About Music: How it Makes You Feel
Julia, our Student Ambassador in Brazil, is passionate about music and is running our Music Club.
What kind of music inspires you?
Have you ever thought about that?
Every musical genre is clearly different; that being said, they also always inspire people in some way. They make people sad, happy, or mad; other times, they let them deepen what they really feel in that specific moment.
Music isn’t noise
Music is never “just noise,” even when the genre might contain the word “noise” in its name, such a funny concept that lets us think about how each music genre talks to us. Some people might say that a certain genre deepens their anger, while someone else might say that this same genre or song just leaves them feeling confused (an example of this effect could be alternative music, indie, or even rock).
Why is some music relaxing to some, but not to others?
It’s pretty clear that every song ever made was created with a specific focus group, so a song that might relax some people just might not help others, and trying to make them relax while listening to it really won’t work. Other songs can make people want to dance, while they might give other people headaches. These are common examples, the first could point out classical music, white noise or lo-fi, which are really discussed for being mostly relaxing as study or work-centered, but the discussion that involves them is exactly the fact that not everyone thinks that they are relaxing or are even able to use them to study or work; as unusual as it is, some people only function in complete silence while others might need music blasting through their headphones or speakers to do the same.
Musical taste is personal
Even studies and research might be wrong when it comes to musical taste, as they are closer to a sentiment than to anything that can be numbered, and it is built while you grow and adapt yourself to your surroundings. To like a genre because it is different is to like it just because it is new for you, but for others it might be the norm to listen to and like such a genre; as you grow with rock or pop, country or gospel, you might stick to these and simply like them or try to find things completely different just to know what others like and experience in their everyday lives. In a discussion about taste, we could simply point out that we, as people, are molded by our surroundings, but what about the people who aren’t?
It is hard to say or even to know what makes people like the songs they listen to; is it the rhythm? The lyrics? The history behind the songs? Or the message they give us?
One way or another, it’s really important to know how music, how art, talks to you, even if you listen to it just for relaxing or stimulation. You can try to figure out if the music you listen to really talks to you, if it makes you feel something you can’t even fathom explaining or if the song just gets stuck in your head with no way out; being good or bad, if the songs make you feel or understand something, then it is talking to you, and those song just might have reached its rightful audience!
Try this!
I put together some songs that can help you see what genres or sound you actually feel and might even like. Below is a simple ten-song list with different genres for you! Any Songs you might listen to usually evoke some kind of feeling for you within yourself, and that’s based on your music taste and general preferences. Happiness, Anger, Sadness, A headache, the feeling of longing, or even simply understanding, those are all possible feelings that people feel towards music, and none of them are uncommon; it just means that you are more attracted to a specific sound or genre!
Traditional Pop/easy-listening: My Way by “Frank Sinatra” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qp6D71kQRhA)
Reggae/Modern Reggae: Rest of My Life by “SOJA”
( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X572Mp_r46E )
Progressive death Metal: Blackwater Park by “Opeth”
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSaNBSKOcag )
Western Classical : Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D minor, 'Choral'
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yf2rbcrZzDQ )
Eastern Classical/ Orchestral: Butterfly Lovers Erhu Concert
(Original : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tu5XohUR3Pg
adapted to Western instruments: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1b0HkL6k_F0 )
Pop Rock/ MPB (Brazilian Popular music): Whisky a go go by “Roupa Nova”
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLv8ZPZrbf4 )
Folktronica/Indie Pop: The Moss by Cosmo Sheldrake
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ng6nJTrOPo8 )
Mod Revival/ New Wave/ Pop Rock: Pity Poor Alfie by The Jam
( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N23SjCypP5w )
Bossa Nova (Jazz/Samba): The girl from ipanema by “Antonio Carlos( Tom Jobim”) and “Vinícius de Moraes”
( Duet with both Portuguese and English versions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJjfFngTZyo
Original : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuenyQ4NCQE )
Alternative Rock/ Emo/ Pop Punk: Decode by Paramore
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvnkAtWcKYg )
This article is written with the assistance of GEN-AI tools.