What is the importance of music

Why Is Music Important? (Top 10 Reasons)

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Music has existed since the beginning of time. People have always sung songs danced to music, and played musical instruments together.

Music is an integral part of our lives, yet it’s often taken for granted.

In this blog post, we’ll explore why music is important; and how it can be used in various ways to help improve our lives.

Music Is A Universal Language

Music is a universal language that connects people all over the world. It has no borders or boundaries, so it’s easy for us with our differences to find common ground.

This is because of its ability to transcend cultural barriers and connect people on an emotional level, which can be especially important when is trying to make new friends.

It also helps us understand different cultures better by exposing listeners who may not have been exposed before (or at least were less likely) to music from other countries. This creates empathy between groups through shared experiences like listening or dancing to music together.

Music brings diverse communities closer,” says Dr. David Huron, adding, “music makes life more enjoyable.” So whether your goal is making peace across nations using song lyrics written about love or uniting in a field at a music festival, music can be a powerful tool in bringing people together whilst helping to develop social skills.

Music Can Help You Relax And De-stress

There’s nothing quite like putting on your favorite song when you feel stressed to help you relax; in fact, studies have shown that listening to music can help reduce stress levels.

It’s been proven scientifically, through the use of MRI scans and EEGs (brain monitors), that when we listen to or play an instrument, it releases dopamine in our brain. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that helps control your mood, so this means you’re actually making yourself feel better!

This makes sense because many people find themselves feeling happier after listening to music for a while. But why?

It turns out there are two types: “chill” hormones such as serotonin released during pleasurable activities like eating chocolate while others release adrenaline causing us to become more alert.”

Music has both effects on listeners depending on what type their body needs at any given moment; hence it’s great at helping you chill out when things are starting to get on top of you.

Music Can Make Your Day Go By Faster

If you are anything like me, then music is the constant soundtrack of your day-to-day life. Whatever I’m doing, I always have music on in the background, especially instrumental music. It really helps the day seem to go faster, especially if I’m carrying out a mundane task.

This is because it distracts you from the task at hand and instead focuses your attention on something more enjoyable.

For example, if I’m ironing, then listening to music is a great way of making it feel like less time has passed because my mind isn’t focused solely upon what’s happening in front of me.

Rather than thinking about how long this will take and wishing it could be finished quicker, I can take my time as it’s not actually feeling like an unenjoyable chore.

If studying, then music is a great way of making you feel more motivated and concentrating.

It’s not just the background music that helps with this; it can also be because listening closely means you’re really focusing on what someone else has created rather than your own thoughts, which are often distracting when trying something new or difficult for yourself.

Music Is Good For Brain Development

It has been proven that music plays a key role in brain development. This is because it helps with the nurturing of language, motor skills, and emotional intelligence.

It also has a positive effect on memory because it can help you remember things better by associating them with familiar or meaningful pieces of music.

Children listening to music from an early age can help with their language skills and improve their motor skill development.

The rhythm of the music also helps children develop coordination, timing and has been proven to help sensory integration, which is important for developing fine motor skills.

Music education at an early age will have long term benefits on cognitive abilities such as memory recall later into life when they become adults; this could be due partly to hearing new sounds but not being able to recognize what’s happening visually, so are forced to use other senses more intensely than usual.

Music can also help children develop their language skills, as music and words are both made up of sounds combined differently.

Music helps with reading development, too, as it improves literacy by introducing a new vocabulary; when a child listens to or sings along to a nursery rhyme, they will see how certain letters make specific sound patterns that will aid reading development and phonics (the way we use our mouths).

You have probably heard the phrase how a child has a brain like a sponge that absorbs information. This is why it is a fantastic opportunity to give young children the opportunity to learn a musical instrument. They will pick up the skill much easier than adults undertaking musical training.

Music Can Make You Feel Better When You Are Feeling Down

Besides helping you relax, music is excellent at picking you up if you are feeling down, and why certain music pieces can have a really uplifting effect on your mood.

