The Psychology of Music

In the article http://psychology.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_psychology_of_music, it talks about many different situations where music tends to affect the psychology of others. The first of these is how different kinds of music affects the different mice, and how long it takes the mice to learn their way around the maze. He also adds that the classical music tends to make the mice learn quicker, and that the heavy metal music makes the mice that listen to it worse at solving mazes than when they first started. It also mentions that the first experiment could not even be performed because the mice that listen to heavy metal were violent. The thing that interest me about this article is the many similarties it has with my very beliefs. As we talked about in class, i too believe that music has a very big influence on attitude and how people act towards others. Also, the article talks about how music affects the growth of plants, and how music tends to provoke violent thoughts in people that would not naturally be there. I also feel that this is true because when people are feeling a certain way, they tend to listen to music that is catered towards their mood. Such as people who are mad either listen to loud music that also makes them mad, or they listen to music that is soft and tries to help them get un mad. Either way, this proves that music affects the psychology of people who listen or are exposed to it.

Music in The 21st Century

In my lifetime music has changed in a plethora of ways. From how available music is to the consumer, all the way to what kind of music is now popular and available to be listened to. In the music industry a lot of things have changed, and this is mainly because of the technology that we now hold compared to when i was young. The technology we now have not only allows us to listen to music just about anywhere, but it also allows anybody to both make and produce their own music. In this day and age the most impressive thing (to me) that technology has brought along is the many kind of music programs that find the kind of music you like. The most popular probably being the "app" (application)"Pandora. Another great example of this is "Genius" which is iPod's version of this. I really admire these kinds of programs because of both the music you can listen to and the many different options they provide. These programs not only help to play a song of your choice, but can also play and artist or album of your choice. Along with these options these programs take what you have put in, and also finds songs/artists that have fit the same style you have entered into the program. This to me is the signature of a great music program, because not only does it allow you to find and listen to your favorite music, but it also expands your musical library by introducing you to songs and artist that are of the same variety that you like. I like to think of these programs as your own personal DJs. This is a significant difference in the way music was when i was young. When i was young it was not easy to listen to music portably. And you definitely did not have something that recommended songs that it thought you would like, not to mention your own selection of music at your finger tips.

Music in Movies

The question is how does music seem to effect movies that you watch? I watched "The Boondock Saints" last night, and thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it. This is one of my favorite movies, but after watching it last night i realized that the first time i watched i i just watched it as if it was a movie. As i was watching this time i realized how much music was actually in this movie and what a significant role it played in the movie. Even from the beginning when the FBI agent is searching the first crime scene he put in his headphones, and the classical/opera music he was listening to was being played so the viewers could hear it. This let you in to the movie, and pulled you in to the detective's mind. Which i think helped to involve the audience. The two main characters of this movie are irish brothers, so throughout the movie there was a lot of Irish music, which is very upbeat. I think this music helps the audience to associate this music with the characters, and also makes the two brothers more likeable. While watching this movie i found that the music was most enjoyable during the action scenes, which usually involved violence and a "firefight". The reason i enjoyed the music during these scenes is because the music turns these scenes into something enjoyable to watch, almost like they moved to the sound of the music. This made it seem like art in some sort of way. The music in this movie was a lot of foreground music, which tells me that the director was using the music to help draw the audience in and makes the movie more enjoyable for the audience.

Music is Everwhere

The answer to the question where do i experience music and in what way does it really affect me, the answer is extremely simple. I experience it absolutely everywhere i go, whether it is while on hold, in the cafeteria, or even through my iPod. But the place i am gonna talk about today is sporting events. Music is played not only before sporting events but during and after as well. In particular i am more drawn to the playing of music at a football game, either for the fans, or by the athletes themselves. Being a huge sports fan as i am i have been through my fair share of both "take me out to the ballgame" and team fight songs/chants. As a fan i fell that the stadium uses music not only to bridge gaps of non action in the game, but it is also used to help get fans into a game and unify the fans together so they can cheer for their team. It is used as a commonality, because whether you are watching the game in the press box or the nose bleeds you are still there to watch and cheer your team to victory. Also because i play college football i also know how music is used before the game by the athletes. Excluding musical preference (because most every athlete has their own unique style) music for an athlete is used as not just a motivator, but also a relaxation method, and a confidence builder. I like to think of music as "my quiet before the storm". Music helps me to get really jacked up and helps my emotions to really start to flow, and helps me to get ready to go out and just play the game i love to play the way i know how. The weird thing about this, is that to this day, i could not tell you exactly how this happens, and this is why i believe music is so beautiful and powerful, because it can not truely be explained or defined. Sure maybe to one person, but not as a group, a class/team, and a population for that matter.

