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3 Reasons Why Music Is Beneficial to Everyday Life
1. Method of Therapy- There is a such thing as music therapy. It can raise the self-esteem of clients and it can help lead patients through self discovery and can help solve emotional and mental difficulties. The American Music Therapy Association describes musical therapy as, “clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music therapy program”. This type of therapy has been proven to help cases of trauma, and can provide emotional support for patients. Musical therapy can be beneficial because it might help anyone through a rough patch in their life and can help them live their best life with the help of a medical professional.
2. Improving Motor Skills- Music has also proven to improve cognitive function and motor skills, especially in children. Because of the rhythmic nature of music, it requires the brain to access the parts that recognise repetitive patterns that don’t exist in normal speech. Ewa Miendlarzewska and Wiebke Trost from the Frontiers in Neuroscience explain, “Unlike speech, music is not associated with a fixed semantic system, although it may convey meaning through systems such as emotional appraisal and associative memories”. In other words, music can convey meaning in more ways than speech or written language offer, so it requires the brain to strengthen these recognition skills in order to understand the message.
3. Emotional Learning- Many songs have emotional connections to them that are meant to make eyes water and lower the mood in the room. It can really be a powerful experience. These musical experiences trigger the part of the brain that controls emotion. This part of the brain is strengthened as it tries to understand the composer's intent or message that the song has. Malini Mohana of Psych Central explains this phenomenon, “Skilled composers manipulate the emotion within a song by knowing what their audience’s expectations are, and controlling when those expectations will (and will not) be met. This successful manipulation is what elicits the chills that are part of any moving song” The artist chooses specific timings and carefully selects parts of the song that can powerfully express the desired emotion. Throughout the song, the brain is constantly trying to predict when this beat or melody is going to happen and the desired reaction is based on the predictions result.
Montgomery, Erica. "Why Is Music Important? An In-Depth Look." Peterson Family Foundation, 24 Nov. 2016.
“What is Musical Therapy." Musictherapy.
Miendlarzewska, Ewa A., and Wiebke J. Trost. "How musical training affects cognitive development: rhythm, reward and other modulating variables." Frontiersin, 20 Jan. 2014.
Mohana, Malini. "Music & How It Impacts Your Brain, Emotions." Psych Central, 8 Oct. 2018.
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