This is particularly true for people who feel negative, as it can help them feel better about themselves and have a more positive outlook. Certain songs can invoke happy memories of dancing with friends or other happy occasions.

Music can be a form of release for you and help eliminate any pent-up emotion that is causing your mood. This is because it allows the listener an outlet in which they feel safe enough to express themselves without fear of being judged by others around them who may not understand what has happened during their day.

Music Is Good For Creativity

Music breeds creativity in people; whether a musician, an artist, a dancer, or someone who has a different creative outlet, music can be truly inspirational.

From a musician’s perspective, I often take inspiration from other pieces of music, and I guess that’s a huge reason why music styles progress; taking someone’s style and adding your own twist to it.

A painter might use music to inspire different painting styles; for example, abstract art is often inspired by jazz or blues. These genres are typically more improvisational than others which can lead to unexpected results.

Dancers will find themselves dancing along subconsciously (or consciously) and moving their bodies differently depending on what they are hearing… And that’s the great thing about listening to music whilst being creative; your subconscious often takes over, and you flow with whatever you are listening to, and before you know it, you have created something.

Music Can Calm Your Nerves Before A Big Event Or Performance

There’s nothing worse than being nervous before a big event or performance; it really can leave us feeling paralyzed with fear. Luckily for us, listening to music can help us with that too.

As mentioned earlier, music can be great at helping you relax, so using it to calm your nerves and get you in the right frame of mind before you undertake something stressful can be hugely beneficial.

Athletes listen to their favorite playlists to get pumped up before a big game or race; musicians use music to get into the right headspace before hitting the stage.

Some people listen to music before taking a test that they have been worrying about unnecessarily and are finding it hard to think about anything else.

Music can be a great way to get in the right mindset before embarking on something stressful or fearful. It’s also worth mentioning that music is one of your best friends if you have an exam or speech coming up soon.

It might not seem like much at first, but when things start getting tough, having some music playing will help take away any distractions, so all attention remains on what needs doing instead – which makes for less stress overall!

As we know from reading earlier in this article, when listening to music, we release dopamines that put us in a happier state of mind. So next week, when things start getting stressful at work, try putting on some relaxing tunes before heading into an important meeting to calm any nerves.

Music Has Therapeutic Effects On The Brain

By now, I’m sure you’ve come to realize how good music is for your well-being. In fact, it’s been proven to have therapeutic effects on the brain.

The way music affects the brain is through a process called entrainment. Basically, this means that it synchronizes your body’s natural rhythms with external stimuli like sound and light.

Scientists have conducted extensive research into the therapeutic effects music has on the brain and have discovered that listening to music can help with various emotional and physical problems and regulate your moods.

It can help reduce anxiety and stress and has been shown to improve moods in people with depression, post-traumatic disorder (PTSD), and autism spectrum disorders. It’s also proven that music therapy helps patients recover from strokes more quickly than those who don’t have the treatment.

This brings us to our penultimate reason why music is important.

Music Helps With Memory Recall In The Elderly

I’m sure you’ve heard an elderly loved one say that their memory isn’t quite what it used to be, and this is due to the natural aging process. But this doesn’t have to be a bad thing because there are many ways that music can help with memory recall in older adults.

One study found out how listening to just 12 minutes of Mozart helped improve participants’ memories as well their moods after they listened, while another experiment showed improved performance on verbal tests from those who were exposed only briefly (12 hours) over six weeks – so don’t underestimate its power either way.

Research also suggests that music can be used as a form of therapy for dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. By playing familiar songs, they may have heard when younger helps them feel more at home again, which is important as these diseases cause patients’ memories about their pasts to fade away completely over time.

So, if you’re looking at your loved one struggling or forgetting things more often than not, then maybe try playing some songs together.

Listening To Music Is Enjoyable

Our final reason why music is important is quite simply it’s enjoyable and brings us pleasure.

