Peter Sauer
Ms. Snowdon
ENG4C
12 October 2018
The Power of Music
Music is such a powerful thing. It can help you get through a bad day, or even make a good day better. Music is something that I always have playing throughout my day. It’s the first thing I hear in the morning, and it’s the last thing I hear at night. Even during school when we’re not allowed to have our phones out, I’m always making beats by tapping pens against the desk and bobbing my head to the rhythm. Music is so much more than just pre-recorded sound. It’s an emotional experience, a roller-coaster that expresses feelings and thoughts. Good evening ladies and gentlemen, my name is Peter Sauer and I will be talking about the power of music.
Hopefully, everyone here knows the feeling of listening to their favorite album or playlist. I’m not sure about you, but I’m always jamming out with the music and singing along. When I do this, all my problems go away, and I just feel fantastic. This is because of a neurotransmitter called dopamine. When you’re listening to something you love, your brain releases this chemical. This chemical is responsible for making you feel good. It’s the same chemical that is released when you are eating food or sleeping. Your brain is rewarding you. This is why you’re usually in a better mood when music is playing. Scientists still don’t understand why you brain does this in response to music. Low levels of dopamine can have a significant impact on a person's quality of life, affecting them both mentally, and physically. Many mental health disorders are linked to low levels of dopamine. Although music can’t cure mental illness, it can definitely help.
Music changes how you feel. You become sad if you’re listing to depressing music, and you become happy if the song is joyful and upbeat. With this in mind, music can be beneficial in changing your mood for the better. In the early 1800s is when the first recorded music therapy experiments in were published by Edwin Atlee. Atlee saw the potential music could have on mental patients. Today, music therapy is used to help with many different mental illnesses. Music helps with depression by reducing heart rate and helps calm the mind. Music therapy is used to help dementia patients by playing music from someone’s past. This can help bring up memories, helping people remember who they once were. Music can also help people with anxiety by calming patients down and helping them feel relaxed.
A study back in 2012 showed that listening to music during a math text can actually improve performance by 40 percent. This is because the right side of the brain focuses on the music, while the left side of the brain focuses on the math. As well as helping out with math, music can help people stay focused on the task at hand. I always make sure that anytime I work, I always have music playing. For me, it helps me get into the zone of studying.
Music can help with so much in your life. From helping you feel good and stay relaxed, to potentially boosting your math mark. Like I said before, music is so much more than just pre-recorded sound. Thank you.
Bibliography
“The Power of Music.” World of Psychology, 29 Nov. 2014, psychcentral.com/blog/the-power-of-music/.
“The Healing Power of Music.” Deep English, 4 May 2015, deepenglish.com/2012/11/the-healing-power-of-music-2/.
“10 Health Benefits of Music.” Get Healthy Stay Healthy, www.gethealthystayhealthy.com/articles/10-health-benefits-of-music.
“Music Has the Power to Heal -.” Leyton Insights, 16 May 2018, www.leyton.com/blog/?p=2649-music-power-heal.
“NAMI.” Home, www.nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/July-2015/Music-is-More-Than-a-Form-of-Art;-it’s-a-Form-of-T.
