Author: Alex (Page 4 of 9)

Overall, music appeals to the emotions of people. Music can amplify emotions or help us find emotions that we thought we didn’t have. It can evoke emotions from love to anger, or tranquility to chaos. We see how music can heal us, why we enjoy it, and what it does to us.  In my opinion, music is one of the most powerful forms of art and can change lives. Music doesn’t have a set language, for example there is music that is recognized all over the world for its beauty and power. In Robert Guptas TedTalk I was surprised at the fact that music actually healed a woman with a palsy. Even if the affects of the music were permanent or not it doesn’t change the fact that just some specific sounds and melodies took away a medical condition from a lady. I always knew music was powerful but I did not know music had the power to change lives in these kinds of ways. Music can be a helping hand to someone who never got a physical hand to help them up, or a hug to someone who needs it but hasn’t felt the embrace of another person. Furthermore, i knew music can evoke emotion in people I just didn’t really know why this appealed to us so much, and the studies and research found in “The Rewarding Aspects of Music Listening Are Related to Degree of Emotional Arousal” shows that when music can evoke emotions in us and this simply is what makes music listening pleasurable. In other words, when music enhances or brings about emotion in us that makes us feel good and it keeps us coming back to the music. What I have learned is important to me because all of my life I’ve been surrounded by music and a lot of music has influenced my personality and how I think. Knowing this new found information now helps me understand how and why music has influenced me the way it does. Music has helped me in so many different ways, for example motivation, bettering myself, and having a positive but forward way of thinking. Music is one of my biggest passions, and learning about what I listen to feels like science and art working together to help me understand myself and music more. I think it would be great for younger people, around the ages 14-17 to know about this information. Most young people or people in general enjoy music, however a lot may not realize that the music they listen to does impact them and their behavior. So if younger people know this information it may lead them to critically think about their music choices with questions like, why do I enjoy this song, or how does this song impact my life. This will benefit them by understanding themselves more and help them to build themselves as the person they want to be.

“What Makes A Song Catchy” by Joe Anuta is simply about what truly makes a song catchy to people and why. In the text while it is stated that it may not 100% be known what makes a song  There are various factors for why a song can be catchy to someone throughout the text. A cultural connection or familiarity between the listener and the music can influence the listener the think the song is catchy. For example, my mother would probably find a song she grew up on more catchy than I would and vice versa. Constant repetition was a factor that was also mentioned that can possibly make a song more catchy. When a song is constantly being played on the radio or in the media even if a listener doesn’t enjoy it the melody can stay in their head. These are just two of the factors that can make a song catchy according to Joe Anuta.

“What Makes A Song Catchy” by Joe Anuta was published June 4 2006. This research article was written for casual music listeners who may have wondered why some songs are catchy, or why a specific song was catchy to them. In the article it says “Referring to a study done at Dartmouth College last year, Duffy explains that “MRIs show that a catchy song makes the auditory part of the brain ‘itch’, and the only way the itch can be scratched is by listening to the song…If mentally repeating a song is the brain ‘scratching’, Paul Barsom wants to pin down exactly what causes that initial ‘itch’.” This simply explains to us that when we listen to catchy songs it does something to our brains but in this article Joe Anuta wants to know how does this catchy song does to our brains to make it initially catchy, hence “that initial itch”. Joe Anuta uses logic, reason and credibility to inform and persuade his audience. Throughout the article multiple professors are mentioned and a college study is referenced, this allows his audience to trust the article more due to the credibility. The reasoning in the article then informs the reader of the question they probably had in mind which is “what makes a song catchy”, the reasoning makes sense and gets straight to the point so that the reader doesn’t get bored while getting answers to their question. Even though the article mentions various credible sources like the professors the diction used isn’t hard to understand so readers can read it comfortably without getting lost, especially casual readers. For example, in the text it states “”We will, we will, rock you is just easy to remember.”” The “its just easy to remember” part of that quote is very informal especially for a research paper so this relaxes the reader and makes the tone feel more conversational. Joe Aunuta’s article helps me answer my initial question, “why is music so appealing to humans?” by addressing the “catchy” aspect of songs which also plays a role in the appealing aspect of music.