I love music, from collecting it on vinyl, listening to it as loud as possible, to making my own tracks; music is one of life’s joys. From those goosebumps you get from hearing some euphoric strings to the way a bassline can rattle your rib cage, there’s nothing quite like it.

Everyone has their own favorite genre or style, and that’s the beautiful thing about music; there is no right or wrong type of music or right or wrong way to experience it.

From the person lying on their bed listening to classical music on a pair of headphones to the person in the middle field with fifty thousand people listening to Drum & Bass, it’s all about the pleasure it brings.

Why Is Music Important? – Final Words

I’ve always known how important music is, but sitting down and writing this blog, makes me realize I underestimated the extent of just how much. It’s more than just a hobby or something to do when you’re bored; music is an important part of our everyday lives. It can make us feel happy and excited; it reminds people about their pasts to not forget who they are.

Music has always been there, even if we didn´t realize how much until now…

So I hope this blog post will encourage readers who have never thought twice to understand why someone listens to certain songs repeatedly and thinks about the benefits that person might be getting from doing so.

It’s also a good opportunity to think about what music means to you, and maybe grab your favorite piece of music, sit back, relax, and press play… Or maybe crank it up and jump around to it… After all, there’s no right or wrong way to do it!

Why Is Music Important To Us – 22 Reasons Backed By Science

Music is a universal language. Songs convey a message and no matter where you’re from or what language you speak, you can understand its message.

Let’s dive right into it.

22 Reasons Why Music Is Important To Us

Photo by Elice Moore on Unsplash

Why Is Music Important In Life?

Music innervates daily life, and just as emotional health is critical to your humanity, music, sound, and vibration are important to your overall well being.

However, sound doesn’t even need to be structured to make people respond in an emotional and physiological way.

Think back to the last time you were sitting quietly, minding your own business, focusing on some project. Out of nowhere the air is split by the sound of a glass or a plate clattering on the ground.

You snap to attention, briefly entering fight-or-flight fear mode.

This gut reaction to jump and become afraid at loud noises is deeply woven into human genetics.

Loud noises elicit a fear response, including increased blood pressure and pulse rate, in order to keep you alive.

That type of fight-or-flight, sympathetic nervous system reaction begins the release of chemicals, which shut down immune functions like viral defense and increases pro-inflammatory monocytes.

So if you’re constantly exposed to loud noises or sounds that cause a similar reaction to a nonstick pan colliding with tile, or louder, you may be allowing minor inflammation, adversely affecting your physical health.

However, if you expose yourself to sounds that are more wholesome and melodious, you can reduce the damaging effects of other sounds.

You can even heal yourself of a myriad of diseases and decrease the prevalence of harmful mental states and degenerative physiological conditions.

Neuroscientist Seth Horowitz talks about the “right rhythms” for your brain.

Your body is literally humming (albeit very quietly) with energy at specific vibrational frequencies, which is just like what music or sounds do.

With EEG (electroencephalography) machines, a few major brain wave states have been identified that underpin the human cortex (the largest part of the brain that plays a key role in memory, attention, perception, cognition, awareness, thought, language, and consciousness).

Each brain wave changes under different physiological and cognitive conditions.

These waves interact with your entire body all the time and this is how sickness, disease, depression, and stress cause human beings to vibrate at a lower frequency, according to Horowitz.

Dr. David Hawkins has written several books regarding frequency. He explains how frequencies, including audible frequencies produced by sound and music, can elicit either positive or negative emotion.

Musical frequencies can elicit positive vibrations in the cells and tissues in your body – but they can also cause negative vibrations.

That’s why some music makes you feel really good, while some can stress you out to no end even if you like the song.

Photo by MARK S. on Unsplash

What Is The Point Of Music?

Music is an art form whose medium is sound, or frequency.

The word “music” is derived from the Greek, “mousike”, or “art of the muses”.

