I had an awesome 4th grade teacher. Once a week she gave us a piece of art paper large enough to cover our desk. We were given five finger paint jars and told to draw a picture according to how we felt. She turned on some music and we got busy. I pushed my fingers in the blue paint and smeared it all over the paper. If the music was happy I would dance my fingers over the paper as if I were in a huge ballroom. If the music was sad I’d squish brown between my fingers and make huge lines across the paper.
When we were done she carefully hung every paper, talking about the emotions she saw in each piece of artwork. I remember one week especially. After she had hung all the papers she stepped back and announced. “Well, he was right!” She explained that scientific research had proven that music not only changes your moods, it can change your brain. It will cause you to pick certain colors as well. That day she had played a long sad classical piece. I don’t remember which one but I remember that most of it was in the bass clef, very slow and sad. Every child in the class used Brown, black or navy. There were no yellows or reds unless they were mixed with the darker colors.
Contemporary research has discovered that music can change what your brain perceives as reality.
[box] A new study by researcher Jacob Jolij and student Maaike Meurs of the Psychology Department of the University of Groningen shows that music has an even more dramatic effect on perception: even if there is nothing to see, people sometimes still see happy faces when they are listening to happy music and sad faces when they are listening to sad music.[/box] http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110427101606.htm
Music is a huge part of our lives. Restaurants will turn on fast happy music when they are busy because it makes people eat faster. During christmas stores will play soothing music to keep the crowds calm.
There is also a psychology to music. When you listen to harsh, loud, pounding music with negative angry lyrics – you will become a harsh angry person. When you fill your waking moments with music that doesn’t resolve the tones you hear, your body doesn’t relax and therefore is always in a state of anxiety. Whether you like classical or easy listening music or not – your body and your brain needs the soothing resolved tones to think positively and to generate a good mood. Music can help your brain retain information and learn new concepts easier. Music can also help you become a creative person by changing the way your process problems or deal with new concepts.
Many people wonder how Americans – especially young adults – have become so negative, lethargic and angry. Could music and the images we see on television and in the movies play a role? Of course they can. All humans become what they hear and what they see. We can’t help it.
If you want a better life, change your mood and your brain by interjecting a different kind of music. You don’t have to go cold turkey, just balance your listening habits. Like taking a run, using the juicer or eating more veggies – give your brain some power food. Listen to classical music or even easy listening orchestrations. Let the music soothe your brain and help you change your perception.