The Benefits of Music

Music activates multiple neural pathways and networks within our brains, stimulating wellbeing, learning, cognitive function, quality of life and happiness. Music such as Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” or Cake’s rendition are powerfully empowering forms of expression.

Theories surrounding the origins of music vary, yet one thing remains clear: its purpose is to bring pleasure.

It Lifts the Spirits

Music may seem like just another source of entertainment, but studies have actually proven its therapeutic qualities. Listening to music can relieve stress, lower blood pressure, and slow the heartbeat – all contributing to an overall increase in happiness and positive mood.

Many songs explore relatable topics like falling in love, grieving the loss of loved ones or other life challenges – providing comforting assurance that others understand your situation and you aren’t alone in facing difficulties. This can give a much-needed sense of reassurance.

Not to mention, music can provide exercise through group fitness classes such as Zumba. Even if you can’t play an instrument yourself, singing along to your favorite tunes has been proven to promote natural calm and reduce depression – so crank up that playlist and dance along! It’s sure to raise spirits as we approach January.

It Creates Emotion

Music can create powerful emotional responses and evoke feelings that cannot be conveyed with words alone. Music serves as a universal language to foster community spirit; whether through singing or dancing events, it brings people from diverse backgrounds together in harmony.

Music has often been called the “language of emotion.” Composers use musical compositions to convey complex thoughts and feelings that cannot be articulated through words alone.

Researchers using functional neuroimaging techniques have discovered that music can activate certain areas of the brain responsible for emotion such as the amygdala and nucleus accumbens. The emotions induced by music depend on each listener; factors like personality and prior musical training may have an effect on this response.

At its core, music can evoke both emotional and aesthetic responses in listeners. Aesthetic responses to musical pieces can be judged based on perceptual inputs, knowledge-based cognitive inputs and emotional reactions; aesthetic assessments include beauty, complexity, originality, skill expressiveness and message as factors to be taken into consideration when judging an aesthetic value of a piece of music.

It’s Relatable

As most would agree, musicians should strive to produce music that resonates with listeners. Though some might place greater value on beauty or spiritual depth as criteria for creating great pieces of music, relatability usually remains key element.

Songwriters who write songs based on their own experiences find it easier to connect with fans through lyrics, as their fans can more readily identify with and feel an affinity with what the artist is writing about, regardless of whether their experiences match up perfectly or not.

Of course, some lyrics can be so unsettling that listeners turn away, reminding them of their own pain or trauma. That may explain why many artists opt to write songs about fictional characters or experiences they have not personally experienced.

It’s Original

Determining the originality of music can be difficult. Some artists create tracks for money or use trends to increase sales; this could make their music less authentic.

However, other artists wish to convey a message through their music, such as love or facing hardships head-on. For an artist looking to be unique and truly original it’s essential they find an original and meaningful message.

To be considered truly original, a piece of music must be something no one else has made before or is likely to create in the near future. While striking this balance may be challenging, Sza’s new album Cntrl provides an example.