Composition
English 1010- Intro to Writing
Reflective Writing:
Intro to writing is not as simple as it sounds. When I first started this class I could write a summary or even critiqe a paper before I entered English-1010, but I could not write on a true academic level. Now I can and I'm ready for creative writing. My final term paper and thesis is on the physiological and cultural effects of music.
Michael Barela
Trenton McKay Judson
English 1010
December 2, 2012
The Music We Listen To Reflects the Way We
Think
It has been said that music is the universal language of the soul. According to Paleolithic archaeology,
flutes have been discovered carved from bones thought to be as old as 40,000
years. Ancient people have used
drums, wooden-made wind instruments, and harps to enjoy the art of music. Following the conquest of Spain in the
9th century is the introduction of the European lute (a stringed instrument
resembling a guitar) derived from the Arabic word “al’oud”. According
to The Journal of Musicology one of the earliest known uses of musical notation
has been identified in 8th century Rome and one of the oldest surviving, fully
notated service books is of Roman origin written for the Cathedral of Santa
Cecilia in Trastevere, Rome in 1071. (Cambridge University Press, 1990). It seems that the creation of music has
been around since the dawn of man, the question is what affect music has on
people and culture. Music can have
a powerful influence that has both positive and negative effects on our minds.
I intend to prove that the music
we listen to reflects the way we think by showing the positive and negative
effects of music on our culture and in our minds.
The general effects of music can be understood once one understands the
definitions of musical language and the physiological effects on the brain. A certain sound or definite frequency
is called a pitch. Melody is the
part of music that stands out and makes a song or tune memorable. Harmony
has two characteristics, consonant and dissonant. Consonant
harmony can be bright or dark, cheerful or melancholy, upbeat or slow. Dissonant
harmony is usually irritating or any number of negative effects.
Timbre, sometimes called tone color, is how we can tell one instrument
from another, even if they are playing the same pitch. Some singers might have a
clear voice which is pleasant while another might have a harsh voice that may
sound agitating to some people, putting the listener on edge. Tempo
is beats per minute, the time signature of the music for example ¾ time is three
beats per measure for four measures. Rhythm is a patterned measure of time
and is probably the most influential musical element. It
is a clearly organized mass of musical cycles piled on top of one another. Rhythm and tempo have a strong
physiological influence on the body.
One of the strongest known effects is a change in mood.
Just listening to music can easily alter a person’s mood.
Several studies were conducted to test people’s mood changes after
listening to certain kinds of music (Schoen 89-99).
People tested the effects of major and minor modes. Major modes gave the
feelings of cheer and joy while minor modes gave the feelings of gloom and
depression. Melkinov (1970) writes
that a certain composition of Domenico Modugnio, which has a fast tempo, raised
the heart rate of subjects in an experiment by 4.7 beats per minute. (Severance,
pgs 1 thru 6). I think that it is
a common fact that many people listen to certain kinds of music for its rhythm
and tempo.
The
simultaneous left and right brain action maximizes learning and retention of
information. A
study known as the Mozart Effect conducted by Frances H. Rauscher, Gordon L.
Shaw and Katherine N. Ky at the Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and
Memory at the University of California at Irvine, mentioned in an article that
studies showed an improvement in IQ scores which is useful for the positive
effects of music on the mind.
The
Mozart Effect is one of the most often cited studies of the effect of classical
music. Mozart's music and baroque
music, with a 60 beats per minute beat pattern, activate the left and right
brain. The information being
studied activates the left brain while the music activates the right brain.
Also, activities which engage both
sides of the brain at the same time, such as playing an instrument or singing,
causes the brain to be more capable of processing information. (eMedExpert, pg
2). One of the strongest effects
of music on the brain is the area of memory. Students of foreign languages were
shown to be able to learn hundreds of vocabulary items in one day when listening
to appropriate music. What is more,
they remembered words over time at a level of 92% retention.
This feat was accomplished with the use of baroque classical music. The tempo was the most successful at a
steady rate of 60 beats per minute.
At this tempo, people seemed to remember the most.
