Final Blog Project

 Final Blog Project

    For this final blog post, I chose to analysis how music serves our society. This prompt instantly intrigued me upon hearing it. Many times, I have caught myself wondering what makes music so enjoyable amongst people all over the globe. Through this research, I gained a deeper understanding of our relationship with music. In turn, how that relationship allows us to have an emotional connection to it. Music is a consistent factor that is with us during our highs and lows, although you may lean towards specific works, with different tones, depending on the situation. With that, I conclude, music serves our society by acting as an outlet of which we can express and acknowledge our emotions and feelings. 

Someone Like You- Adele- 2011- United Kingdom

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLQl3WQQoQ0

Someone like you by Adele was a very easy pick. When I think of this song, all I can feel is raw, genuine emotion. It is centred around Adele's feelings of being inadequate for her partner. This is a feeling that I think most people could relate to and this song only perpetuates that. This songs melody strikes emotion from you, through its soulful and enchanting attributes. These musical elements combined with the slow and soft rhythm make an overwhelmingly authentic portrayal of emotion, this is made possible through the piano instrumentals that are present. Similarly, Adele's skilful and timely use of high pitch conveys a sense of seriousness and pain within her voice. Craftily, this factor adds to your personal feelings as a listener. Medium capsulated this idea well, "music is an invaluable help, helping us calm down by psychically expelling our emotions in synch with the music that we are listening to". When listening to "sad" music, we are able to step outside of ourselves and identify our feelings through someone's shared experience. Sometimes, hearing another persons similar struggles helps us to not feel so alone. In addition, this can help us process and accept what we are feeling and why. Music is incredibly powerful and has the ability to meet us exactly where we are. This fact is great and profound service to society. 

Walking on Sunshine- Katrina and the Waves- 1983- United Kingdom

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmR2IZjuMVc

Walking on Sunshine by Katrina and the Waves is an incredibly nostalgic song to me. When I hear it, I am filled with sweet memories of Sunday mornings with my mom, dancing in the kitchen and cooking breakfast. All while, this song blast on full volume. Aside from my personal nostalgia, this song is filled with energy and fun, which was a primary reason I chose it for this post. I wanted to showcase how two different songs, with two completely different tones can both provoke emotion from the listener. Elements of guitar, drums and trumpets all work together creating a fast, steady and upbeat rhythm that stays consistent throughout the entirety of the song. This creates a very lively and catchy melody within Walking on Sunshine. These elements are all wrapped together by a very sharp and bright timbre, which exudes happiness and sunshine to the listeners. I simply do not think it is possible to listen to this song without smiling. Namica confirms this idea, "Music can have a positive, immediate impact on our mental state; fast tempos can psychologically and physiologically arouse us, helping energize us for the day". Music has the ability to not only help us acknowledge our feelings, but can also help us take control of them. Meaning, listening to an upbeat, hight energy song has the ability to change our mood and  brighten our perspective. This ability is a substantial service that music does for society. 

Citations!

Fuentes, A. (2021, April 14). How music can make us feel good. NAMI California. https://namica.org/blog/music-that-makes-us-feel-good-playlist/ 

Dings, D. (2020, April 26). Can music as an emotional outlet be a double-edged sword?. Medium. https://medium.com/film-music/can-music-as-an-emotional-outlet-be-a-double-edged-sword-610782128f23 

How has my relationship with music changed in result of this course? 

    I love this question! I have seen such a difference in my relationship with music, upon taking this course. Before this course, my relationship with music was very surface level. I didn't think about any song too deeply. Recently, I have caught myself listening to a song, and analysing the instruments or lyrics and trying to figure where they fall within the musical elements. This has  happened with songs that I have listened to 1,000 times in my life, not just new ones! I also notice that overall, I have a much greater respect for the music I listen too. This is because I have a deeper understanding of what goes into creating music and all of the moving parts that it takes. I am super pleased with the results of this course and know I am a much more comprehensive and appreciative consumer of music!