As humans we are motivated to communicate our experiences, feelings, and states of being.

That motivation led us to develop our creative nature. Our creativity allows us to find outlets for this expression. Music is one way we for this expression and we therefore learn about the world through song.

Music communicates emotion. No matter what culture you’re from or what language you speak, music will communicate specific feelings in everyone.

It’s not the words in music that necessarily conveys the feelings we’re communicating.

This humbling point is revealed by lullabies.

The baby doesn’t understand what’s being said but the sound has its effect all the same. The baby is showing us that we are all tonal creatures long before we are creatures of understanding.

As adults, we learn through the significance of words of course, but there remains a sensory level the way music cuts through and affects far more than an argument or an idea ever could.

The musician can, at points, trump anything the philosopher might tell us.

The Importance Of Music: When and Why we listen to music

Home » Affect & Emotion » The Importance Of Music: When and Why we listen to music

There is no doubt that most humans spend a lot of time listening to music. Music is clearly important to us. Neilson (a global measurement company) says that Americans are listening to 4.5 hours of music a day; another one says it’s 2 hours. Many others like me spend between 2 and 4 hours listening to something musical. So why is music so important to us?

Fun Fact: One of the oldest instruments known to humans is a Flute made out of a vulture’s wing bone. It is at least 40,000 years old. Researchers consider the existence of instruments as a clear marker of advanced societies. (source)

Music is essentially something that stimulates the auditory nerves (hearing sense). But, music is perhaps one of the only stimuli, received to a single sense organ, which stimulates almost all of the brain in unique ways. A lot of “music” happens within the brain. Our interpretation is necessary for differentiating between music and noise.

No person perceives music in exactly the same way. Bearing this in mind, one can say that every person is uniquely motivated to listen to music. People will also have specific reasons to listen to music. Some common reasons are:

Functions of music: the common role it plays in our lives

Theoretically speaking, you can listen to any music at any time for any or no reason. Research by Jenny M. Groarke and Michael J. Hogan points to 11 important adaptive functions of music that describe the role music plays in our lives. Those factors are:

Some psychologists call this self-regulation using music a “self-soothing” mechanism. Like when people start humming a tune when they are stressed or briefly put on earphones in a social gathering to listen to just a part of a song they love to repair their mood.

When can you listen to music?

I can say ‘always’ but let’s break it down. There are specific perspectives to this question that will be subjective to you. I’ll highlight a few common ones here.

A lot of people listen to music to pass time. In fact, some of us do this unconsciously and we end up estimating the total driving time as the length of songs heard.

Some music is traditionally meant to be heard during specific times in the day. This is seen in Indian Ragas (the traditional-classical music structures of India). Read more here.

Strictly speaking, in the context of tradition, Raag Poorvi is ideal during the prevening. Raag Bhairav is ideal during the mornings. This is strikingly specific. These Raagas have a unique musical structure and they come with built-in rules to follow. So music based on these Raagas has a uniquely distinguishable ‘feel’ or texture. When you are listening to Raagas, you might want to consider these traditions. The link I’ve provided gives a comprehensive list of them with their ideal time of the day.

Heavy metal music is generally loud & raw. Consider how you feel during different times of the day. Can you enjoy something loud and raw right after waking up or right before sleep? The brain’s chemistry comes into play here. People have different levels of ‘excitation’ during different times of the day or across climates. That is, chemically speaking, your nervous system could be excited in general (with or without symptoms like restless legs) and you might feel that you want strong stimulation. So heavy metal music could work for you if you want more excitation.

A polar opposite scenario: If you are biologically excited, you may also not want more excitation. So soothing ambient music could work for you during those times. Fundamentally, music is a form of stimulation. Your choice of music could deviate from your genre preference (that is if you have any) based on your current psychological, social, and biological arousal.

Time, for us, can also be with respect to ‘before work’ or ‘after work’ or ‘weekend party time’. Your biological and psychological state would be different during these times. Understand the level of excitation or stimulation you want. It has some influence on your choice of music.