In 1993 a group of researchers from the University of California
concluded that after listening to 10 minutes of Mozart, the participant’s scores
on an IQ test improved by several points. (Manthei, pg 1). In
“Battle for the Mind” Dr. William
Sargent, a leading scientific authority on the human nervous system, writes,”
Electrical recordings of the human brain show that it is particularly sensitive
to the rhythmic stimulation by percussion and bright light among other things,
and certain rates of rhythm can build up recordable abnormalities of brain
function and explosive states of tension sufficient enough to produce
convulsive fits in predisposed subjects.” Communication within the body is
electrochemical. Music affects
the amplitude and frequency of brainwaves, which can be measured by an
electro-encephalogram. (Sargent, pg 1). Boston psychologist Dr. James Girard in
”The Wanderer”writes,” There must be
a condition of harmony or perfect balance between the mental, emotional and
physical operations of the organism if it is to function properly. It
is precisely at this point that rock 'n roll, and much of modern music, becomes
potentially dangerous. This is
because, to maintain a sense of well-being and integration, it is essential that
man is not subjected too much to any rhythms not in accord with his natural body
rhythms.” (Girard, pg 2). Rhythm
and tempo, used harmonically, are sympathetic to the body. The
tempo should usually correspond to the normal human heart rate range of
approximately 60 to 120 beats per minute. Disharmonic tempo is outside the range
of 60 to 120 beats per minute. Disharmonic rhythm often includes
frequent syncopation (as does almost all current popular music, and a lot of
20th-century art music) also known as classical. Monotonous rhythm (the same rhythm
repeated many times) is also disharmonic. (Severance, pg 6). When
the ear picks up sound waves it changes them to electrical impulses. Rhythm plays an important role in the ability
of our mind to organize billions of electrical impulses into clear,
understandable mental pictures. Rhythm then controls the way the message
is sent along the neurological system, thereby controlling the way it is
perceived. (angelfire.com, pg 1).
Traditionally music students have been known to perform higher
academically than students who do not study music. Scott
Shuler, a music consultant at the Connecticut State Department of Education and
adjunct professor in the Hartt School of Music in West Hartford Connecticut,
describes at-risk students as students that express characteristics such as:
academic underachievement, lack of self-esteem and self respect and the
inability to communicate thought and feeling on an intimate level.
He goes on to say while most students who fail have the ability to do
well, they choose not to because there school experience doesn't motivate them.
(Shuler, pg 7). A little known
fact about Albert Einstein is that when he was young he did extremely poor in
school. Albert's parents bought him a violin and he became good at playing
it. Einstein himself says that the
reason he was so smart is because he played the violin. A
friend of Einstein, G.J. Withrow, said that the way Einstein figured out his
problems and equations was by improvising on the violin. Einstein
loved the music of Mozart and Bach the most. (cerebromente.org, pg 1). Mark Jude Tramo, the founder of The
Institute for Music and Brain Science at Harvard Medical School, has tried to
determine where the music center of the brain is, only to find evidence suggests
more of a dance between the right and left lobes and that different parts of the
brain help to define different experiences in music, from mathematical
considerations at rhythm and frequency to more artistic expressions like
emotion. The
“complex structure” in classical music is what primes the brain to solve spatial
problems more quickly. (Tramo, pg 1 and
2).
