Music can be an incredibly effective means of conveying our ideas and emotions, as well as increasing concentration and performing complex tasks more easily. Research suggests that those who listen to music at work tend to be more productive and efficient than those who don’t; furthermore, music may even help foster strong and healthy relationships among employees.
Creating music has a deep emotional significance for many. Americans spend on average 32 hours per week listening to music.
Musical development is an integral component of human growth and maturity, and serves as an outlet for self-expression and community engagement. One study revealed that playing a melody to an infant increased his or her prosocial behaviors such as helping others. This process of priming only affects short-term decisions but doesn’t change one’s world view overall.
Though learning music at an early age may be challenging, many children eventually come to love music and appreciate its diversity. Acquiring musical knowledge also fosters creativity and cultural awareness.
Medieval composers used melodies and chord structures to accompany religious texts known as plainchant, while later more diverse secular song forms appeared among troubadours and trouveres of France. With these new forms of musical expression emerged a Classical period when composers such as Beethoven and Bach developed more abstract and less textual music forms.
As the twentieth century progressed, composers increasingly turned towards atonal and serial styles of composition. At first, these musical forms proved so innovative that it was difficult for music theorists to develop appropriate analytical techniques for studying them; even now composers can compose pieces which follow their own structural rules without reference to preexisting musical models.
Music is an integral part of everyday life, so it is crucial that we consider its influence and our musical preferences when choosing our playlists. Music has the power to help us get through daily tasks more easily while connecting us with people and fostering creative expression – so next time you’re considering which songs or albums to listen to, make sure they will enrich your life – it could just end up being one of the best decisions you ever made!