No matter what else has changed in you or the world, that one song stays the same, just like that moment.” Brianna J |
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