Music can have negative effects as well as positive effects on
people. Historically rockers and
metal-heads have carried the stigma of being drug addicts and losers. Heavy metal albums feature violent
imagery and some songs contain profane, blasphemous, and obscene lyrics. This has led to the concern that
exposing adolescence to these lyrics will desensitize them to violence and
develop inappropriate attitudes toward sex, language, and religion. According to West Chester University, a
number of studies suggest that adolescents who listen to heavy metal music are
more likely to engage in a number of undesirable and hazardous behaviors,
including drug and alcohol abuse, sexual activity, behavioral problems and poor
grades. Most claims about heavy
metal music are that it makes its listeners more violent. A
study done by Shaleen L. Coss of the psychology department at Loyola University
has found that this is, in fact, not true and there is no direct relationship
between heavy metal music and violence in teenagers. The
study found that participants who listen to heavy metal music with violent
lyrics and music were less likely to feel depression afterward than those who
listen to nonviolent songs. They
also found that heavy metal music listeners had a higher self-esteem than other
participants because of the rush one feels from violent music. (Coss, pg
2). An Australian physician and
psychiatrist, Dr. John Diamond found a direct link between muscle
strength/weakness and music. He
discovered that all of the muscles in the entire body go weak when subject to
the,” stopped anapestic beat,” of music from hard rock musicians. He
says, “A switching occurs when the actual symmetry between both of the cerebral
hemispheres is destroyed causing alarm in the body along with lessened work
performance and learning and behavior problems in children.” (Diamond, pg
5). Dr. Arnold Scheivel, a
professor of medicine at UCLA and an expert on brain growth says,” If there is a
bottom line; it is that no neuron is healthier than the capillary that supplies
it.” He goes on to say that we have a very strong feeling that in the capillary
supply system is the story of the maintenance or slow decline of the brain.
How does volume affect blood
supply? The blood vessels undergo
a narrowing of caliber in the presence of loud sound; this narrowing decreases
the flow of blood to the different parts of the body, including the mind.
(Scheivel, pg 2). Martin Polo, the
director of Audio Visual Services at UCLA and noise consultant for the aerospace
industry and related technologies writes, “The presence of continued exposure to
high level sound can trigger psychopathological impacts on individuals…. these
impacts can range from depressions to actual presence in the brain of chemicals
normally found in schizophrenia and psychosis patients.” (Polo, pg 2). These are some of the extreme negative
physiological effects of music.
Culture has the potential for shaping the way we use music
through the media. The most
popular rap and hip-hop music in American culture glamorizes sexist behavior and
criminal activity. A study by
Denise Herd of Berkeley's School of Public Health showed that 77% of rap music
studied made references to drug and alcohol abuse.
Frequent references to guns, shootings, robbery and revenge pepper the
lyrics of rap music. Explicit
language and profanity appear to be a requisite part of many rap songs lyrical
composition. Frequent graphic
references to sexual acts between men and women and promiscuity are another
hallmark of rap music. (Herd, pg 1).
Music television contains explicit content which leads too many
undesirable scenes that are not suitable for children.
Videos can inspire children to imitate these acts because they think that
it is normal to do so. (ehow.com, pg 2).
The slow monotonous rhythms of rap and hip-hop are disharmonic beats that
have a definite physiological effect on the mood of the listener.
Shawn Jackson, the author of “The Lasting Effects of Negative Rap and
Hip-Hop Music on the Adolescent Mind” a seminar paper presented to The Graduate
Faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree Master of
Science in Education says, “Modern rap/hip-hop is impressionable, warping
traditional values that have proven to be very useful tools in life.
These messages that are being developed within music content constantly
bombard adolescent minds with negative, tasteless, feelings/experiences and
influence the natural course of the adolescent mind.” (Jackson, pg 16). This can have a negative effect on
culture.
Music affects adults as well as the young.
As country music increased on the airwaves, suicide rates for whites
increased, the Center for Youth cites.
This is particularly true in metropolitan areas. According to the
article, the genre encouraged listeners in the midst of difficult circumstances
to consider suicide. (Knott, pg 1).
These findings remind me of a famous lyric that says that every cowboy
sings a sad song. Country and
Western music is an American phenomenon. Most people associate country music with
a broken heart and an empty bottle. A study by Denise Herd of Berkeley’s
School of Public Health showed that 36% of country music that was studied made
references to drug and alcohol abuse. According to research cited by the Center
for Youth Studies, country music has a similar effect on teens as it does
adults. Country music that
includes content that is heavily sexual has a reactionary effect on listeners.
(Herd, pg 1). Like rap, not all
country music is explicit, but that which is can encourage early sexual
activity. Music can affect culture
just like culture can affect music. Pop music often features young girls that
dress provocatively and glamorize promiscuity. The following are some of the regular
scenes on music television; stripping women (rap music), sexual acts (Lady Gaga
and many other pop stars), violent performances (heavy metal), criminal activity
(rap music) and the list goes on. (ehow.com, pg 2). No
one type of popular American music is exempt from explicit sexual activity on
music videos and it is viewed by no greater audience than children, preteens,
and adolescence. These are
negative effects on our culture and society.
