Effects of Music on Living Organisms

1820 Words8 Pages
What is music? Why do some sound sequences move the core of our being, while others-such as dogs barking, gun shots, and cars screeching- motivate discomfort? Music is obviously a huge part of society – that goes without being said. Music’s interconnection with society is evident throughout history. Literally every known culture on planet earth has music. (Sacks vi) Even signs of prehistoric music are made apparent with the discoveries of flute-like instruments carved from bones (Zhang). Seems odd to see an entire species-billions of people-moved by, listening to, playing, and occupied by a sequence of tonal patterns that they call “music.” It’s a noticeably powerful entity in this world and music’s great power, whether or not we seek it out or think of ourselves as particularly “musical,” is undeniable…but why? Music is everywhere and each individual seeks and maintains ownership in their “music.” Even though music may be shaped by the cultures we live in, by societal issues, or circumstances, it is still a deep-rooted human essential and almost feels like a living thing…or disease (Sacks v). In general, surface responses to music are easily observed and are both instant and long lasting. This worldwide epidemic, known as music, is known to do a number of things-from altering moods to infecting us with memories of times past. But looking beyond the surface, what other effects does this phenomena have on humans? Why do most humans have the instant cognitive capacity to find music they enjoy, detect wrong notes, remember hundreds of melodies, and tap their feet in time with the music-an activity that requires a process of meter extraction so complicated that most computers cannot do it. Humans listen to a lot of music. Listening to music is a societal-must. It is the first thing we do when we enter our cars and the last thing we do as we fall asleep.
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