For many people, music is a big part of
their normal life. I know it’s a big
part of mine. I listen to my iPod and my
CD’s quite a bit, and even when I’m not, I almost always have a song stuck in
my head. But just how much does music
affect us? Is it helpful, or is it
harmful? Does it even affect us at all?
Well,
to start with, listening to certain types of music, such as classical and
baroque, can cause one’s body to relax and helps to decrease blood
pressure. Other types of music, though,
have the possibility of increasing
the heart rate and blood pressure.
In addition to affecting the body, classical
music can also help one’s studies by relaxing the brain, which in turn makes it
easier to remember things. Take Albert
Einstein for example. Many people think
of him as one of the greatest masterminds ever to walk this earth, but very few
realize that as a boy, he didn’t do well in school. One of his teachers even suggested that his
parents pull him from school and get him a job that wouldn’t require much education
so that they wouldn’t waste their money by sending the ‘stupid boy’ to school. Luckily for him though, his parents paid no
attention to the teachers and instead bought him a violin to help with his
lessons. As strange as that may seem, it
was the key to enriching young Albert’s studies. Even Einstein himself attested to the fact
that it was the violin that assisted him in making improvements in his school. In fact, he improved so much that he is now
considered to be one of the smartest men in history.
Another example of how music affects one’s
studies would be a class taught by Dr. George Lozanov, a Bulgarian
psychologist, who designed an improved way of teaching foreign languages. In
his class, he played certain baroque pieces in the background while his
students studied. By doing this, he
proved that it was possible to learn a language in about a month with
approximately 85% to 100% efficiency. By
using his system, his students were able to learn close to half of the words
and phrases for a school term in one day, with an average retention rate of 92%. That’s almost 1,000 words memorized near perfectly! In addition to that, after four years of not
studying at all, his students were
able to recall nearly 100% of what he
had taught them!
Keep in mind though, that listening to
music doesn’t guarantee recall, but, as noted above, it definitely helps. In fact, the ability to recall information is
even better if you are listening to the same music when you are recalling as
when you were learning. The music in and
of its self isn’t a necessary part of the learning process, so one would be
wise not to rely on it completely, simply because it has been known to work in other
instances.*
The previous examples show some of the
positive aspects of music, but it is unfortunate that not all music is helpful. (Please note that in the following examples,
I’m generalizing. I don’t believe that
all rock music is bad.) Many people tend
think that rock music is harmful to humans, and a lot of the time, they are
correct. Not only do the lyrics often encourage
drugs, alcohol, suicide, and other issues, but the songs themselves normally
contain irregular beats and shrill frequencies that are harmful to the body. For example, back in the 70’s, teenagers
would bring raw eggs to rock concerts and set them on the edge of the
stage. By the end of the concert, their
eggs would be hard boiled and ready to be eaten. Even though that may not be the same effect
that rock music has on our bodies, who wants to listen to songs that have the
ability to hard boil eggs? Not to
mention the volume at which some people listen to heavy metal, rap, and rock
music! That can also be a harmful ‘side
effect’ to listening to that kind of music.
It is also thought that there might be a
bit of a connection between listening to certain types of music, such as heavy
metal and rap, and thoughts of suicide, poor schoolwork, and drug use, though
it may simply be that those certain types of people are drawn to that sort of
music, because there is no evidence proving that rock music is the reason for
such behavior.**
Some of you are
probably wondering what in the world the verse at the top of the page has to do
with the title of this article. We
typically associate Ephesians 4:29 with our speech–the things we say, how we
say them, etc.–and unless we’re singing, what does that have to do with the
music we listen to? Well, looking at the
last half of the verse (…but only what is helpful for building others up,
according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.) we can see
that the things we listen to are supposed to be good things, things that
benefit us, and build us up. Sometimes
that refers to the lyrics in a song, other times, it refers to the things that
can actually be beneficial or harmful.
So while much of this is just speculation, it definitely provides
something to think about when it comes to choosing the music you listen to, what
music you listen to at what times, and how you listen to it.
The Comma Queen
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