10 reasons why music is important to us

I’ll begin by saying that music affects everyone. It’s universal. The human condition as a whole is encapsulated by music and musical phenomenon – from feelings of joy and sadness to cultural bonding. Music has been a constant throughout the ages. However, there are exceptions. Some people do not comprehend music – a condition called amusia. And, some derive zero pleasure from music – musical anhedonia. For them, there is lesser interaction between 2 brain regions: the auditory cortex (sound perception) and the nucleus accumbens (reward center). The lowered interaction reduces the inherent pleasure of music. One estimate suggests 5.5% of all people have low music-reward sensitivity or musical anhedonia.

Anyway, let’s break down the involvement of music in our lives into 10 parts. These 10 reasons are not directly mapped to the 11 functions of music described in the previous section. The factors below are more anecdotally-relevant and re-grouped based on day-to-day habits around music listening. Essentially, the functions of music and the list below are different perspectives of each other.

1. Music & Emotions: We humans have a large set of emotional experiences. And they dictate our behavior in odd ways. You may listen to some specific type of music when you are in a certain mood or an arbitrary song could change your mood. It’s a 2-way mechanism. Just like your mood/emotional environment affects your choice of music, the music you listen to changes your emotional state or preferences. The general research consensus is that music makes us feel better. Even sad music makes us feel better. Listening to sad music usually evokes 3 types of responses – genuine sadness (negative valence), comforting and uplifting sorrow (positive valence), and sweet sorrow (positive valence). Self-chosen music (as opposed to prescribed music) can also help regulate negative emotions induced by other taxing activities. Research also shows that listening to heavy metal music can be a healthy way of processing anger. People often use it as a way to regulate their emotions. People may seek out mood/personality-congruent music or may even do the exact opposite based on psychological needs. This approach is similar to the emotional regulation function of music.

2. Music & Attention part I: Many people say that they can concentrate with the help of specific music and many can’t. Vocals, Guitars, Violin, and Trumpets are instruments that have a frequency range that gets amplified in the ear – around 1000hz. These instruments also resemble speech in some ways; therefore, the brain is distracted when you hear music with these instruments – speech has priority for the brain. It is not the best idea to listen to this music when you are reading, writing, and trying to memorize. When it comes to working, some music can help us by occupying surplus attention and limiting it to be “just enough” and not “too little or too much” to feel bored or distracted. If a person is generally calm, music with a lot of detail might distract you. But if you are a hyperactive person, electronic music can engage some of your attention and the remainder can be focused on productivity. That’s the sweet spot some of us find and that music becomes a part of our productivity culture.

3. Music helping Creativity: Do you ever feel you need to think creatively? While some music can help you relax, ANY music can help you with creativity. Say you had a difficult math problem or an architectural floor plan to make and you just can’t figure things out. It is great to let your brain work on these problems at an unconscious level (a process called Incubation). And to enhance this, music activates many regions of the brain and that might just help you get your creative breakthrough. You can read more about how music affects creativity and productivity here.

4. Music & Exercise (non-professional): Music while exercising helps break the monotony and lets you sync with a beat to keep you motivated. One example is how music at around 170BPM can lower one’s perceived effort for endurance-based exercise. Nonetheless, many professional athletes will say that music is not good for physical training. Mainly because of the 2nd point I mentioned. It takes away attention from things like breathing.

5. Music & distraction from pain and negative emotions: Sometimes you need your attention to be taken away. Perhaps when you are sad or you are highly disturbed because of a scary incident like watching an accident. Music will take your attention away. Music you enjoy can also blunt the experience of physical pain and increase tolerance, even though the actual pain doesn’t go away. This likely happens through the emotional shielding effect of positive emotions and taking attention away from pain (which directly reduces pain perception). You can listen to 80s pop music to get distracted from paranoid thoughts or listen to music you like while getting dressed up for an injury. This approach is like a mixture of emotion and cognitive regulation functions of music.

