What is something important that you have learned in your life so far? I have learned that music can be useful in many ways. The beats from music can keep your heartbeat healthier and has much more useful impacts on your body and brain; music is an essential part of life.
Music can form bonds with people. I did a survey on my friends because I know they have good music taste; I surveyed them about how music helps them in everyday life. I surveyed 11 people on September 25th, 2023. After I finished the survey, I wanted to interview some people for interview responses, so I chose to interview my brothers and dad because they made a band from just playing around with instruments to playing on stage with the growing “rez metal” scene. I chose to write about music because I know it helps me in everyday life, and I am curious if it does the same for other people.
According to my survey, people think music helps you in everyday life. The first question I asked was, “Does music help you in your everyday life?” Everyone who answered my survey answered, “Yes in many ways.”
Now, not just the people I surveyed think music helps you in everyday life, studies have shown that music has helped people in everyday life. According to musicgateway.com, “Research has shown that music can help you focus, concentrate, relax, feel motivated, improve memory and can even help reduce anxiety.” I agree with this statement because it’s true. For example, when I am working in class, I like to listen to music to concentrate on what I am working on and when I don’t listen to music, I tend to get distracted. The second question I asked was “What type of music helps you focus the best?” Most people answered “Instrumental.”; One example is “Dusk Collector” by YG Hypnos. This was a multiple-choice question because it depends on the person, as they have their own music taste. For example, The University of Arizona has done studies on music as well and according to their studies, “Upbeat music can provide an energy boost and get your brain primed for learning. Once it’s time to concentrate, like when you need to read, write, or study your course materials, instrumental music and soothing genres can help you stay calm and focused.
“Ultimately, each person may develop a different approach to studying and music that’s uniquely suited for them.” This is an interesting quote because I know for a fact that people grow in different ways, no two people are the exact same. Waking up tangled up in your earphones after listening to music all night is the worst, but did you know it is good for you to listen to music while you sleep? The National Institutes of Health did a study on the effects of music on sleep quality in young participants with poor sleep. In the recorded studies, it is stated that “Music can reduce sympathetic nervous system activity, decrease anxiety, blood pressure, heart and respiratory rate and may have positive effects on sleep via muscle relaxation and distraction from thoughts.” They used a method that is like doing a survey. According to the text it states “We used a three-group repeated measures design. Group 1 participants listened for 45 minutes either to relaxing classical music or instrumental guitar music. Group 2 listened to an audiobook at bedtime for 3 weeks. The last group, Group 3, received no intervention. After 3 weeks, group 1 revealed a main effect of music statistically and significantly improving sleep quality. Sleep quality did not improve statistically or significantly in the audiobook and no intervention. Depressive symptoms decreased statistically significantly in the music group as well.” Reading this makes me feel better about how I am. I have trouble sleeping sometimes and music usually helps me stop thinking and helps put my mind to rest so I can sleep and knowing that people studied this and proved it healthy to be dependent on music makes me feel good.
Music has always been a big essential in my life. The biggest influence on the music I started listening to is my family, especially my dad. I interviewed my dad about what music does for him and something that he said stuck with me: “When I was young, I wanted to have my own band but I was going through so much already I didn’t know if I could handle it and one of my friends told me a quote that Robert Plant said, ‘I don’t know how much more expressive you can get than being a rock and roll singer.’ Being in a musician is like being your own therapist, you get whatever you feel out but, in a way, you know that will help you.” This stuck with me because it makes me think of making my own band or becoming a musician by myself.
Music creates memories. I remember being a little kid at one of my family member’s birthday parties and everyone would look so happy, and my uncle would always be playing music on his speaker while the adults cooked and laughed, and the kids would be running around.
Another person I decided to interview was my brother. I asked him “Do you remember that song “Peanut Butter Jelly Time?” He responded, “You mean the one that was playing at your…I think 3rd birthday party or the one we sang in the car?” I answered “It’s the same song, but do you remember how happy we were whenever we listened to that song? It was like just that song could make us sing and jump around.” The next thing he said really got to me, it made me very nostalgic. My brother told me “Yeah, I remember, every time I heard that song, I’d always look for you and Lestat. It always made me think of you and Lestat because so many memories pop up like the one where me, you, Lestat, Dad and Mom were on a walk, and I remember you tried climbing this big horseshoe we used to live by. It reminds me of that exact moment because it was one time where I was so happy, I could’ve exploded with joy.” This conversation helped me reconnect with my brother, we have busy lives and barely talk to each other even though we live in the same house, and this helped me have a conversation my brother and the conversation let me know he still thinks of me and Lestat even when he is busy.
Music is very essential to a human being. Without music the world would be quiet and dark, cold, empty, and just so depressing. In my opinion, everyone would look dead, and life would be pointless, but most of all the chaos in the world would only grow more and more.
To sum up everything, there are many ways that music can be essential and useful in your life. Music can help you mentally, socially, and physically. To me, music is what gives people life, what makes someone themselves, what helps someone get through hard times and in my opinion will stay with you forever. So next time you listen to music, think of it as a way of making yourself healthier, you never know if your heartbeat is syncing with it or if it is making you sleepy.
Sources
https://www.musicgateway.com/blog/how-to/7-benefits-of-listening-to-music-while-studying#:~:text=Research%20has%20shown%20that%20music,the%20process%20much%20more%20enjoyable.
https://www.uagc.edu/blog/how-does-music-affect-your-brain#:~:text=Upbeat%20music%2C%20including%20songs%20with,you%20stay%20calm%20and%20focused.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18426457/#:~:text=Music%20can%20reduce%20sympathetic%20nervous,relaxation%20and%20distraction%20from%20thoughts.
