The World on Music Waves

                No matter when and where we may be, music is all around us.

                When you’re watching TV, most likely TV shows and commercials have background music. Turning on a radio, you can have nearly any genre at the press of a button. Just walking down a street you can hear it: the blaring of a car stereo, the chirping of birds, someone passing by and humming their favorite song. The ambiance can be set in any room by simply adding soft music in a restaurant or a shopping mall. Several famous athletes have been known to listen to music as part of their pre-game/match ritual. And let's not forget those unforgettable soundtracks to our favorite films. Yes, music is everywhere.

                It’s also a known fact, that music has its cultural and historical background and plays an important part in our history. For example in Greece, it was an essential detail of all public, social and religious gatherings. Now we have a song that almost everyone knows to sing at birthdays, the wedding march most commonly used today despite the fact that it was written in 1842 and the same with the funeral march. In the 20^th century, music became a significant component to the survival and revival of the culture after all the wars. People expressed their protests with music in the 1960s and 1980s. So, we should say that popular music of any time is like a soundtrack for that historical period.

               

                Your favorite music can tell who you really are.

                Don’t deny that you’ve never been a bit judgy when you hear someone’s taste in music, because of course you have. And you were right – music taste can tell a lot about everyone. According to different surveys, almost 100% of people like to listen to music, and there exist many genres. Psychologists already know that music preferences are linked to personality, and it is also associated with the way you think. The researchers hypothesize that people seek out music that reflects and reinforces their own mental states.

                Spotify is a Swedish commercial music streaming, podcast and video service, one of the biggest ones in the world.

 David Greenberg, a Ph.D. candidate at Cambridge, once said in The Huffington Post interview that people’s musical choices is like a mirror of who they are. In his opinion, empathizers (empathetic individuals), who have a drive to understand the thoughts and feelings of others, preferred music which featured low energy, negative emotions (such as sadness) and emotional depth. On the other hand, systemizers (analytic minds), who have a drive to understand and analyze the patterns that underpin the world, preferred music which not only features high energy and positive emotions.

                According to music psychology scholar Adrian North (PhD, who conducted a three-year study correlating the musical preferences and personality traits of more than 36,000 participants), there is an exemplary statistic about some music genres and personality:

Rap/Hip-Hop: high self-esteem, outgoing, not very eco-friendly;

Heavy Metal: gentle, low self-esteem, reserved, and comfortable with themselves;

Indie Rock: low self-esteem, creative, lazy, headstrong;

Electronic/Dance: sociable, headstrong, outgoing, creative;

Classical: high self-esteem, introverted, high earners, eco-friendly;

Pop: high self esteem, hard working, outgoing, low creativity, nervous.

                So, the phrase "I love Slayer, Megadeth, and lots of cuddles" might not be as outlandish as it sounds. I know many heavy metal fans who are quite adorable and softhearted unlike Tailor Swift and Justin Bieber fans who may be quite selfish and aggressive.

                Some ways music can save or improve your life.

1)      Music creates or changes your mood.

People often chose their favorite song because it’s associated with an intense emotional experience in their life, and listen to a specific genre because of their mood. But sometimes they would rather chose something energetic to lift spirit instead of habitual melancholic and calm songs or backward. Carlos Santana once said: "Music can change your molecular structure". In other words, music can completely change your mood and turn your world upside down.

2)      Music brings people together.

There is a certain type of connection, which comes when you are listening to music in a group of people and interacting with music through dance. Concerts and festivals can make you feel like you’re a part of something bigger. As an example, many teenagers say, ‘Well, I don’t have any close friends,’ ‘My family hates me,’ and ‘I have no one.’ But then they go to a concert of favorite band and see that there’re other people who feel the same way as them, and there’re people that believe in a better life, as well. They make you forget the outside world. In terms of music enjoyment, I can compare nothing with seeing a favorite band preform live, it’s one of those times you wish you could relive again and again. Such an incredible and crazy feeling, isn’t it? The same is true for those who create music in a band.

3)      Music reduces pain.

When “Ibuprofen” isn't dоing the jоb, it might be time tо put оn my favоrite sоng. It helps me relax and stop concentrating on pain. Even doctors sometimes recommend their patients to listen to music before, during and after an operation. That is the reason why we can say that music can become an addiction – we’re always addicted to something that takes away the pain.

4)      Music expresses more than words.

Sometimes words fail to express what our heart so desperately wants to say, therefore people use music to deal with it. Everyone who listens to a song has their own personal variations of the meaning associated with it. After a while, certain songs can even become the soundtrack of someone’s life (as for me, I have about 15 such songs). However, you should remember that if someone tells you to listen to a song, listen to it. It may be the worst song you’ve ever heard, but may be this person wants to share it with you because doesn’t know how to tell you something with simple words.

5)      Music saves lives.

There are a lot of situations, when music helps to avoid suicide, depression, social anxiety, panic attacks and etc., because many songs have lyrics which inspire and make you sure that life is beautiful. Music can be the outlet that lets people know they’re not alone. It gives people hope and a sense of belonging, expresses emotions in a way that nothing else really seems to be able to. It may sound silly, but my iPod is one of my best friends, because it never leaves me like anyone can do at any moment.

                Music is one of the most beloved human experiences. Everyone enjoys some kind of music and that is evident in almost every important life event. Each adventure requires an anthem, every moment needs a melody, and all of life's little pains deserve a soothing lullaby. So, maybe Carlos Santana was right. If musiс сhanges оur mоleсular struсture, what wоuld we be without it?