Music - A Gateway to the Soul

Yesterday I was just so fed up, I went to my room, pulled the curtains closed, got into my bed and for a few blissful hours I blocked out the world with earphones in my ears listening to 'Papa Roach', on repeat... I remember when I was younger and just discovered my love for rock music my father's wife heard the music blaring from the room I was in and said simply, "People who listen to rock music all have issues..." I don't think this is true.

Everyone has issues and different people listen to different music for different reasons. If someone is lovesick they might listen to 'Taylor Swift' and when they break up with the love of their current life 'Fifteen' will be blaring in your room while you cry. You might be as sneaky as me and when your teacher is a bit boring as we all think sometimes you might also sit at the back of the class with your iPod earphones in your ears until you're asked a question to which you answer, "What was the question Miss?"

Music is just another way to express yourself. Music says a lot about a person and I don't think you know someone completely until you know what their taste in music is and if you guess correctly it just goes to show how well you know the person, for example: A friend came to visit me and I put on some music and she commented saying, "I thought you were the type to listen to jazz or classical music." As a quiet person (at times) I could see why she came to this conclusion about me, but think about it, as music is a gateway to knowing a person wouldn't a quiet person like myself listen to something louder to express myself? This is true.

You know how pregnant woman go on about how they will let their unborn child listen to Mozart, while they do so the baby will end up intelligent well the power of music to affect memory is quite intriguing. Mozart's music and Baroque music, with a 60 beats per minute beat pattern, activate the left and right brain. The simultaneous left and right brain action maximizes learning and retention of information. The information being studied activates the left brain while the music activates the right brain. Also, activities which engage both sides of the brain at the same time, such as playing an instrument or singing, causes the brain to be more capable of processing information. Wow that was a mouthful of information but in a nutshell it just means that music, mainly classical helps to improve your unborn child's memory as well as brain activity.

If you're soulful you might listen to jazz or classical music. Lionel Richie if you're a romantic like my mother, rock if you're a teen with issues like me (ha-ha), and Young MC if you like a bit of a dance. Personally having the same tastes in music brought my friends and I together, today we may not be as close but exchanging music is a perfect excuse to get together!

Not all of us learn the same way, when I study for an exam with a lot of content I will summarize my notes or even sing. When I had to learn all the bones in the human body I was singing past 12 at night and you know what, I passed that section well! Like I said in a previous article judging someone is wrong, and seeing as music is a part of who we are judging someone based on what music they enjoy is equally wrong.

So whatever your music preference is, golden oldies, punk, rock, classic or R&B, plug your earphones in, let your world disappear and don't let anyone tell you any better. When it comes to me well I feel like listening to a bit of U2 myself.