Remember the last time you heard a song you hadn’t listened to in ages and could recite every single word? Or how a song takes you back to a time or a place, and gives you that feeling you haven’t experienced in what seems like forever? I can. In fact, it happens for me all the time, and the music I’m listening to now will do the same for me in the years to come.
Music is powerful, healing, scary, romantic, comforting, soothing, calming, and so much more.
That being said, what is music then, really? Music is a collection of sounds and acoustic cues, carefully organized to create an experience uniquely personal to each of us. It draws from the sciences:
Physics
Physics is present through instruments of every kind, from the wind rustling through trees to the playful sound of a finger running down the teeth of a comb.
Mathematics
Mathematics shapes chord progressions, melodies, pitch, timbre, prosody, and song structure.
Biology
Biology plays a role through the mechanics of hearing and the sensation of vibrations on our skin.
Psychology
Psychology connects music to our thoughts, emotions, and memories.
Sociology
Sociology reflects culture, group dynamics, media, advertising, and film.
Ever felt tense when the music in a movie is playing? That’s chord dissonance creating suspense and making you feel on edge. Music plays a key part in the balance of the mind, body, and spirit. It leaves an emotional impression that can last a lifetime. It can heal, mend, influence, and make us swoon, sway, or tap your foot or leg or the beat. Music assists in identifying and defining life experiences, whether good, bad, or indifferent. It lights up every path of the brain.
Music is the sound of our feelings. It puts words and emotions to life experiences that we hadn’t yet been able to express, emote, or process ourselves. In my life, music has helped me identify with something I was experiencing, process it, and come to an understanding about it. Music is so much more than your favorite song, a beat to dance in the kitchen to, or the playlist made for a road trip.
It’s a bookmark in life’s story—ready to be reopened, to help you think differently, feel deeply, and simply be.
Blog Contributor:
Rick Sinkiewicz MFT
Clinical Therapist at The Counseling Center of Carbon Valley
North Range Behavioral Health