Recent research is showing the positive effects of music,
according to a paper in the latest UK based Journal of Advanced Nursing,
listening to music can reduce chronic pain from a range of painful conditions,
including osteoarthritis, disc problems and rheumatoid arthritis, by up to 21%
and depression by up to 25%. The
use of music therapy in hospitals is reducing the need for medication to
postoperative patients and is coupling the use of anesthesia during surgery.
According to research reported at the American Society of Hypertension meeting
in New Orleans, listening to just 30 minutes of classical, Celtic, or reggae
music every day may significantly reduce high blood pressure also Alzheimer’s
patients have been shown to benefit mentally from listening to music that seems
to trigger certain memories and Parkinson’s patients have been known to improve
motor skills while music is being played. (eMedExpert.com, pg
1).
In conclusion, studies and research have shown the undeniable
power of music both
positive and negative and a direct correlation between students
who study music that have a higher grade point average compared to those
students who do not study music.
The lasting effects of physiological damage are still unclear but what is
clear is that music can have a profound impact on our mental state. “The top
three schools in America all place a great emphasis on music and the arts. Hungary, Japan, and the Netherlands, the
top three academic countries in the world, all place a great emphasis on music
education and participation in music.” (cerebromente.org, pg 5).
It seems that the music we listen to can and does reflect the way we
think.
Works Cited
"The
Effects of Music on the Mind." The Effects of Music on the Mind. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2012.
<http://www.reversespins.com/effectsofmusic.html>.
"How
Music Affects Us and Promotes Health." Surprising Effects Of Music. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2012.
<http://www.emedexpert.com/tips/music.shtml>.
Knott,
Christina. "The Effects of Country Music on Adolescents." EHow. Demand
Media, 10 May 2011. Web. 05 Nov. 2012.
< http://www.ehow.com/info_8395347_effects-country-music>.
Manthei,
Emily. "The Effect of Classical Music on the Brain." EHow. Demand Media,
29 Mar. 2010. Web. 05 Nov. 2012.
<http://www.ehow.com/about_6162645>.
"Music
and the Brain." Music and the Brain. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2012.
< http://www.cerebromente.org.br/n15/mente/musica.html>.
"ScottSeverance.us."
Psychological Effects of Music. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2012.
< http://www.scottseverance.us/music/effects_of_music.htm>.
"Search
Our Physician Directory." Angelfire.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2012.
< http://www.uclahealth.org/body.cfm?id=479>.
Taylor,
Amie. "Negative Effects of Rap Music on Teens." EHow. Demand Media, 23
Feb. 2011. Web. 05 Nov. 2012.
<http://www.ehow.com/info_7979107>.
Wolfe,
Michael. "Negative Effects of Heavy Metal Music." EHow. Demand Media, 30
May 2010. Web. 05 Nov. 2012.
<http://www.ehow.com/list_6568180>.
Trenton McKay Judson
English 1010
December 2, 2012
The Music We Listen To Reflects the Way We
Think
It has been said that music is the universal language of the soul. According to Paleolithic archaeology,
flutes have been discovered carved from bones thought to be as old as 40,000
years. Ancient people have used
drums, wooden-made wind instruments, and harps to enjoy the art of music. Following the conquest of Spain in the
9th century is the introduction of the European lute (a stringed instrument
resembling a guitar) derived from the Arabic word “al’oud”. According
to The Journal of Musicology one of the earliest known uses of musical notation
has been identified in 8th century Rome and one of the oldest surviving, fully
notated service books is of Roman origin written for the Cathedral of Santa
Cecilia in Trastevere, Rome in 1071. (Cambridge University Press, 1990). It seems that the creation of music has
been around since the dawn of man, the question is what affect music has on
people and culture. Music can have
a powerful influence that has both positive and negative effects on our minds.
I intend to prove that the music
we listen to reflects the way we think by showing the positive and negative
effects of music on our culture and in our minds.
