Importance of Music

Music is one of the most fabulous expressions of the human being since it manages to immediately transmit different sensations that other art forms may not. Music is a complex system of sounds, melodies and rhythms that man has been discovering and developing to obtain an infinite number of different possibilities. It is estimated that music has great importance for human beings since it allows them to express fears, joys, feelings very deep of various kinds. Music allows you to channel those feelings and make the person alleviate her sorrows or make her joy grow depending on the case.

Expressions that expose who we are and the culture and traditions that surround us

As with many other forms of cultural expression, music is a way for human beings to express themselves and represent through them different sensations, ideas, thoughts. Thus, music is of vital importance not only for its beauty and aesthetic value (both two highly relevant elements with regard to the cultural heritage of a community or a civilization), but also as a support from which the human being can communicate with others and also with himself (since music can be enjoyed both socially and individually).

Part of what makes us human is music. All cultures, from the earliest civilizations to the most current, create music. In fact, musical instruments are among the oldest objects designed by man; There are finds, for example, of flutes that are 37,000 years old and probably even older. If we compare this with the reading and writing process that is no more than 35 thousand years old and there are even communities that unfortunately they still do not practice it, we can get an idea of ​​the meaning that music has in the evolution of the society.

There are theories that indicate that music is the evolutionary precursor of language, that is, the bridge between the cries and gestures of primates and our own communication in a more abstract sense.

Music and our brain.

Doctor Daniel Levitin, a neuroscientist specializing in music, states in his book "This is your brain in music" that this discipline affects many parts of the vital organ, in a very deep. Listening to a happy song, for example, can help lift our spirits, while a sad one will have the opposite effect.

Our brain interprets music in three different areas:

1. The rhythm is interpreted by the left frontal cortex, the left parietal cortex, and the right cerebellum.

2. Tone is processed in the prefrontal cortex, cerebellum, and temporal lobe.

3. Finally, letters are deciphered by Wemicke's area, Broca's area, the motor cortex, the visual cortex, and the areas corresponding to emotional responses.

4.In short, music stimulates almost our entire brain and influences the development of intelligence.

Positive health effects.

In the long term, music plays a very important role in our well-being, as follows:

1. Children who listen to music from a very young age have better verbal skills, become more creative and live happier.

2. Listening to our favorite songs helps reduce anxiety and reduce stress with all its negative effects.

3. It is an excellent support for pain relief.

4. It helps speed up the recovery process of the sick.

5. It makes us more positive people.

6. Experts affirm that those who have some type of musical education have better school performance.

7. Music is a universal language

Psychotherapist Paul Ekman suggests that all human beings share 6 basic emotions which are happiness, sadness, anger, surprise, disgust and fear. We may have different educations and languages, but these emotions make us human and music gives us the opportunity to express them. Music helps us to say the things that we cannot convey with words. If we feel joy, we need music, if we feel sadness too.

Another reason why music is important is that it is a phenomenon that allows knowing not only the individual or group of individuals that compose it but also the listener or the people who enjoy it, being able to then recognize their preferences, their type of character, their form of expression or their concerns because all these elements are reflected in the musical style, in the lyrics, in the melody, etc Thus, music can easily be a cultural symbol that sets not only individual standards if not also social with respect to the groups that follow this or that music and that they see represented in it their characteristics most relevant.

Why is it important to learn music?

To comunicate! The more we learn, the better we can express ourselves and the greater our understanding of what it means to be human.

Music should be learned from the earliest childhood, since children's brains are developing and it is the perfect time to encourage positive habits. The more variety of music they listen to and learn, the more versatile genres they will like as adults.

Finally, there is a social element in music. We enjoy it for the same reason that we like to eat, run and jump. Treating it as a frivolity leads us to be unhappy. Music gets under the skin, creates intense feelings and strong memories. There is nothing more basic than her and at the same time there is nothing more complex or beautiful.

Photos: iStock – Mehmet Hilmi / alvarez