Why is music so powerful? Why is it that when a song comes on the radio that we love, we yearn to turn up the volume and let the sounds resonate through our ears in all of their heavenly glory?

I think the key to it all is the blend of the different elements. Over the past several days I have been taking a lot of time off to start feeling good again after a long series of many challenges and tough transformations. Every single time I’ve felt down, the power of music has always been the one thing, above all else, that has been able to lift me back up. The great thing about music is that it is something that virtually anyone can do if they are given the knowledge, time, and practice to develop it.

After reading This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession, by Daniel J. Levitin, I am reminded of the fact that historically, music has been something that was common among all people, and was something that everyone participated in, not just the talented. Old, primitive songs are often times very simple in their structure and especially simple in their instrumental elements, probably in part for the reason that more people can get involved. Similarly, we see modern music of today beckoning its audience to grasp onto particular familiar riffs and notes that, down to the science of a musical formula, people can pick up on and follow.

Music was not always a series of shows, a giant promotional escapade that went on all day long on the radio stations, or a series of magazines that were highlighting the different bands of the future as opposed to the music of yesterday. In fact, it is only recently within the past several centuries that we have seen the rise of the rock star, the rise of concerts, the seating of an audience to watch the performance that takes place on a stage. During the classical era, people would sit politely and quietly in an auditorium or stage area while music would be performed by some particular artist like Mozart of Beethoven. What is interesting to note is that while rock and roll is so new in musical history, its passionate audience that continues to follow it in dance, aggression, and primal emotion is as primitive as music’s beginning origins.

My life has consisted of almost nothing but creative media for several years now. And as I drive around town looking at all the different people that live here, seeing all of the various different businesses that operate here, I am struck by the lack of creativity that is existent in modern society. A large portion of my life has been music, film, photography, and art. Yet, you do not see these things often outside the bounds of major cities. To see a museum, I’ve got to drive about 20 minutes to half an hour or more to get downtown. To see fine art anywhere, I’ve got to drive at least 10 to 15 minutes to go to a campus. To hear music, I’ve got to either own music already or go buy a CD, or pay several dollars for a ticket to a show, which may not happen at the time I’d like to hear it. Lucky for me, I own a guitar and know how to play – but sometimes I don’t want to make my own music, I want to hear the music of others.

People of ancient Rome, of the old Greek civilizations, and other old cities of the past the public could merely walk right outside their front door or even look out a window to see art. To hear music? Walk down the street, people would be playing it, singing it, all the time. Some cities of the world are still like this. London, England, for instance, is very much like this, especially at night. I loved it! I wanted to ride the subway just so that I could hear the music that the different musicians would be playing. And it was diverse. Not just guitar, not traditional rock, it was everything from accordion to violin.

The key to the power of music is the way its very nature mimics that of our modern view of reality. Consciousness narrows its perceptions down to things it can repeatedly recognize. When we build cities, roads are everywhere. When we walk outside, the environmental elements present are everywhere, so for you that might be grass, sand, or snow. But we repeatedly recognize these things. We recognize these common environmental elements to a point that we can begin to see patterns. Emotions, relationships, our daily activities that we take part in as our role in being one with society are also recognizable patterns. It’s official – human beings love patterns. Having said this, music is nothing but auditory patterns, some of which are naturally more attractive than others.

In essence, it is amazing to think that the majority of the music we love is nothing more than the same 12 basic notes played in endless different variations, rhythms, tempos, and changes in delays or pauses. We are, technically speaking, not hearing anything new anytime we hear any one single piece of music. Yet, somehow songs in music can always be made new for us. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it, right? On top of that, we come to the variability that can be made possible by musical instruments and auditory effects. Still, in theory, on a long enough timeline, it would theoretically be possible for no new music to ever be created ever again, just the same as it is possible for no new story to ever be told again, or no new piece of poetry, because there are only so many words and word variations to use within any given language. Still, we will not see this anytime in our lifetimes, and it’s possible that the mere behavior of history will allow old material to be wiped out over time and be reinvented again for others to enjoy.

The last time I wrote about music was in my article entitled Sublimation Through Music & The Science of Music. It is interesting to note the sheer power of music as an outlet for emotional expression. Historically, music served as the basis for a way to serve emotional health. Music, by the power of both auditory pattern and the way the brain will interact with that perception, as well as the basic associative connection people build with any given piece of music, can change any mood at any time, no matter what its prior state. If you’re ever feeling down, listening to a beautiful song just might be the solution you need. Music has the ability to alter brain chemistry on the basis of how the brain processes music itself. As a result, any past government that has wanted to manipulate a populace will use media giants and even musical artists to help in their control of a populace. Nazi Germany during the World War II era even kept certain singers under their watchful eye, and kept them singing about the glory of the country. The power of music is undeniable, whether you’re talking about a situation like that, or the positive use of elevating a depressed state.

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