The general effects of music can be understood once one understands the
definitions of musical language and the physiological effects on the brain. A certain sound or definite frequency
is called a pitch. Melody is the
part of music that stands out and makes a song or tune memorable. Harmony
has two characteristics, consonant and dissonant. Consonant
harmony can be bright or dark, cheerful or melancholy, upbeat or slow. Dissonant
harmony is usually irritating or any number of negative effects.
Timbre, sometimes called tone color, is how we can tell one instrument
from another, even if they are playing the same pitch. Some singers might have a
clear voice which is pleasant while another might have a harsh voice that may
sound agitating to some people, putting the listener on edge. Tempo
is beats per minute, the time signature of the music for example ¾ time is three
beats per measure for four measures. Rhythm is a patterned measure of time
and is probably the most influential musical element. It
is a clearly organized mass of musical cycles piled on top of one another. Rhythm and tempo have a strong
physiological influence on the body.
One of the strongest known effects is a change in mood.
Just listening to music can easily alter a person’s mood.
Several studies were conducted to test people’s mood changes after
listening to certain kinds of music (Schoen 89-99).
People tested the effects of major and minor modes. Major modes gave the
feelings of cheer and joy while minor modes gave the feelings of gloom and
depression. Melkinov (1970) writes
that a certain composition of Domenico Modugnio, which has a fast tempo, raised
the heart rate of subjects in an experiment by 4.7 beats per minute. (Severance,
pgs 1 thru 6). I think that it is
a common fact that many people listen to certain kinds of music for its rhythm
and tempo.
The
simultaneous left and right brain action maximizes learning and retention of
information. A
study known as the Mozart Effect conducted by Frances H. Rauscher, Gordon L.
Shaw and Katherine N. Ky at the Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and
Memory at the University of California at Irvine, mentioned in an article that
studies showed an improvement in IQ scores which is useful for the positive
effects of music on the mind.
The
Mozart Effect is one of the most often cited studies of the effect of classical
music. Mozart's music and baroque
music, with a 60 beats per minute beat pattern, activate the left and right
brain. The information being
studied activates the left brain while the music activates the right brain.
Also, activities which engage both
sides of the brain at the same time, such as playing an instrument or singing,
causes the brain to be more capable of processing information. (eMedExpert, pg
2). One of the strongest effects
of music on the brain is the area of memory. Students of foreign languages were
shown to be able to learn hundreds of vocabulary items in one day when listening
to appropriate music. What is more,
they remembered words over time at a level of 92% retention.
This feat was accomplished with the use of baroque classical music. The tempo was the most successful at a
steady rate of 60 beats per minute.
At this tempo, people seemed to remember the most.
In 1993 a group of researchers from the University of California
concluded that after listening to 10 minutes of Mozart, the participant’s scores
on an IQ test improved by several points. (Manthei, pg 1). In
“Battle for the Mind” Dr. William
Sargent, a leading scientific authority on the human nervous system, writes,”
Electrical recordings of the human brain show that it is particularly sensitive
to the rhythmic stimulation by percussion and bright light among other things,
and certain rates of rhythm can build up recordable abnormalities of brain
function and explosive states of tension sufficient enough to produce
convulsive fits in predisposed subjects.” Communication within the body is
electrochemical. Music affects
the amplitude and frequency of brainwaves, which can be measured by an
electro-encephalogram. (Sargent, pg 1). Boston psychologist Dr. James Girard in
”The Wanderer”writes,” There must be
a condition of harmony or perfect balance between the mental, emotional and
physical operations of the organism if it is to function properly. It
is precisely at this point that rock 'n roll, and much of modern music, becomes
potentially dangerous. This is
because, to maintain a sense of well-being and integration, it is essential that
man is not subjected too much to any rhythms not in accord with his natural body
rhythms.” (Girard, pg 2). Rhythm
and tempo, used harmonically, are sympathetic to the body. The
tempo should usually correspond to the normal human heart rate range of
approximately 60 to 120 beats per minute. Disharmonic tempo is outside the range
of 60 to 120 beats per minute. Disharmonic rhythm often includes
frequent syncopation (as does almost all current popular music, and a lot of
20th-century art music) also known as classical. Monotonous rhythm (the same rhythm
repeated many times) is also disharmonic. (Severance, pg 6). When
the ear picks up sound waves it changes them to electrical impulses. Rhythm plays an important role in the ability
of our mind to organize billions of electrical impulses into clear,
understandable mental pictures. Rhythm then controls the way the message
is sent along the neurological system, thereby controlling the way it is
perceived. (angelfire.com, pg 1).
