How Classical Music Infulence Human Lives - Research Paper Example

The Influence ic Music on Human-Beings Introduction ical music” is a term originating from the latin word “classicus”, which means the highest class taxpayer. After penetrating gradually unto English, German and French languages, the word was initially defined to mean classical, orderlie, formall, fit ranke or in due; also authentical, principall, chief, approved. Nowadays, Merriam-Webster defines the term as relating to or music in the learned European tradition including art song, opera, symphony and chamber music as distinguished from popular or folk music or jazz. Based on stylistic differences, music historiographers have classified six music periods. The medieval period (before 1400) was distinguished by Gregorian chant, mainly religious. The renaissance period (1400-1600) was characterized by increased art song, madrigals and secular music. The baroque period (1750-1820) was characterized by intricate ornamentation. The classical period (1750-1820) was characterized by structure and balance. The romantic period (1820-1900) was characterized by large emotional and programmatic. The 20th century (beyond 1900) regarded as limitless. The various music styles existing in classical music include the symphony, choral works, opera, chamber music, the madrigal, the Mass and Gregorian chant. Why Classical Music Can Last a Long Period of Time? Classical music is mostly simple, short and loosely structured making it easy for the average player to share with others. Some folk songs which are older than nearly all classical music are still sung to this day, but not very often. Such music entertains for a short time, and becomes annoying when repeated time and again. Classical music is greatly structured and it is in fact written down unlike most music. To perform classical music demands long practice hours as well as full knowledge of and how to play the instrument. Concerts of classical music are carefully organized in order to attract the public at a particular time as opposed to when the musician has the mood. Classical music can be listened to repeatedly since it has much depth. During the times when radios, dvds or cds etc were non-existent, the only way to listen to music was only through live performances. Most homes had at least a musical instrument that was played with lesser or greater skill. Concerts were big events and the people who liked attending them were mostly the rich ones. The pieces prepared for the concerts were longer since people were merely dying to listen to the music. The people could not miss the concerts and wait to pick the cds from music stores the following day. A story is told of J.S. Bach who walked several miles to listen to a performance by a great organist called Buxtehude. Symphonies structured into works of many movements exposed listeners to a variety of intellectual experiences and moods. Music involving dance invited listeners to enjoy. Concerts were great events and these works were not performed all at the same time as they are these days. Originally, symphony movements were separated by other kinds of performances or pieces of music altogether. Today, the cultural, social and aesthetic realities are very different. The time constraints, needs and music availability are all different. One can easily turn of or change what they are listening to literally at any time of the day or night. There is need for a totally different approach. The music of today is neither worse nor better, but rather fits this place and time in history. Fortunately, there is always great classical works to return to for inspiration and pleasure. What's the Connection between Classical Music and People's Lives? Classical music has attracted varying perspectives worldwide. During the times of Bach and Mozart, classical music flourished, but today some people, especially the young, perceived it as boring and old fashioned. However, they are missing out since this music is beneficial for the human body and brain. Classical music makes humans smarter and helps them do jobs more efficiently. The music helps people in many ways. It enhances their testing and reading skills. For instance, listening to Mozart works 10 minutes before a test helps one to do better. (Campbell 1). Listening to classical music greatly improves one’s reading skills. It can also change the reading experience of slow readers. For students, classical music can help in studying and thinking. It has a calming effect on the human body, which in turn helps people to think straight. People can be surprised at the much they can accomplish after listening to country music. In fact, some influential people have used the music to their advantage, for example, Thomas Jefferson when he wrote declaration of independence (O’Donnell). Classical music made him think clearly and write one of the famous documents in history. Classical music also helped Einstein, a smart man in history, in his life. When he did poorly in school, his parents decided to buy a violin for him, which he used to play classical music and this helped him perform better in his studies (O’Donnell). This shows that classical music is beneficial from the poorest-performing student to the brightest person. The same way its helps people think, classical music helps people study by making them concentrate, enabling them to work harder. The music can relive stress when studying for rigorous final exams. It helps one concentrate while thinking. Classical music has a sweet cool sound, which eases and calms the body, enabling the listener to concentrate. The music is not boring, but helps people to become better thinkers and be smarter. According to Dr. Oliver Sacks, a psychiatry and neurology professor at Columbia University, little evidence exist to suggest that listening to classical music enhances mental performance. However, he disapproves that music do not have any effect on mental performance and adds that real involvement especially through listening attentively or performing can make a big difference, especially in early years. For example, the Suzuki method, where children are trained on an instrument-normally the violin from an early age. After a year, the Suzuki method enhances one’s musicality and alters one’s brain quite visibly, although the effect appears to extent into forms of logical thinking, pattern recognition, and visual thinking. How Classical Music Influence People's Life? For a long time, music has played a critical role in human life. The music brings a lot effect to people who listen to music frequently. Whether the effect is good or bad, depends on the genre of music, category as per composition and the setting at which music is performed. This argument has attracted attention of many scientists whose conclusions point to an extensive effect. One of the findings emerging from these researches is that classical music assists people in several aspects of life including health, psychology, and education. Psychologically, listening to classical music influences people in situations such as stress and anxiety reduction, and improves motivation (Kotwal, Rinchhen, and Ringe 193). In an experiment made at Kaohsiung Medical University regarding how listening to classic music reduces stress among pregnant women, the