In a recent study, participants listened silently to music while watching a videotape of three people walking step by step with each other. When participants were asked to rate the degree of relationship and sense of unity between the three people in each state, they felt a greater relationship and unity between them when they did not listen to music.
This suggests that it can strengthen our perception of social cohesion with people by confusing our own feelings with those of the people we observe. Another study found that social cohesion in families and peers was higher when young people listened to music with family members and peers.
Music is present throughout the daily lives of people of all ages and cultures all around the world. It remains one of the best-known and most influential elements of society.
Bringing People Together
For thousands of years, music has brought people together by evoking emotions and feelings. It can take you to a certain place or time, to memories that feel so real that you swear you are experiencing them for the first time. Wherever you go in the world, people connect and interact through music as the language of need.
In short, songs have the power to influence us and affect our surroundings. The more consciously we deal with the sounds, messages and moods that we create through it, the more powerful we become and the deeper the positive effect.
It has become an instrument with which we can improve our self-expression and promote our development. According to research, our perception of the world around us is influenced by it. It is possible for us to manipulate personal moods and feelings with music and to create an environment that influences the way other people feel and behave.
In a study in 2011 43 students listened to either “happy” or “sad” songs in the background as they were assigned to identify happy and sad faces. You often meet people who think that certain songs bring tears to their eyes. Even if you’re in a bad mood, take part in a live performance because it can turn your bad day into the best possible day.
People find the art of music as an alternative to mainstream entertainment. It is to be hoped that this trend will lead to a time when classical concert music finds its place in the mainstream society and is offered more people. The more opportunities we have to enrich people’s lives and minds, the better it will be for society.
There is a need for a systematic study of the effects of music on groups of people in the social environment. Such research could examine, for example, whether certain types promote an orderly exit from large public events, reduce the frequency of disturbance in certain environments, increase tolerance for people queuing up and create a sense of well-being and safety in public places.
Artistically, it can be used to express a work, as in the film industry. By giving people the opportunity to understand the message, it captures this message and addresses it. Every song in an artist’s repertoire sounds authentic to the listener and provides the soundtrack to his or her life.
Can Music Help With Depression?
Levitin believes there is a lot of evidence that it can help with depression because it provides people with a distraction. Clinical depression is something else, he adds, if a person is detached and doesn’t want to engage with music.
According to Laurel Trainor, Professor of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, it brings people together and promotes social bonds, both positive and negative. It can make us feel all sorts of emotions, both negative and positive, Trainor added. The moods and emotions can affect everything from simple actions such as how much we spend to how productive we are, research shows.
In today’s technology-driven world, people listen to at least one hour of music every day. Listening to a certain kind of music in the morning can affect the whole day.
The ability to develop musical training can be used for other cognitive tasks. Taking into account the social component of musical activities, it influences social skills and inclusion by supporting participation in individual, collective and collaborative events.
It is often assumed by young people and adults alike that it influences us and can be perceived both negatively and positively. The role that education can play is to influence the perception of the music we create, digest and promote.
The Punk Movement
It did not take long for the British press to reduce the creative youth movement to tabloid caricatures, but the core premise of DIY punk movement – that you don’t need a record label or musical talent to make yourself or your opinion heard – had a massive impact on society. Buzzcocks “debut EP, Spiral Scratch, was not politically oriented and the band’s self-release demystified the process of publishing, making it one of the most influential records of its time and inspiring a generation of artists.
Pop music is the fastest-acting agent of social change imaginable, because songs have the ability to upend the status quo. On the one hand, it should not only reflect the ideas and lifestyles of creative, interesting and future-oriented people, but also push them into the mainstream, be it through catchy refrains, infectious beats or daring gimmicks.
Vindictiv is a blog for musicians. It's a place where musicians can go to read about what's new in the industry, get advice about how to improve their music, and find new songs to listen to.