Traditionally music students have been known to perform higher
academically than students who do not study music. Scott
Shuler, a music consultant at the Connecticut State Department of Education and
adjunct professor in the Hartt School of Music in West Hartford Connecticut,
describes at-risk students as students that express characteristics such as:
academic underachievement, lack of self-esteem and self respect and the
inability to communicate thought and feeling on an intimate level.
He goes on to say while most students who fail have the ability to do
well, they choose not to because there school experience doesn't motivate them.
(Shuler, pg 7). A little known
fact about Albert Einstein is that when he was young he did extremely poor in
school. Albert's parents bought him a violin and he became good at playing
it. Einstein himself says that the
reason he was so smart is because he played the violin. A
friend of Einstein, G.J. Withrow, said that the way Einstein figured out his
problems and equations was by improvising on the violin. Einstein
loved the music of Mozart and Bach the most. (cerebromente.org, pg 1). Mark Jude Tramo, the founder of The
Institute for Music and Brain Science at Harvard Medical School, has tried to
determine where the music center of the brain is, only to find evidence suggests
more of a dance between the right and left lobes and that different parts of the
brain help to define different experiences in music, from mathematical
considerations at rhythm and frequency to more artistic expressions like
emotion. The
“complex structure” in classical music is what primes the brain to solve spatial
problems more quickly. (Tramo, pg 1 and
2).
Music can have negative effects as well as positive effects on
people. Historically rockers and
metal-heads have carried the stigma of being drug addicts and losers. Heavy metal albums feature violent
imagery and some songs contain profane, blasphemous, and obscene lyrics. This has led to the concern that
exposing adolescence to these lyrics will desensitize them to violence and
develop inappropriate attitudes toward sex, language, and religion. According to West Chester University, a
number of studies suggest that adolescents who listen to heavy metal music are
more likely to engage in a number of undesirable and hazardous behaviors,
including drug and alcohol abuse, sexual activity, behavioral problems and poor
grades. Most claims about heavy
metal music are that it makes its listeners more violent. A
study done by Shaleen L. Coss of the psychology department at Loyola University
has found that this is, in fact, not true and there is no direct relationship
between heavy metal music and violence in teenagers. The
study found that participants who listen to heavy metal music with violent
lyrics and music were less likely to feel depression afterward than those who
listen to nonviolent songs. They
also found that heavy metal music listeners had a higher self-esteem than other
participants because of the rush one feels from violent music. (Coss, pg
2). An Australian physician and
psychiatrist, Dr. John Diamond found a direct link between muscle
strength/weakness and music. He
discovered that all of the muscles in the entire body go weak when subject to
the,” stopped anapestic beat,” of music from hard rock musicians. He
says, “A switching occurs when the actual symmetry between both of the cerebral
hemispheres is destroyed causing alarm in the body along with lessened work
performance and learning and behavior problems in children.” (Diamond, pg
5). Dr. Arnold Scheivel, a
professor of medicine at UCLA and an expert on brain growth says,” If there is a
bottom line; it is that no neuron is healthier than the capillary that supplies
it.” He goes on to say that we have a very strong feeling that in the capillary
supply system is the story of the maintenance or slow decline of the brain.
How does volume affect blood
supply? The blood vessels undergo
a narrowing of caliber in the presence of loud sound; this narrowing decreases
the flow of blood to the different parts of the body, including the mind.
(Scheivel, pg 2). Martin Polo, the
director of Audio Visual Services at UCLA and noise consultant for the aerospace
industry and related technologies writes, “The presence of continued exposure to
high level sound can trigger psychopathological impacts on individuals…. these
impacts can range from depressions to actual presence in the brain of chemicals
normally found in schizophrenia and psychosis patients.” (Polo, pg 2). These are some of the extreme negative
physiological effects of music.