Top 5...? as of this moment...

So, when i was told that I had to pick 5 favorite songs I immediately thought of certain songs that I could put on this list but could not decide of five songs that are my definite top 5 songs (probably just like every other person in this class). So when I was deciding on my songs I tried to try and pick a song from different genres that either represent me and or represent what I like in music.
My Top 5 songs? (In no particular order)
1) Mighty to Save- Hillsong United
-I have strong feelings towards this song, and feel like it represents me and my senior year in high school. I lived by myself for a point in time so I had to mature on my own, and this song helped me to realize what is really important in my life and helped me to grow up.
2) A Mille- Lil' Wayne
-I picked this song because it is probably one of my favorite songs that Lil' Wayne has made. Right now he is one of my favorite artist, and it was hard for me to pick a song but i felt like this is one of his original songs. The beat for this song gets me really crunk, and the lyrics he says are so original and witty.
3) Last of A Dying Bread- Ludacris
-I like this song because a few different reasons, but the most prominent being it is what i associate with spring break of last year because it is what we listened too on the way to Panama City Beach, Florida.
4) Say-John Mayer
-This song has a very mellow tune to it, and is a very relaxing song that i love to listen to when i want to relax or when I am not feeling so good.
5) Paradise City-Guns N' Roses
-This song is a classic and i feel like it can be admired and related to by many of people. This song brings memories of me hanging out with my dad and also riding in the truck with him.

Really?

I try to open up my mind to all kinds of music, because I would like to believe that every song has a meaning to someone just like certain songs have meaning to me. This is also why I try not to judge people because of their musical preferences. But there are a couple of musical genres that I cannot appreciate, such as "screamo". I cannot really ever understand what they are saying when they are "singing". Another thing that I do not understand is how any of them sound any different. All they are ever doing is jumping around and screaming, and this is why I cannot enjoy the music because I cannot relate to it. I relate more with rap, or classic rock because you can hear the instruments, and or feel the beats that they produce. Which brings me to my next point about to artist that it hard for me to actually listen to because of how/what they sing about. The first is Soulja Boy, most of the music that he puts out is absolutely ridiculous and makes absolutely no sense and just repeats the chorus about 326 times a song. This is why i do not like to listen to the music he makes. I also do not like the so called artist by the name of Asher Roth. I feel like he is an absolute disgrace to music, and he absolutely does not sing at all. All he does is talk with the beat, and this makes him sound like a complete idiot. He had one hit single, and that is because a lot of people could relate to his song. This is why Asher Roth is practically a retard.

Buying and Selling music

I think that there are many different things that you have to mention and discuss when talking about buying and selling music. This is because music itself is made for many different reasons. This topic is probably one of the most controversial because of this reason, and this is why so many people get heated about this subject. Many people think that downloading music is theft/stealing, which there is a very good argument for. Then my question is, when you buy a cd is it okay for your friend to take your cd and load it on to his computer? If so, this is pretty much the idea behind such websites as limewire and other downloading sites. I think the main problem that people have with buying and selling music is that the principal of downloading is not "legal" and that is not right for the musicians because then they get no compensation. I think there can be a valid point made for both sides of every question about buying and selling music. Do artist make their music to get herd and to convey a message, or are they just making it for money? I believe that music is a great way to express oneself, and i think to all the people that play in there dorms and tribes that play at gatherings, and in no way would those people mind if others recorded them. I do understand that this is these peoples profession, and that this is how they are trying to make money. The way i see it is that the artist that can really make a product (song/cd/record) that consumers want to spend their money on are the artist that have people coming to their concerts and buying their music, and these are the people that i feel are the famous ones. I think music is a wonderful thing, and that people should be compensated for it, but i also feel that most artist do get compensated for the product they produce.