6. Social facilitation aka Musicking: Listening to music with people fosters a certain type of ‘coupling’ between them. People readily sync with each other and find each other more favorable under a shared musical experience. Author William Benzon, who wrote Beethoven’s Anvil, a discussion of the musical experience in society, defined musicking as an experience with music that goes beyond listening to it and making it. For example, dancing and coming close during a romantic song. Music and dance share an intimate relationship from the dawn of civilization. Humans connect via movement, and the metaphor “music moves us” might be quite a literal explanation.

7. Deep thought: Music can act as a projective and reflective surface. Many times, due to the stimulating nature of music, one can think in unique ways because the music is modestly guiding your thoughts. While listening to instrumental music, you could interpret the music in certain ways. That interpretation is likely to reflect some of your core thoughts on life, people and yourself. Appreciating beauty in music can also facilitate deep conversations that make that moment special.

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8. Enjoyment & Environment: You could get your entertainment with music, you could spend time at a location with specific music which grows on you, and you could spend time listening to it for no apparent reason. Simply pairing music with a location and a nature of conversation can make you like or dislike either of the 3: music, location, or the conversation. It could also just be a part of your environment as background noise. Music plays almost everywhere where people are present.

9. Instrument learning & Musicianship: Learning music is similar to honing a wide range of cognitive processes- attention, sensitivity, abstraction, memory, spatial and motor concepts, etc. A musician listens to music for the aesthetic as well as technical aspects of the structure, tone, timbre, lyrics, etc. That helps to separate the craft from aesthetic appreciation. This can be considered as a different form of active and passive engagement with music. Some of these cognitive processes could help to learn in other areas such as computer science. Converging lines of evidence show that music buffers against old-age and Alzheimer’s disease-related cognitive decline via the development of a cognitive reserve. Cognitive reserve is the totality of cognitive enhancements as well as structural and functional changes in the brain that are utilizable resources. These resources create an in-built resistance to damage and aging.

10. Music for special purposes: You could listen to specific music through habit or incidental reasons. For example, some music could help you sleep, or you could use it to induce a trance. Or some music just goes well with what you are doing because you had pleasant experiences in the past. For example, one could listen to death metal and share happy memories of bonding with friends and then use death metal while eating because you miss them. Many many other purposes for music listening can be mentioned under this heading. They are almost always subjective. One of the best outcomes of research in music psychology is music therapy. Music can be used to heal and cope with a number of psychological and physiological problems. Here is an overview of music therapy.

Recommended book on music and the human condition

One of the best books on music and the human condition is a book called Beethoven’s Anvil. It is relatable and very insightful from a cultural, personal, and scientific perspective. If there is one book I recommend for music, it is this one! You’ll learn about insightful cultural differences in music; some unique experiments which show how music affects us at the granular level of behavior as well as the holistic level of society. The author also introduced me to the concept of Musicking – the action and experience of music. It goes beyond listening to music or making music.

Note: You can click the link below to buy it from amazon. It’s an affiliate link – I get a small commission if you buy the book at NO additional cost for you. It helps me run this blog:)

Music psychology References

P.S. Here is some research on listening to music while working and listening to music while studying. It shows the importance of music in cognitive regulation.

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Hey! Thank you for reading; hope you enjoyed the article. I run Cognition Today to paint a holistic picture of psychology. My content here is referenced in Forbes, CNET, Entrepreneur, Lifehacker, a few books, academic courses, and research papers.

I’m an applied psychologist from Bangalore, India. Love sci-fi, horror media; Love rock, metal, synthwave, and pop music; can’t whistle; can play the guitar.

