The Power of Music

Throughout the years music has been an important part of society and has been changing constantly. Nowadays, music has become an even more important piece of people’s lives. For many people, music is used as an escape from reality and a way to concentrate. But, for others music can be distracting and even have a negative effect on them.

Unfortunately, after COVID hit, many people, especially young teens, were going through depression and anxiety. Music is something that many people turned to in order to have an escape from what was going on outside. People who were more positive during the pandemic were the ones who listened to music during the shutdown. They used it as a replacement for social interactions. The music did not only act as social interaction but as a way for people to feel like part of a community. Music was utilized as a self-reflection method.

Kristen Donze has been my vocal singing teacher since I was in seventh grade and has been teaching music for 38 years. She believes that music can be a method to cut out the world around us. She stated that “Music can help you feel something. So much in life we tend to not feel as much at all.”.  When asked why people may see music as a distraction, Donze replied, “Because you can escape into another world. You can be anyone you want to be when listening to music.” She also explained that through her years as a teacher she has seen confidence growth and a boost in her student’s skill levels.

Many students use music to concentrate during independent work in class. Having background music while working can improve focus, provide motivation, and improve a person’s mood. There are, however, drawbacks to listening to music while studying. For example, listening to music while doing work could lower the amount of information you are obtaining. Listening to music while studying may also hurt when you need to take the test. This is because we obtain information when listening to music but, when the test comes you may forget the things you read because you were more focused on the song you were listening to. Joanne Loewy, an associate professor at the Louis Armstrong Center of Music and Medicine stated that “The wrong music can promote rumination or other unhelpful mental states.” For example, when watching a scary movie and hearing the screech of a violin, it can increase anxiety and stress.  All in all, it depends on what kind of student you are and what kind of music you listen to. Music can fix many of the problems we face every day and can make us more positive people.

Sources:

www.foundationeducation.edu.au

www.fnu.edu

https://study.com/academy/popular/is-it-good-to-listen-to-music-while-studying.html

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