conclusion was indeed positive. During the listening process, most pregnant women reported reduction in stress levels. Since the melodies and rhythm associated with classical music are calm, listening to such reduces anxiety. This happens because attributes of classic music affects breath and hearth beat frequencies. At the work place, classical music can be used as motivation because of easy listening. In the context of motivation, listening to classical music helps people to think creatively and clearly thereby getting motivated to accomplish their duties. Some other research has also revealed that classical music can influence the moods of listeners. However, some may argue that the change of mood comes from the pleasure derived from specific music. The reduction of anxiety is also related to the effect of music in promoting sleeping patterns. Those who listen to music while asleep experience better and faster sleeping. In addition, classical music can raise the levels of serotonin thereby making people think clearer and happier. Research indicates that classical music can also improve linguistic abilities (McCraty 76). It has been proven scientifically that the effect of classical music can influence the listener’s health. The music can reduce high blood pressure, pain and epileptic tendencies. Through listening to classical music, sufferers of epilepsy managed to relieve epileptic since symptoms in the victim’s brains decreases in unconscious conditions. In order to decrease the symptoms of high blood pressure, some doctors employ classical music as part of its therapy media. Research shows that classical music can reduce pain. A team in Britain reduced the amount of opiates administered to patients who had undergone stomach surgery using a steady dosage of this kind of music. In another study, classical music was able to reduce chronic pain. In fact, some hospitals offer a listening program for classical music to reduce pain in patients. This music relaxes the mind and body despite the uncomfortable atmosphere in the hospital (Ovayolu 7532). In education, classical music has proven to influence the intelligence of people. Gordon Shaw conducted an experiment to show that classical music can stimulate the activities of the brain. This experiment motivates other researchers to investigate more about this issue. Other researchers have found out that classical music can help enhance spatial and linguistic abilities- the major foundation of learning. Classical music can activate the spatial pathways when people listen to it. However, the improvement of spatial skills lasts only for almost an hour after one listens to the music. The rhythm of classical music can enhance the information, learning and memory activities of people. Laurence O’Donnell III found out that classical music of 60 beats/minutes is able to activate the left and right hemisphere of the brain. This gives strength to researches of other scientists who claim that the music improves people’s intelligence (O'Donnell). Several research has shown that music can improve or worsen sexual activity depending of the kind of music listened to. It appears that listening to classical music lowers sexual activity compared to listening to jazz that shows improved sexual performance. The saxophone also appears to have this significant impact on people. In a nutshell, the impact of listening to music is dependent on the genre of music. Obviously, the negative impacts must be avoided. Therefore, people need to select the best music carefully to have the positive impacts. According to many researches, classical music is among the top ranked music that gives good effects. The impacts of music affect the health, education, and psychology. These aspects affect people’s life to a high degree. Have these Well-Developed Works Blocked the Creative Ability of Contemporary Musicians? Classical music continually developed and evolved from the time of Mozart and Beethoven. It is not about to stagnate anytime soon, but it is continually pushing the sound and music boundaries. Other genres are on constant influence by the advancements in classical music. For instance, Stockhausen's music greatly influenced the Beatles. Many contemporary composers of jazz have employed freedoms and techniques that originated from classical music. Modern classical music has had influence on pop, rock and other genres of music. Rather than blocking the creative ability of contemporary musicians, classical music fertilises and enriches it. The music provides the tools necessary in innovation of other kinds of music. Out of this kind of music come many innovations like the twelve tone method and the ubiquitous staff notation system. Research shows that there are 17 diverse classical traditions, each non-related and separate and found in different places simultaneously. Each of the classical traditions is not likely to influence or limit the rest owing to the great distances separating them. Furthermore, American and African folk traditions among many others constitute the basis of majority of the contemporary styles. A music genre can only be limited by the genre(s) responsible for its generation. Baroque limited classical, Renaissance limited Baroque, and Classical limited Romantic, Romantic limited Modern classical music. Classical only limited Romantic music. Therefore, everything else emerged before classical, emerged far much later after classical or did not descend from classical. Conclusion Regardless of whether or not one is classical music fan, he/she can always find something that inspires. It could be a specific piece of music, the music of specific composer, the passion and power of musicians performing collectively in perfect harmony or the heartbreaking drama of a particular opera. One can find his/her connection to this kind of music by listening with an open mind. A listener can also perform classical music. Several schools have orchestras and bands. Some cities have municipal bands or youth orchestras (Lindeen 30). Classical music is the backbone of music, although nowadays people do not appear to really appreciate or enjoy it as they should. People lose out on the benefits the music has on the human body. They need to embrace change and attempt new things, and they could realize that they love classical music. Classical music is among the oldest and most-loved music genres of all times, which can make people smarter. Works cited Kotwal, M. Raj, C. Z. Rinchhen, and Vishwajeet V. Ringe. “Stress reduction through listening to Indian classical music during gastroscopy.”  Diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopy 4.4 (1998): 191-197. Lindeen, Mary. Cool Classical Music: Create and Appreciate What Makes Music Great! ABDO, 2010. McCraty, Rollin, et al. “The effects of different types of music on mood, tension, and mental clarity.” Alternative therapies in health and medicine 4.1 (1998): 75-84. O'Donnell, Laurence. “Music and the Brain.” Published in Music Power. Retrieved November 24 (2013): 2010. Ovayolu, Nimet, et al. “Listening to Turkish classical music decreases patients' anxiety, pain, dissatisfaction and the dose of sedative and analgesic drugs during colonoscopy: a prospective randomized controlled trial.” World Journal of Gastroenterology 12.46 (2006): 7532. Read More