24-Hours of Listening - Essay Example

Throughout the rest of the day I recorded every instance of music I heard. The following constitute a journal and reflection on my observations. As I made my way to the living room and plopped down on the couch I turned on the television. Immediately a commercial came on for a free credit report. There was a band singing a song where the harmony was ‘free credit report dot com dot com’. I noted this music in a journal for the day, as well as the two sounds I heard while still in bed. The following commercial, however, also had a song; the commercial following this commercial had another song; finally, the television show credit sequence came on and another song was running.

I noted all three of these instances of music down, recognizing that tracking all instances of music during the day might be more challenging than I originally imagined. I turned the television on after a few minutes and got ready to leave for the day. As I walked outside of my apartment and onto the sidewalk two children were dancing and singing. They jumped in and out of a chalk circle, singing each time they did it. After passing the children outside I walked to my car and got in. I turned on the radio immediately and a listened to a number of songs on my way to the library.

Carly Rae’s ‘Call Me Maybe’ played, then a song with the chorus ‘never never getting back together’, and then a Katy Perry song. There were a few other songs that played in the meantime. For a moment I reflected on the reason so many people listen to songs in the car. Undoubtedly they provide a calming effect. Still, I considered that in many ways they unite people. Each song expresses a certain emotion or perspective on the world and that in relating to that song the individual is engaging in a communal action.

While all the cars on the road are separated by metal, glass and noise, all the drivers can