Pranatee Shah Week 9: Power of Music
Every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday I walk into Mr. Bullington’s 1st period U.S. History class and am greeted by the energetic tunes of his Amazon Alexa. Most days, I walk into his class grumpy about my constant sleep deprivation, and mad at my dad who aggressively shakes me awake in the middle of deep-sleep (after I ignore all my 5 morning alarms). Walking into class, I’m hit by a cheery, loud shockwave of sound. Though I find it a bit jarring somedays, it never fails to snap me out of my irritable morning-state. As the class period approaches individual work-time, Mr. Bullington fills the room with more bright melodies. Though the country songs and romantic harmonies he plays often make me seriously question his music taste, his class has always had the best vibe.
I’ve concluded, over time, that music influences mood.
The signs are obvious. During my slight depressive era in COVID-19, I had Spotify playing 24/7 as a distraction. I’m sure everyone has experienced that one awkward car ride where blasting the radio was the only way to ease tension. Eating at fancy restaurants just isn’t the same without random piano melodies playing from the speakers.
Though I have observed these actions in real life, I’ve never been able to scientifically explain this phenomenon. This is where Adam Croom from Frontiers in Psychology comes in. In his article, “Music, Neuroscience, and the Psychology of Well-Being: A Précis," Croom thoroughly describes the correlation between music and positive emotion. Music can “arouse feelings of euphoria and craving.” Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), researchers concluded the “intense pleasure” felt in response to music can lead to “dopamine release in the striatal system.” For this reason, music has been one of our “oldest forms of stress reduction.”
True to my initial observation, music does hold significant power and influence over the tempers of mind.
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| Shows Different Influences of Music |
I definitely agree that music is great for getting in the right mood to do something. I use motivational music to get myself in the right state of mind to do homework and be productive. That being said, what do you think about the effects of music on focus? When I'm doing homework, I get distracted by the music I play, so I usually only play ~5 minutes of motivational music, then once I feel in the right mood to get something done, I turn off the music and start working. I feel music helps me get into the right state of mind, but once I get into that state of mind, it becomes a distraction and starts to harm my productivity. Once I reach that productive state of mind, I usually just turn off my music and turn on the noise-cancelling functions in my headphones. What about you? Do you like playing music while you do work?
ReplyDeleteHi Pranatee, I completely agree with the fact that music does affect mood, and that is very important to your feelings sometimes. Music has definitely grown to become an essential part of my daily enjoyment, and from late night studying sessions to hanging out with friends, music has always been one of those versatile tools to govern my state of mind. Although music can be distracting when doing assignments that require a lot of focus, other types of music like Lo-Fi beats or instrumental music help put me into a better state of concentration. I love the fact that music is so versatile and any type of music can correspond to me at various times, and I love how you portrayed music to be a fantastic outlet in your blog. I also like the fact that you corroborated your claims by using a credible article; it was great to see the scientific reasoning behind music being such a powerful substance in life. I also like how you connected music to your past and present, through covid-19 and your history class; it was great to see how music has still been there for you throughout your life. Good job!
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ReplyDeleteHi Pranatee. First of all, I have to appreciate the shout out to Mr. Bullington. Furthermore, I have Mr Bullington for first period too. When I saw that you were in the same period as me, I was quite embarrassed by the fact that it took me this long to realize. Like you, I am incredibly tired when I come to his class. My thoughts usually range from I do not want to do anything to dreading being in school for hours. But I agree, there is something special about Mr. Bullington’s classroom that revitalizes us, and it helps get me ready for the rest of the day. Despite my lack of mental capacity to do any work, the music somehow manages to get me in the zone. Also, he plays such a variety of music, which is nice as I like to experience new things. Despite the variety of music, they all manage to help me keep writing. They help motivate me enough to overcome the tiredness, and help me write increasingly faster. Without Mr. Bullington’s class to start off the week, I can not imagine how I would handle the rest of my classes. And ultimately, I agree, music has the power to alleviate us from our pain and distract us enough to go on.
ReplyDeleteHey Pranatee, I also have Mr. Bullington's class, and I have to say, the music has to be one of my favorite parts of his class. He's put me on to so many different songs, so much so that I've actually asked him for his playlist. His rock and metal and pop and disco and occasional folk music provides just enough dopamine without being distracting that it keeps us going and makes us associate that class and doing its work and learning history with happiness and grooves. In a larger picture, music can come to so many things, it's practically endless. It can represent long lost cultures, be part of a meme, find its way on social media, or be that one song that you can never get out of your heart for your entire life. I end up associating songs and music to big life events and eras of my life, and I can assure you it is such an important part of who I am
ReplyDeleteHi Pranatee, I personally don't have Mr. Bullington as a teacher, but I've heard all about the music he plays during classes. Many of my friends who have his class have acknowledged that the music he plays helps them improve their mood and concentrate on their work. However, I can also relate to your blog as music is also a big part of my life. Whenever I'm doing work at home, on a car ride, mentally preparing for a swim meet, or doing anything that doesn't involve interacting with other people, I'm always listening to music. Different genres of music that I've categorized into my different playlists always help me achieve the purpose I'm intending, whether to energize and motivate myself or to help myself concentrate on work without getting distracted. As music has definitely helped me through all aspects of my life, I definitely agree that it has significant influence over our emotions and mindset.
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