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Song Harper 030514
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Why does music make us feel good?

 

Have you ever been listening to ‘your song’ and realized that you are suddenly in a good mood?  Sometimes it is two thirds of the way through the song, maybe somewhere before the last group of choruses. The song builds and builds and then it just hits you like a load of bricks. Your hand turns up the radio just a little louder, followed by the funny looks from the other drivers at the stoplight because you are singing out loud. Or maybe you get you ‘feel goods’ when you are thinking about the words to your favorite gospel songs. This feeling wells up inside of you and the Spirit moves you to sing. The chemical in your brain called dopamine controls the ‘feel good’ to which we are referring. It can cause your pulse to increase, a change in emotions, along with changes to your heart rate and breathing rate. It is in fact the same feeling you get when you are in ‘love.’ Music has been a part of our human experience for a very long time. In fact, some scientists speculate music has been a part of us for over 10,000 years. I like to experiment with my youngest elementary school students to help them realize how music is already a part of them. Thumbs up if it sounds good, thumbs down if it doesn’t. I play one note (middle C) on the piano. Mostly thumbs up. I then play them two notes (middle C and E). Still thumbs up. After playing a few acceptable sounding harmonies, I play some very dissonant sounds like C and Db or a cluster of notes. Immediately, the kids recognize it a sound they do not like. The same concept can be found when listening to Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata in Am” and they say, “It sounds sad!” Or I play the song “Happy” sung by Pharrell Williams and they all jump up and start dancing. Music is ingrained in your brain. Take advantage of your power to choose what you expose your ears to and how it can affect your life.



  

Calling all students songwriters, musicians and singers!  We are looking for submissions to be showcased in our Cleveland County Artists feature:
email me at justin@cfmedia.info for more details.


 

 


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