Whether it is Haydn's string quartet no. 66 in G major or a single off the new Dave
Mathews album, music, inherently, has the ability to alter the state of our mind and
body. Music
can make us joyful or sad, it can make us want to move our body, it can stimulate our
imagination,
or even heal us. The aforementioned has the ability to change one's state of mind at
any given
time. This essay will examine music's many disciplines and how they motivate our
creativity,
imagination, health, and culture. Whether listening to your favorite piece of music or
going to a
music therapy clinic, music motivates us profoundly.
In the past decade, the practice of music therapy has, generally, gained a wider
acceptance.
It has been used to treat stroke victims dealing with depression, used on children with
autism, and
with people who have suffered spinal injuries to help them walk again. It is not
necessarily a cure
for there ailments, it rather motivates their mind allowing other methods to be more
successful.
Music therapy has, also, been successful in treating children with learning disabilities.
Obviously,
this is not used to cure these children of their problems rather it is to stimulate their
minds thus
enriching their lives, "Singing can be an experience of arousal for the handicapped
child, of
freedom from the many of confusions and restrictions of pathology. He becomes able to use
personal capacities with greater consciousness and can experience, as a result, direct,
substantial
fulfillment." In a research project done at a special education school in Philadelphia
the out come
of music therapy was enlightening. The researchers examined three children at the
school, Eddie,
Denise, and Dianne. All three children were observed as being self conscious, shy, and
socially
dysfunctional. The researchers gave each child a way of expressing themselves musically
and
followed their progress. After giving Eddie a role in a song the results were evident,
"Eddie's
establishment of himself in the role against the background of his usual fear-ridden,
unsure
behavior and his independent display of initiative and courage were totally unexpected
and could
not have been predicted." Dianne was given a resonator bell for a part in the "Twenty-
Third
Psalm, "and after a week of practice she performed it with other girls in the class, "It
gave
everyone pleasure and was warmly applauded. Dianne's new self-image and self-confidence
stimulated both academic and social improvement." The last test subject did equally
well. Denise a
troubled child who would purposely frighten other children, was given a part similar to
Dianne's
and performed it remarkably well, "After the performance Denise was no longer personally
inhibited. She became talkative, expressed her pleasure in the musical activities, and
was a loyal,
perceptive colleague in all the demonstration work with teachers we did the following
year."
The use of music therapy on these children fully illustrates music's ability to
motivate
one's mind. In this situation the motivation was twofold. The children were motivated
to become
more self-confident and socially functional and with these new found qualities were
motivated to
learn more about themselves and what they were capable of. The music acts like a
language to the
children, " It can encourage , hearten, delight, and speak to the inmost part of the
child. Music can
ask stimulating questions and give satisfying answers. It can activate and then support
the activity
it has evoked... it can lift the handicapped child out of his confines and place him on a
plane of
experience and response where he is considerable free of intillectual or emotional
disfunction."
Music's' ability to heal the body has been under discussion for centuries.
Jean-Jacques
Rousseau, in his works Dictionnaire de Musique and Essai sur L'origine des Langues
wrote,
"Although music has little power the affections of the soul, it is neverless capable of
acting
physically upon bodies." Rousseau uses evidence of the healing of Tarantula bites
through the
use of music which differed in each country but had the same effects, " the Italian must
have
Italian tunes , the Turk would need Turkish tunes... one's nerves will respond only to
the degree to
which one's mind prepares them for it: he must understand the language spoken to him
before what
he is being told sets him in motion." Rousseau later states that we will never
understand the true
principles of music if we only consider , " sounds only through the commotion they stir
in our
nerves." If this is correct, music's motivation over the body is immense. Music would
have the
ability to make one's mind stronger than one's body.
It would be a fair statement to say that music definitely motivates certian aspects of
ones'
mind. Assuming this statement is correct, the problem that arises is that no music can be
clearly
defined. Music is definitely a language that says something different to everybody thus
it can not
be translated. If you play one type of music for a group of people each one will walk
away with a
different experience. Taking this into account is important when studying musics'
motivation on
people.