Culture has the potential for shaping the way we use music
through the media. The most
popular rap and hip-hop music in American culture glamorizes sexist behavior and
criminal activity. A study by
Denise Herd of Berkeley's School of Public Health showed that 77% of rap music
studied made references to drug and alcohol abuse.
Frequent references to guns, shootings, robbery and revenge pepper the
lyrics of rap music. Explicit
language and profanity appear to be a requisite part of many rap songs lyrical
composition. Frequent graphic
references to sexual acts between men and women and promiscuity are another
hallmark of rap music. (Herd, pg 1).
Music television contains explicit content which leads too many
undesirable scenes that are not suitable for children.
Videos can inspire children to imitate these acts because they think that
it is normal to do so. (ehow.com, pg 2).
The slow monotonous rhythms of rap and hip-hop are disharmonic beats that
have a definite physiological effect on the mood of the listener.
Shawn Jackson, the author of “The Lasting Effects of Negative Rap and
Hip-Hop Music on the Adolescent Mind” a seminar paper presented to The Graduate
Faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree Master of
Science in Education says, “Modern rap/hip-hop is impressionable, warping
traditional values that have proven to be very useful tools in life.
These messages that are being developed within music content constantly
bombard adolescent minds with negative, tasteless, feelings/experiences and
influence the natural course of the adolescent mind.” (Jackson, pg 16). This can have a negative effect on
culture.
Music affects adults as well as the young.
As country music increased on the airwaves, suicide rates for whites
increased, the Center for Youth cites.
This is particularly true in metropolitan areas. According to the
article, the genre encouraged listeners in the midst of difficult circumstances
to consider suicide. (Knott, pg 1).
These findings remind me of a famous lyric that says that every cowboy
sings a sad song. Country and
Western music is an American phenomenon. Most people associate country music with
a broken heart and an empty bottle. A study by Denise Herd of Berkeley’s
School of Public Health showed that 36% of country music that was studied made
references to drug and alcohol abuse. According to research cited by the Center
for Youth Studies, country music has a similar effect on teens as it does
adults. Country music that
includes content that is heavily sexual has a reactionary effect on listeners.
(Herd, pg 1). Like rap, not all
country music is explicit, but that which is can encourage early sexual
activity. Music can affect culture
just like culture can affect music. Pop music often features young girls that
dress provocatively and glamorize promiscuity. The following are some of the regular
scenes on music television; stripping women (rap music), sexual acts (Lady Gaga
and many other pop stars), violent performances (heavy metal), criminal activity
(rap music) and the list goes on. (ehow.com, pg 2). No
one type of popular American music is exempt from explicit sexual activity on
music videos and it is viewed by no greater audience than children, preteens,
and adolescence. These are
negative effects on our culture and society.
Recent research is showing the positive effects of music,
according to a paper in the latest UK based Journal of Advanced Nursing,
listening to music can reduce chronic pain from a range of painful conditions,
including osteoarthritis, disc problems and rheumatoid arthritis, by up to 21%
and depression by up to 25%. The
use of music therapy in hospitals is reducing the need for medication to
postoperative patients and is coupling the use of anesthesia during surgery.
According to research reported at the American Society of Hypertension meeting
in New Orleans, listening to just 30 minutes of classical, Celtic, or reggae
music every day may significantly reduce high blood pressure also Alzheimer’s
patients have been shown to benefit mentally from listening to music that seems
to trigger certain memories and Parkinson’s patients have been known to improve
motor skills while music is being played. (eMedExpert.com, pg
1).
In conclusion, studies and research have shown the undeniable
power of music both
positive and negative and a direct correlation between students
who study music that have a higher grade point average compared to those
students who do not study music.
The lasting effects of physiological damage are still unclear but what is
clear is that music can have a profound impact on our mental state. “The top
three schools in America all place a great emphasis on music and the arts. Hungary, Japan, and the Netherlands, the
top three academic countries in the world, all place a great emphasis on music
education and participation in music.” (cerebromente.org, pg 5).
It seems that the music we listen to can and does reflect the way we
think.
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