Society and Music and A Note from Me About My Class

Trigger Warning, some of the music in this blog will speak of depression and self harm, proceed with caution.

    As cliche as it sounds, music plays an important role in society because it gives people an outlet for their emotions. Any person I have followed that writes music always says that they used their music to escape and talk about what they were dealing with.  Jack Kingslake, a Rythmix tutor, has worked with many young people and says that some of his students "have cited the Rhythmix session as the most effective therapeutic activities during their time at Chalkhill." because of the music. The artist Nf has a song called Therapy Session and in the song some of the lyrics are "Imagine someone looking at you and saying your music's the reason that they are alive" and in that song he also talks about how music is a therapy for him. Music is a connection for people but it also gives them a way to process and deal with their emotions.

Therapy Session by NF, April 22, 2016

    Therapy Session is an angry, poweful piece of music. It has a an average paced tempo but a rythym of 16th notes that belays the feeling of anger injected into, what seems like, the notes themselves. The timbre of the vocals is clear but harsh giving away how the artist feels about what his fans are going through. The artist talks about how he gets sent letters and messages about his family getting brutaly killed which is when that harsh tone peaks. He also speaks very plainly about how a fan came up to him and told the artist of her abusive home life. Though the same raspy timbre isn't quite there, the anger he feel palpable. There is an operatic accompanyment of voices that gives this song such a unique sound. The contrast between these traditionally pleasant sounds and the pain of the lyrics makes this song one of my favorites from this artist. 

    Music not only gives us a way to express our emotions but gives us an insight into repressed emotions as well. Nathan Feiles, a liscenced clinical social worker, writes "while music can move us in an acute emotional moment, it’s also notable that it can be used to elicit underlying emotions and teach us about unconscious elements of our emotional structure" and uses examples of a man listening to dark and agressive music having repressed anger. Music had become that man's outlet for that repressed emotion just as it has done for many others. Though it might not always be a way to tell how you are feeling, the genere of music you lsiten to  more frequently can give some insight into what and how you are feeling even if you cannot tell. 

    Though music is a good coping mechanism for unwanted or harsh emotions it can be dangerous to ignore the symptoms of something bigger. Do not ignore your negative feelings and cover them up with the honeyed words of a singer. Though I didn't know it at the time, I had been affected emotionally by a lot of people and situations my senior year that led me to listen to music I normally wouldn't have. I am a changed person because of those situations and my prefernces have changed with me. I still enjoy upbeat pop but because I was feeling negativly for the majority of my day I would gravitate more towards artists like NF and bands like Twenty-one Pilots. Specific songs being Intro 3, Therapy Session, and No excuses by NF and Not Today and Chlorine by Twenty-one Pilots. I also listened to Karma by AJR a lot.

Karma by AJR, Neothater, 2019

     I think this song really spoke to me because it explained how I felt. At the time I did not understand how I felt and often times I was just numb but I knew that, at 17, I shouldn't be feeling like that. Musically, however, I like this song because of how well all of the sounds blend together. There's synthetic sounds, strings, drums and somethings I don't recognize but it all comes together. At the very beggining, that deep breath the singer takes and the immediate start up of the music gives the sense that the singer just wants to get this off their chest. It's emotional so they have to take a deep breath but then they just fall into the explanation because they know it's better to speak than not. The accompanying instruments can be a little overwhelming to listen to but the drums keep the tempo and add as a binder for therest of the instruments. Though the timbre of the singers voice through out the song is clear and bright at the end of the song it becomes more frantic and raspy as they get more panicked and frustrated with how they feel. It's also important that the music cuts to just a syntheic keyboard at this time to give that crescendo and added complexity with the building feelings of the singer.

Feiles, Nathan. “How Music Impacts, Helps Our Emotions.” World of Psychology, PsychCentral, 8 July 2018, psychcentral.com/blog/how-music-impacts-helps-our-emotions/.

Rhythmix. “Music as an Emotional Outlet.” Youth Music Network, 1 May 2018, network.youthmusic.org.uk/music-emotional-outlet. 

Now that that's out of the way, this class has allowed me to fall back in love with music and instruments. Before I started this class I hadn't touched my cello in months. As soon as high school ended I put it down to focus on other aspects of my life but because of this class I play again. I realized that music is just as important of a part of me as school and work is. Playing my cello is fun and it took me a while to realize that again but I'm glad I did no matter how late! I still don't get to play very often but when I do it's so much fun and everyone around me enjoys it, even the dogs I look foward to getting my other instruments up here so I can start writing and doing covers again. It might not sound good or ever reach the ears of anyone but my aunt and her dogs but it will give me something to look foward to after my work is done. I love music and it is a part of my life every day but I missed playing and creating as well a lsitening to songs.