LADUEPUBLICATIONS.COM
10.27.20
photo by | LOU IS A
M
TIN AR
n ti o illustra by
|J O
AN NE
SU NG
A MUSICAL MIND
A look into how music affects our brain and our community RHEA PATNEY associate editor
F
rom catchy commercial jingles and jazzy elevator music to acoustic melodies and smooth symphonies, music envelopes us each and every day, whether we realize it or not. However, we rarely think of the effects it has on people, as individuals and as a community. From head — where neuron production increases, improving memory — to toe — which secretly taps along inside our shoes — listening to music can help jump letter grades. For people with unique conditions in relation to music, such as synesthesia, a condition in which multiple senses are activated at one time from one stimulus, music can be so much more than just an auditory experience.
Additionally, the variety of opinions surrounding musical taste and genre often results in sharp conflict, which can lead to constructive debates and an ensemble of new ideas. Music can help people become more in tune with their surroundings and emotions, help form lasting bonds with friends, family or even strangers on the internet. As a society, we’ve grown to find a tune or beat to nearly anything, tapping to the beat of staccato raindrops and whistling along to legato waves, but something about certain combinations of sounds makes us want to listen to it on repeat over and over again until we just can’t bear it anymore. So waltz into a new perspective of music, where the neurons prance, opinions dance and the memories from the balcony in summer air will never fade. p