The Importance of Music in Our Society

The Importance of Music in Our Society

Art and music are basic human functions. Humankind and art cannot function without one another. We have the burning desire to create, whatever it may be and however tiny or grand. The interaction with sound is unavoidable, either to make it or take pleasure in it. People have always found music significant in their lives, whether for enjoyment in listening, the emotional response, performing, or creating. This is no different for classical music or contemporary concert music. Both musics have immense worth for our society; however, the problem we all know in this field is that this music is little known and hence underappreciated. As a musician and artist it is my responsibility that others can learn to enjoy the art for which I have utter passion.

It goes without saying that in mainstream American culture, classical or concert music is not a huge part of people’s lives. There are still stigmas that contribute to this, as well as the practices of the government in the last two decades (declining music education in schools on the local level, resistance to increased NEA funding and less visibility of the arts on the national level; let us hope that the Obama administration can start to reverse these trends). Many people may still believe that classical music is for the rich, older, and the well-educated. Others may feel awkward about going to classical music events because they feel as if they need to act and dress a certain way in order to enter the concert or recital hall. Even more, the pretentiousness and elitism that some artists exhibit is amplified by some television shows, commercials, plays, books, by people of influence and even themselves, which distance musicians from mainstream society. While some of this is true, as with nearly any stereotype, it is not entirely true. With the impression that concert music has on society, the majority decide that it is not «for them» simply because they believe it has no relevance or worth to their lives. This is further compounded by the past government’s lack of interest in promoting and supporting the arts, whether it is to fund arts organizations or arts education. Now, the current government give us hope and we have seen evidence of its commitment; but most importantly our American society needs to believe that everyone can find worth and enjoyment in classical/concert music.

The most common way one becomes involved with music is through listening or attending a musical event. Listening at home on a CD player, or in the car, on the computer, or on an iPod can be a very personal and fulfilling experience. Music, as we know, sets a mood and a vibe as we hear it in lounges, bars, parties, or other social events. Also, attending a concert is unique as it offers the excitement of hearing live musicians while providing the sound as it is meant to be heard (if it is acoustic music that is). Where else can one sit with other people, listen, and enjoy music in (relative) silence so that there are no distractions besides the music itself?

Music can also stimulate the mind. There are many things in music, to which one can listen and bring attention. One can be mindful of the melodies or themes, the harmony, the driving or relaxed rhythms, the color of the sounds, the activity of a piece, how the sounds are produced, or how they all relate to one another, all while, possibly figuring out how the composer conceived the piece. Focused and attentive listening is an incredible experience that allows one to be lost in a foreign sound world.

One of the great things about music in general, and in particular concert music, is that playing it opens up a whole new world of experience that further enhances the mind, physical coordination, and expression. Music lovers, who are also amateur performers, may choose to play in community ensembles (orchestra, band, choir), take lessons, perform with others, compose, and nearly anything else a professional musician may do, while maintaining their regular lives. All of this involves intense physical coordination in performing an instrument alone or with others, while reading musical notation, and adding delicate or strong nuanced changes to the music that only a performer can bring. In general, to an amateur musician, music can provide an escape from everyday life or an alternative means of expressing one’s own capabilities. It is an important part of their lives and fills a need or an urge to create music.

In all levels of education, music has immense worth. Students learn many important and necessary values for life as music enhances their mind, their expressive ability, and a whole host of other qualities. Learning to read music is learning a different language with abstract sonic meaning. One not only has to comprehend and decipher unique symbols on a page, they have to know how to execute them and execute them well. Those learning music also learn how to develop a critical ear. With a critical ear, one will know how to practice, rehearse, analyze, and critique music performance. Also, performing music encompasses playing with others, as well as alone, which both necessitate certain skills. Also one can also learn tremendously from studying and analyzing music, composing, reading about music, understanding the history of music and its association with historical and current trends, and knowing what to listen for in music. Students of music – whether it be at the elementary, middle school, high school, collegiate level, or through self-study – learn self-discipline, expression through sound, enhance technical motor skills, further develop problem solving skills, learn how to cooperate and collaborate with others, and learn how to ignite the creative and critical mind. Most importantly, the student can come away understanding that music offers all those qualities in addition to the enjoyment in listening casually or with great attention. Anyone who is educated in music learns these skills whether they know it or not. People who do not make a career in music but have studied it will take these skills and apply it to their everyday lives and career.