Music's motivation can be clearly seen when discussing it's role in aiding one's
emotion.
Music has the unique ability of bringing joy and pain. It can evoke the fondest memory
and, also,
highten one's deepest pain. It can creep into your mind and can take you to a different
time and
place, "the highest and best music seems to have a message beyond itself perhaps, and
certainly
beyond words." It can not be translated yet it's message is profound. It motivates us
to believe
there is a connection between composer and listener due to the emotion it evokes.
Subsequently, it
motivates us to believe that we all share the same experiences when the same song could
be
interpreted many different ways. Music takes an emotion already present and electrifies
it. We
often chose what music we want to hear based on the emotion we want to provoke. We chose
classical for a calming effect when we want to relax. In choosing rock or jazz we want
to induce
an upbeat emotion. The relationship between music and emotion is symbiotic, each one
feeds of
the other. Our emotion dictates what music we listen to and music dictates our emotion.
The body is ,also, motivated by music. Obviously, the urge of movement when
listening to
certain disciplines of music is well noted but music, also, "has a marked effect on
pulse, respiration
and external blood pressure... music delays the onset of muscular fatigue... and has a
marked
effect upon the pschogalvanic reflex." These qualities are similar to the responses of
a change in
emotion. Dancing proves this point. Where as classical music dictates a slow and
methodical
dance, varying degrees of rock music spur on a fast and uninhibited style of dancing.
People, also,
chose to listen to loud upbeat music when performing physical activities such as working
out.
At athletic events stadiums usually pump in rock music to pump up the crowd rather than
choosing
classical or jazz.
Music's effect and motivation on societies can be highlighted when viewing the
evolution
of the late twentieth century. Beginning in the mid 1960's music began to express
feeling of
unrest and disapproval with current affairs in North America. Musicians such as Janis
Joplin and
John Lenon expressed there displeasure with the United States involvement in Vietnam.
Social
commentary expressed through mainstream music was spreading and dispersing information to
the
masses. The effect was astounding. Disenfranchised youths came together and formed
organizations to express their opposition to the crisis in Vietnam. Without these
musicians and
their social commentary, certainly, the truths about this conflict would not have reached
these
people and ,thus, they would not of been motivated to express their views and aid in
ending the
Vietnam war.
Music's motivation in reference to our culture is endless. Each culture
possesses certain
unique musical styles that are used to motivate. Religious or spiritual music would be
a good
example of this point. In the Jewish religion songs such as the Hava-Na-Gilla Nigila
motivate
people to dance and celebrate. In Arab culture music is used to put people in trance
like states
which they believe places them closer to god. In the Arab religion of Sufism a unique
ceremony
highlights this point, " The concert took place under the direction of a master who led
the ceremony
and at the same time was the spiritual director... The solo singing was provided by a
cantor , the
quawwal... the concert consisted of several successive phases, some vocal, some
instrumental...
The faithful listened to the music seated, in a state of inner contemplation, and allowed
themselves
to be gradually overcome by trance... When the trance became to intense, they rose and
began to
dance. Return to calm and normality was brought about by the sound of music suitable for
that
purpose." This ritual not only displays music's motivation over culture, it also proves
music's
ability to motivate one's mind and body.
After viewing the remarkable abilities of musical therapy in dealing with
children with
special needs one can conclude that, although, it may not cure the patients it enriches
their lives and
motivates certain qualities that did not exist before. It allows the children to break
the constraints
of their disabilities and motivates them to grow socially and academically. Music's
ability to
motivate our mind can be seen in it's manipulation of our emotions and its ability to
make to make
of mind stronger than our body. Physiological differences that occur in our body when
being
affected by music prove its power over our body. The motivational tools that music
possesses are
far ranging and should be explored for years to come, so we can harness its energy and
create
better lives for the people who create it and the people who listen to it.
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