DESCRIBE AND EXPLAIN HOW MUSIC CAN INFLUENCE PEOPLE
Music is a part of our everyday lives; we experience it via the radio, movies, concerts, birthdays and more. But just how does this have an effect on us? Everybody responds to music in surprising ways, many of which we are oblivious to. From socially affecting us through how we act and dress, to emotionally affecting the way we think and feel; music is behind it all.
First of all, as music is everywhere, it most definitely has an impact on us in more ways than one, yet most people don’t realize the immensity of it. Modern researches have discovered that music creates changes throughout our entire body, but the most recognizable effect is the emotions and feelings that it incites. It can make us relaxed and calm, motivated and lively, nostalgic or focused. For instance, in the Bible, David calmed King Saul’s mood with music from his harp, and in ancient Egypt, the Egyptians would build their pyramids in time to music. A more modern example would be that in a US university, a group of students were given boring monotonous tasks to complete silently. After a while, soft background music was played, and work was increased by 17 percent. This information was also put to use in a classroom and revealed that music can better the rate that people learn by improving their concentration. Furthermore, people harness the power of music, and use it for commercials and movies. If you haven’t already noticed, many stores advertise through a catchy jingle, such as The Warehouse, and in movies there is always background music, subconsciously controlling your emotions. These examples prove that music can not only manipulate our emotions, but our mindset as well, which inturn adjusts our behaviour.