In mainstream American society, arts and music are usually looked upon as an extra discipline that it is not essential to the function of our society and culture; however that seems to be changing. The role of arts and music in our society fill a void that we all need in order to enrich ourselves and our culture, they provide alternate infinite experiences, and they also further enhance the skills we use in other disciplines and professions. Recently, the arts have been sneaking into mainstream culture and gaining the attention of viewers, through shows like “So You Think You Can Dance,” or “The Colbert Report” with references to living composers such as Steve Reich or guests from the jazz and classical world (Wynton Marsalis and Alex Ross). Even by watching “American Idol” viewers learn how to become critical of musical performance and share strong musical opinions. There was even a strong response and media attention given to the YouTube Symphony Orchestra contest. Our society is becoming more involved with the arts, if they know it or not. The arts and classical music have been shielded from the public eye for far too long and now that it has been uncovered bit by bit, there is a growing curiosity and even excitement about this world. Artists and those who are passionate about the arts and music must realize what is occurring and continue to showcase what is done in this world to the public through various contemporary methods. People may find the arts and music to be an alternative to mainstream entertainment. The more options we have for people to enrich the lives and minds, the better it is for any society. It is hoped that this trend will lead to a time when classical and concert music find its place in mainstream society, offering all it does to more people.

— Gilbert Galindo, November 2003, revised July 2009

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1. The Universal Language

While every country has it’s own language(s), there’s only one language we can all understand: the language of music. We don’t even need words to understand what music is saying. Every year I see a lot of different people from a lot of different countries attending festivals. When the music is being played, it seems every one understands what’s coming out of the speakers and they just start dancing to it.

2. Ambiance

Music creates ambiance. It adds up to the experience of whatever you’re doing. Can you imagine a party without music, a sports event without music, or a movie without music? Probably not.

3. Music Unites

Music plays a very important role in bringing people together. Whether it’s a festival, concert or a club night, people come together to enjoy the music that’s being played. I’ve had the privilege to attend a few big festivals in Europe, and it’s amazing to see the amount of people coming from different countries in the whole world, just to be part of the experience. At festivals like Tomorrowland or Ultra, you’ll see a lot of people from all over the world to enjoy the whole musical experience. It doesn’t matter where you come from, every one is treated the same. This is something we can all learn from.

4. Focus

If I have to do some business related stuff, I’d like to put on some music at the background in order to focus a little better. It is scientifically proven that music enhances brain functioning. Besides, listening to music in an environment with other people also makes sure you don’t get distracted by other people’s noises. For me as a producer, a good side thing is I get inspired a lot by listening to music when I’m busy doing things.

5. Emotions

Music can do great things for your mood. If you want to feel happy, you can listen to songs that are happy and this works the other way around too. When you lost someone in your life, it’s helpful to listen to sad songs. Science says listening to sad songs can actually make you happier. If you want to know more about this, Google knows a lot 😉

6. Imagination

I don’t think I’m the only one who listens to music and instantly has a vision in my head of surroundings that would fit that particular music piece. Music let’s your imagination flow and that’s obviously a good thing for your creativity and health.

7. Memory

Music is good for your memory. I bet you can remember the lyrics of a bunch of songs much better than an article you recently read. In nursing homes, they started using musical therapy in order to let the elderly remember things of their past, which they couldn’t remember without listening to music.

8. It’s just a pleasure

I’ll close off with probably the most important reason why we listen to music. It’s just a pleasure listening to music so let’s just continue doing so! If you happen to be in need of some Techno, click here or just press play below!

Let me know what your main reason is to listen to music in the comment section below.