Music Response Essay

When you listen to Erik Satie’s Gymnopedie No. 1 you are struck with a sullen, dreamy chord progression striking the root on the one of the measure and the 3rd, 5th, and 7th of the chord on the 2nd and 3nd of the measure with its waltz like ¾ timing. You hear this song and it almost immediately hits you with a feeling of sadness but there is a sort of beauty to it. But why? Why is it that this song makes you feel sad? Many people who are untrained in music will have a simple explanation such as “it’s because it’s slow” or “because it’s in a minor key”. While yes it is at a slow 78 bpm but anybody with a trained ear can tell that it’s in the key of D Major. So there must be more to it than just its tempo or what key it’s in. As you move further along in this endeavour of understanding music you learn that instead of it being just one or two things that make a song happy or sad it’s a combination of many different attributes. Such as key signature, tempo, meter, chord extensions, intervals, and etc.Music in it many forms makes us all feel different emotions. Music can evoke so many different types of emotions some will make you want to dance and some will make you want to cry. Some will make you remember the best times of your life and some will remind you of the worst. To

Music may have proceeded speech as a form of human communication (Darwin; Mithen, cited in Thompson, Russo & Quinto 2008, p. 1468) and its place in human interaction stems from its relationship with emotional expression (Swaminathan & Schellenberg 2015, p. 189). The perception of emotion in music begins in early childhood (Dalla Bella,

Using sad music gets the person already feeling emotional and is put there purposely to do that.

Because musical pieces portray emotions, different music make people feel different things and thus get associated with different things. Jay Dowling and Dane Harwood explain that "patterns within the music itself ... of tensions and relaxations ... mirror the form of emotional tensions and relaxations" (Dowling 205) that humans relate to their own. This is shown by a study where every subject who associated a song with their current relationship explained that the song gave them the pleasant emotions that their relationship provided (Baumgartner 616).

A particular piece of music is most appealing to me when I can relate to it. However, I like all kinds of music depending on time, place, and certain moods I may be feeling.Having a relation to music or a song can be uplifting, calming, or inspiring. Have youever felt like there was nothing you can do about a situation or a particular problem could not get any better? That feeling has drowned me at times. At times I have lost motivation for the things I seek to gain or feeling it may be impossible. Hearing the struggles I go through in music or knowing I am not alone has comforted me. In the article, “The Benefits of Listening to Music,” the author, Steven Cornelius and Mary Natvig, states, “Attentive listening is good

The emotions need to be as organic and real as much as possible. Using lyrics, it forces the listener to give specific emotions to a piece. For example, a sad song isn’t necessarily sad, unless you feel the sadeness from the instruments in to the score. But, if there are sad words to the music, then you already feel the sadness without needing help or plunging yourself into the music. Hoffman mentions that music should take to another world that is non-existent, where you are fully submersed in it, leaving behind all defined emotions. Hoffman also mentions how Beethoven does this with his later pieces. He states that “Can there be any work of Beethoven’s that confirms all this to a higher degree than his indescribably profound, magnificent symphony in C minor? How this wonderful composition, in a climax that climbs on and on, leads the listener imperiously forward into the spirit world of the infinite!” (Hoffman 4). This shows that the music should send you another place that exists outside the realm of

Music can be a powerful emotional tool. The sweet, sober sounds of Adele’s “Someone Like You” can bring chills or even tears to listeners. In the 18th century, the emotional allure of music was no different: The quiet, reverberating notes in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23 can still evoke loneliness and despair. There are few things more satisfying than yell-singing along to Nirvana when you’re angry, or skipping around the house to a Taylor Swift song after a particularly good day.

Emotions run deep within music. Music has the ability to change our moods within minutes, or even seconds. The simplest of arrangements can move us in ways that words cannot. You can see this in every period of time. Through happiness and through strife, we grow attached to the music that touches us the most. When I feel sorrowful, I listen to the music that helps repair the damage to my heart. When I feel joyous, I listen to the music that energizes my already energetic mood. No matter what I’m feeling, my emotions can be seen in the music I write and the music I listen to. Music has been and will always be a major part of life,

If music reveals emotions, it is not a normal emotion like any other (Stecker 273). The expression in music can be considered a traditionalized phenomenon (Stecker 273). There are common questions about

Music is an art form that has continued to be practiced and expressed over the past few hundred years. It is commonly used as a multi-national form of nonverbal communication, meaning that it is the universal language that is understood amongst all cultures. While music is commonly used for enjoyment and leisure, it has the capacity to take on many other qualities. Music is the type of expressive art form that allows a wide range of emotions to be expressed, ranging from happiness to sadness and everything in between. This broad spectrum of emotions can lead to physical effects, both negative and positive, that can either improve or harm a

Researchers have discussed whether auditory processes impact mood contagion. One study was demonstrated by Goycoolea, Levy & Ramírez (2013) who researched how musical compositions affects mood perception. Three groups of children emulated similar expressions to the identifiable moods, feelings and mental images of specific compositions. Related to the study being replicated, this indicates that auditory approaches impacts mood contagion, and when participants listened to compositions they could connect to certain

Thesis: Music is a unique form of sound powerful enough to manipulate mood, feelings, and cognition.

The impact of music on positive psychology and emotion is a well known fact. Music has an extraordinary ability to change people’s emotions. In humans, music has the ability to invoke emotions of sadness, happiness and even fear (Goycoolea, Levy & Ramirez, 2013). The ability of music to alter human mood makes it one of the greatest subjects of positive psychology. Seligman (2011) argued that even though a lot of effort has been spent on psychotherapy and pharmacology, such interventions are not

As the combination of different sounds travel through out ears, we tend to connect music with certain emotions or memories. For example, to feel that adrenaline rush we select a more upbeat tone in music. If you want a relaxed mood, you listen to something nice and calm with a relaxing melody. According to an article by Mental Health Center, students at Penn State did a study on music and emotions; they showed that people’s emotions have a more positive attitude after they listened to music. Music has a great

Music is one of the greatest human creations (DeNora, 2000). It plays an integral role in human society worldwide irrelevant of race, gender, age, wealth or well-being (Kemper & Danhauer, 2005). Indeed according to Batt-Rawden (2010), playing different music in diverse situations can introduce listeners to the desired and relevant atmosphere. In most circumstances, music is played to entertain people, but it can also form part of an accompaniment in sad situations. Music is often the fulcrum that influences the listener by creating a unique ambience and atmosphere (Bernatzky, Presh, Anderson, & Panksepp, 2011). Chamorro-Premuzic and Furnham, (2007) adds that music can be a medium to enhance communication,