This novel has really helped me to understand music in a technical sense and has explained to me why human beings are more inclined to listen and produce music. But, it has also presented many more questions like "Why does music have such a strong effect on our emotions?" and "How does music get so embedded in our memories?". I was unable to find the answers to these hard questions in this novel, but I was still able to skim the surface as to how we scientifically interpret music. I am hoping that the next source I read will try and explore these topics, and that I will be able to merge my knowledge to create a thesis on how music shaped human behavior.
Monday, March 13, 2017
The Power of Music
The first source I read for my chosen research topic was a book called The Power of Music by Elena Mannes. This book really looks at music from a scientific viewpoint, specifically how the human brain interprets and understands music. My thoughts on how music affects human behavior have become more technical as I have learned how music affects the human body. For example, the rhythms of music match the organic rhythms of our body like the heartbeat, respiratory rate, and the movements in which we walk, run, and dance. When we listen to music that gives us "thrills or chills", it is often due to a biological response- our pulse rate quickens and our breathing deepens. It was interesting to learn that music- a very right brained thing- could be logically explained!
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This is so interesting! Despite considering music to be a pretty big part of my life, I've never really considered the scientific aspects to music. It's so interesting to learn that the human body has specific biological responses to music. Do you thing the response would vary with different genres or stay consistent throughout? I'm also very interested in whether or not you end up finding an answer to "how music gets so embedded in our memories?". I'm also very curious about that. I can't wait to read this paper!
ReplyDeleteI keep choosing your blog post to comment on because I am beyond excited to read this paper!! This topic is very interesting to me, as I have always wondered why there is such a deep connection between a person and a song. Even with being into music myself, I would have never thought to ask the questions you did. Also, I think your question "Why goes music have such a strong effect on our emotions?" will be a great key point to your paper and research. I personally would like to know, in your further researching, how does singing effect the heartbeat? I have heard rumors that the beat of your heart goes to the beat of the song, but I am questionable on that theory. I can't wait to see how you put it all together!!
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