Casey Hobson

Sean M. George
Eng. 1010D-03
Nov 09, 2015
The Influence of Music in Everyday Life
Music is something that has been around for quite a while, it could be argued that it has
been around since the dawn of man. Music is a part of everyday life for most people in modern
culture. It has become sanctuary and religion for some who are seeking solace and do not know
where else to look. There are some who make careers of making music, listening to music,
editing music and making it sound better. The life most of the world lives is dominated by music.
Music on their phone, music in their car, music in advertising, music in learning, music in
therapy. It is used in generally every setting. Music is a powerful tool used by many, in many
different ways, to create different effects. Music does affect and influence us in a very powerful,
yet sometimes unrecognized way.
There are many instances of learning fused with a musical tune. For example, children
usually learn the ABCs to the tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star or they learn the 50 states to
the tune of a song. For some reason our brains are wired to be receptive to such learning, and
sometimes it is annoyingly difficult to forget. This is a powerful fact in many different aspects.
There are many different language classes that use music as a way to help students memorize
words or phrases or particular members of speech. A prime example for use of music in todays
world and culture would be in advertising. In our culture there is never an ad on television
without some sort of music or catchy jingle that is associated with it. William K. Kilpatrick wrote
in his book Why Johnny Cant Tell Right From Wrong that,

[We] tend to learn something more easily and indelibly if its set to a rhyme or song.
Advertisers know this and use it so effectively that we sometimes have difficulty getting
their jingles out of our heads. But there are more positive educational uses. Most of us
learned the alphabet this way and some of our history as well (Paul Reveres Ride,
Concord Hymn). Recently some foreign language courses have been developed which
employ rhyme and song as the central teaching method. Similarly, one of the most
successful new phonics programs teaches reading through singing. (qtd. In Duke)

Music is incredibly important to our culture and to America. Imagine for a moment life without
music. Advertising with out music. It is vital to our culture and daily life. What is being taught
and how is it being received by the public? Taking a view at every generation it is easy to see
what the pop culture for dress, attitude and interests were based on the media. This isnt to say
that this is what entirely shapes the generation but it is what largely influences it. Music is a
powerful tool that is often used by the media to advertise. It is a generally accepted fact that
music also has a powerful effect on human emotion.
Imagine a scary movie with out music to help jolt the audience or to add suspense or
drama to the film. Imagine a drama without a moving piece played by an orchestra to stir deep
emotions in an individual. In any moment in any movie it is accented by music. Music in these
moments help bring about strong emotions of sadness, joy, love, fear, anger. On the subject of
movies and music Helen Stewart of BBC wrote,

Science writer Philip Ball, author of The Music Instinct, says soundtracks can produce
the same reaction in us whether the music is good or bad. "Our response to certain kinds
of noise is something so profound in us that we can't switch it off," he says. "Film
composers know that and use it to shortcut the logical part of our brain and get straight to
the emotional centres.
This is something that is held to be true for any individual who has watched a scary movie on
mute. Any scary movie isnt scary when there is no music involved. It is an interesting thing how
individuals are able to recognize mood and perceive it even if they have received no musical
training. The same runs true for children. Even children born with hearing disabilities.
The affect of music on mood is undeniable. Recently, there was a study on children and
adults ranging from 6 years old to 40 years old. In this study there was a heavy emphasis on
studying emotional perception of music, mainly from the younger children. The younger children
they focused on were children with cochlear implants and who suffered from hearing loss since
birth. The children with cochlear implants readily relied more on the tempo of the song to
determine if it was happy or sad; whereas, those who didnt originally suffer from hearing loss
relied on the tempo and the mode of the song to determine if it made them feel happy or sad. On
this they said,
Mode and tempo are considered to be the key elements to induce these two basic
emotions. Major chords (Ionian Western diatonic scale: four semitones between the first
and third pitch of a given scale) and faster tempi (many beats per minute) convey
happiness, whereas minor chords (Aeolian Western diatonic scale: three semitones

between the first and third pitch of a given scale) and slower tempi (few beats per minute)
are known to induce sadness in the listener.

Major and minor chords are just musical mumbo jumbo that refer to the way the musical piece
sounds according to the pattern of notes or musical tones in any given piece. It is clear to see and
to draw upon passed experience for every person that music does affect our mood to some extent,
but how does it do it?
Music has been a way, for many people, and for many years, to reduce stress or to help
induce a better sense of focus on doing their work or before a sports game. Music is used to
create an idea and a feeling in these individuals. In the student it can help them develop their
thoughts into clearer ideas, better rounded presentation and helps them be more cohearent. For
the athelete, music can help them do the same thing but in different way. It can help them to
settle their nerves before a race, or before a big match versus the rival team. It can also help them
to stay motivated and to remember why they were there to try so hard in the first place. It can
help the individual who is stressed about paying rent, or about passing an exam to calm their
nerves as well and to help create a sense of capability. Music is an incredible tool but it is not
well understood how affects us as humans exactly. In a most recent study on how music is used
for therapy for those struggling with mental health something most interesting was found. Emma
Young wrote in her article titled Healing Rhythms that,

We know that music has some interesting effects on our brains. Plenty of studies show
that listening to the music you like - whatever it is - stimulates the reward centres and
makes you feel good. This is partly down to the release of dopamine, a signaling

chemical linked to reward. Studies by Levitin and others suggest the brain's natural
opioids also play a part. Their findings might help explain why music can act as an
analgesic, and support its use by some hospitals to help relieve pain after surgery.

this is found to be true for many people and for many people to come.
Music is a most powerful tool used by many daily. There are many different aspects
where music is used to induce, create or influence certain ideas or moods. These examples where
musical influence is used includes, but most definitely is not limited to, advertising, learning,
sports, therapy, movies, and television. The list could go on and on but the important thing is to
recognize that the music that an individual chooses will have an effect on him/her no matter if
they recognize it or not.

Works Cited
Duke, Selwyn. The New American: That Freedom Shall Not Perish. The New American
Mag. N.p., 09 Jan 2014. Web. 08 Nov 2015.
Giannantonio, Sara, et al. Experience Changes How Emotion In Music Is Judged:
Evidence From Children Listening With Bilateral Cochlear Implants, Bimodal
Devices, And Normal Hearing. Plos ONE 10.8 (2015): 1-29. Academic Search
Premier. Web. 9 Nov. 2015.
Stewart, Helen. How do film-makers manipulate our emotions with music? BBC. BBC
Arts & Culture, 13 Sep 2013. Web. 08 Nov 2015.
Young, Emma. Healing Rhythms. New Scientist 227.3038 (2015): 36-39. Academic
Search Premier. Web. 9 Nov. 2015.