Music without Lyrics - Essay Example

Music without lyrics due: Music is a component present in our everyday lives. The universe appeals to music as it plays a major role in the daily lives of individuals offering an emotional reward. Listen and appreciation class focused mainly on us listening to music without lyrics. I was exposed to diverse genres, styles, and historical eras of music. Music has been known to evoke expressions of humanity, which is valuable and timeless. Therefore, music might give joy, pleasure, anger, regret, reflection, excitement, and promote serenity. This paper is intended to describe the emotions I felt while listening to music without lyrics, in addition answer the question ‘How does music manage to trigger a delicate yet powerful feeling?’ It is said that the human brain reacts to music; implying that our cognitive schemata are activated when listening to music. Laukka (2007) and Saarikallio & Erkkila¨(2007); have shown that music is predominantly used for mood and emotion regulation. Music is known as cuisine for the soul, this is true as studies have revealed that music is therapeutic (Laukka (2007); Saarikallio & Erkkila¨(2007). Moreover, Changizi (2009) stated that the main reason as to why music triggers emotions in human beings is because humans correlate the sound in music to human movements, similarly to how humans determine emotions via expressions and body gestures. This is true as the sound of music makes human beings imagine certain motions associated with it; thus evoking emotions. Thus, the architecture of beautiful, elegant music listened cannot be overstated. Initially, when I started attending the class where music without lyrics was played, I found the music not enjoyable at all. I found it boring as I am used to enjoying lyrical music. Initially, I used just to hear; thus there was no active participation on my side. The fact that this was a prerequisite of the class made me adapt to the situation. As my experience grew, I discovered my yearning interest in such kind of music without lyrics. I began to listen to the music when I turned my attention to this kind of music. The music listened had polished, planned forms; in addition, neat and clear melodies with simpler accompaniments were heard. The instruments, dynamics, and tempo triggered several emotions, thereby evoking different moods within a piece of music. I learned and appreciated how music is written, as well as developed superb aesthetic analytical techniques. I can hereby confirm that I have developed my own taste for this music immediately I moved from hearing to listening. I turned my focus on the music played, the instruments, and the emotions the artist was trying to display. This made me go through many kinds of experiences. From this experience, I learnt that music must not be heard; rather, listened to attentively so that pure appreciation can be felt. While listening to the music at a deeper level, feelings and images kept on recurring in my mind. Within each musical piece, the form and style of the music were so unique. I created a mental picture of the artist(s) playing the music, the location, their dressing, and instruments used. I took into account the familiarity, complexity, and novelty of the music and related it to my life. Mostly, I had a mental image of the music players dressed smartly in black suits and white shirts, following the instructions of the lead musical master who kept signaling to the music players. Additionally, I was able to draw a picture of the thoughts that cropped up while listening. Memories raced in my mind as per the emotions felt. The more complex the harmony of the music was, more aroused my emotions were. Complex music evoked feelings of confusion and brought about memories at instances in my life where I was confused and could not understand anything. For instance, I had a mental picture of an instance I got lost while on tour. Complex music tampered with my feelings as I did not know if I was to be happy or sad. In addition, this emotion was evoked by a major mode. A musical piece which had an increasing melody line and fast tempo made my heart race, breathing rate increase, and brought about feelings of danger, anger, violence, and activity that required fast movements like dancing. I had a mental picture of an instance I was called to the principal’s office, how my heart raced. In addition, the fast melody line and tempo made my body twitch with an urge to show my dancing skills to my classmates. A musical piece having a slow tempo with a decreasing melody line evoked feelings of serenity and peace. I envisaged relaxing on a sandy beach sipping a margarita and enjoying the beautiful ocean waves; I felt relaxed more than ever. Listening to piano music played in a major fast mode evoked feelings of joy and excitement. I visualized spending time with my family, felt humbled to have such a family. Additionally, a minor piano mode played evoked romantic, love, affection, tenderness, sensitive, sensual, and dreamy feelings. I imagined romantic moments that human beings have, as well as the romantic colors associated with this. Soft music played with a slow tempo rekindled feelings of sadness. I envisioned sad moments in my life, and I was in a down mood. At one of such musical pieces, I was so sad that I shed a tear. I remembered the period my favorite cousin passed away and exactly how I felt. Sudden changes in tempo brought about unexpected reactions that I can say were linked to fear and anxiety due to the abrupt interaction. I imagined the 911 attack, and a shiver ran down my spine. A fluent rhythm in the music played made me feel in touch with the composer. This revealed the musical ideas of the artist and at the same time triggers emotions of comprehending what the composer was trying to communicate. I felt emotions of a particular musical composition. Each musical section developed by the composer had diverse developed themes. In addition, the climax of the music theme brought about feelings of sadness, like I never wanted the music to end. Listening to music without lyrics was an emotional, intense experience. Therefore, the musical pieces heard were powerful in emotion outlining my response to each of them. By attending this class, I attained the goal of this course by increasing my musical enjoyment, advancing my listening skills, musical knowledge, and exposing me to novel forms and styles of music. This class made me realize that music listening is a skill, that made me develop an acquired taste for music. In addition, beyond lyrics in a musical piece, rhythm, tempo, melody, and pitch are vital in the creation of a magnificent musical creation. From the various responses I had with some of my classmates after each lesson, I leant that we all have diverse musical emotional versions. How I interpreted a certain emotion in a particular musical piece will not be same as that of my classmate. In fact, the emotions may be at poles i.e. a slow tempo may evoke sad emotions to me while evoking happy emotions to another person. To sum it up, listening attentively to music without lyrics is valuable. Music stands on its own merit. Rhythm and contour of the melody played without lyrics is timeless. The satisfaction produced is dependent on the focus given to the music. Listening and appreciation class made me understand music in a broad and appreciative manner. Listening to music without lyrics revealed much more in the tunes heard. Music has been known to offer a glimpse into the experiences of mankind. This reveals that music is imprinted on the psyche of the listener. References Changizi, M. (2009, September 15). Why Does Music Make Us Feel?. Scientific American Global RSS. Retrieved June 2, 2014, from http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-does-music-make-us-fe/ Laukka, P. (2007). Uses of music and psychological well-being among the elderly. Journal of Happiness Studies, 8, 215–241. Saarikallio, S., & Erkkila¨, J. (2007). The roles of music in adolescents’ mood regulation. Psychology of Music, 35, 88–109. Read More