Color your life with... sounds

Color your life with... sounds

Some theory Many scientists have studied the influence of music on your moods. The practical outcome of their studies is the following: 1. Music affects your mood 2. Music filters your memory ability, by creating context 3. Music has attention narrowing effects Let's have some fun to prove the first assumption. Buy some tickets to a horror movie or a thriller. Buy some plugs for your ears and watch the movie. It is not so scary without music, right? See how movie composers play with your feelings? The same way the romantic scenes loose all their charm without the accompanying music. Scientists insist that melodies, not videos have major effect on the mood. Indeed, try watching a video clip with sound turned off. Funny or Boring? Try to mute the TV when commercials are on the air. Feel the relief? Are they still as convincing as they used to be? In some memory experiments scientists discovered that positive words are better remembered when listening to positive music, whereas negative words are better carved into memory while listening to negative music. Thus music creates context for our perception and memory. In other words you'll notice more negative things while listening to negative music, and you're likely to be optimistic when listening to positive music. Another thing: music can narrow your attention point, by eliminating some distractions like computer noise, neighbor employee typing, distant phone ringing, traffic flowing, water running etc. Melodies also create rhythms that induce some state in our brain. You may find yourself sleepy with fuzzy slow rhythm, active with some Ibiza-dance-hit melody, joyful and playful with some Mozart, frustrated and scattered with some repeating trance melody. Tell me what you're mostly listening to and I?ll tell you what your typical mood is! Scientist still don't understand the mechanism how music affects our perception. However, it does changes our behavior much. Some Practice How music can change your life? It can counterbalance your traits and typical reactions. Once I had a typical case of road rage. My girlfriend was scared to be in my car while I was driving. When driving in intense traffic I sent curses on other drivers, I was often speeding, reaching insane speeds in the city, ignoring the traffic lights when being late. In a word — burning rubber. Until one day I've decided to listen to some quiet piano music of Michel Legrand. The rage went away. Now my girlfriend supplies me with all the kinds of calm music. Music definitely soothes the savage beast. Bored in life? Your relationship is slowly going nowhere? — Try music! It can change your views, romances and life! Go break the circle of routine. You won't believe how many types of music you can discover when you just start looking. You don't have to like all the music, but try to appreciate it on its own. Try to listen to a song on a foreign language and translate its lyrics. Learn to distinguish different instruments in a melody or in a symphonic orchestra. There is a whole new world! And like in any world there are white spots on the map. Find them. Many worthwhile musicians and vocalists go unnoticed to the general public. Look at the local newspapers — there are certainly announcements of small bands. There are certainly orchestras playing in the parks. Try life music. It gives power! Surround yourself with music. Wake up to a musical alarm, take baths with relaxing music, showers with energizing melodies. Arrange your dinners and suppers with some soft background music, stop chewing in silence and turn off the TV. It will help your digestion. Throw away your TV and go to musical events with your friends. Let music change your life!