The Relationship Of Music And Religion

Introduction

The relationship between Music and Religion is closely linked and is known as being a “complex and diverse” one. Music is commonly known for being a universal part of religion in a pleasurable way. For centuries music has been a huge part of the religious culture and has helped to ‘promote’ and ‘influence’ religion by engaging and embracing people in religion. An important reason why music is used in religion is to promote religious values by associating music with religious texts such as singing songs in God/s or Prophet/s names. Singing also shows a great deal of respect and appreciation for life and what happens after death depending on what you believe. For example, if you are christian you may sing songs sung within a church and are mostly related to God, Jesus or are about passages inside the bible. Music has the ability to deepen the meaning of words that accompany it, both in a religious context or even on your local radio station on your way to work. Music so important in religious society because by teaching children at a young age they can experience what it is like to be humble and forgiving towards one another with respect and kindness. The reason I chose this question was because from a young age I was interested in understanding how music has made an impact on religion and I was curious as to how other beliefs and cultures view this subject in their worships, certain celebrations and traditions. I am also exploring how music helps us spiritually and what makes hymns so important.

Celebrations and Traditions

Different religious are celebrated in different ways. In most faiths, music is used to express worship during festivals such as Christmas and Thanksgiving, celebrations, as well as rites of passage. In the Christian and Jewish traditions, many songs have been written for children so they can be used in prayers or have been written to give reason for particular celebrations. It is important that we try to find similarities in how we celebrate certain festivals and holidays so we can learn to understand those that we perceive as being different. An example of this is celebrations such as Sukkot (Judaism) and the Harvest Festival (Christianity) share many similarities, the main one being God is being thanked for the food grown. However the method of celebrating the festivals differs. Music is also used in other parts of religion such as doing meditation, holidays and for mourning.

Spirituality

Imagining a world without music can be very difficult. Music plays an important part in all our lives and we may choose to listen to for our own personal enjoyment from many different kinds of backgrounds, culture and history. Music is all around us and sometimes we might not even be aware of how much we are truly influenced by it all. One of the ways we do this is music often communicates with our emotions, culture, thoughts, transcending race and religion playing a vital role in the spiritual and emotional well being of our lives in relation to religion. Whilst some religions might say that they use music for praying or for worship, other religions might believe that music is taking away the attention of followers away from their God/Prophet or even seen as a devils tool.

Why are Hymns so important?

Hymns are important and sometimes considered sacred with regards to worshiping God/s. They often show respect and may be a solemn form of music filled with lyrics that are often sacred but are created to lift your spirit towards the worship of God. Throughout most church services different types of music are produced in different parts of the ceremony. For example, most churches in Nigeria celebrate thanksgiving and during this time they encourage people to do what’s known as “Dance Praises”.The purpose of this is to worship, singing and dancing while feeling encouraged to stand up and have some fun; to really feel the beat of the music whilst they pray to the lord and show gratitude and kindness to others.

Another form of worshiping with music that thrives in the Nigerian church are hymns which mostly lack lyrical content and have shorter verses which are repeated. Hymns are considered to be more sacred than songs. Therefore, songs that are used to worship can’t take the place of hymns in church worship and hymns are to be considered the benchmark of proper church music. Many religious “texts” have been written to be sung in the form of a hymn and not read.

Music in Worship

Music plays a vital role in worship because often people believe that music helps them to feel safe and calm during worshiping. Soft, soothing music playing in the background helps encourage relaxation and tranquility as well as being a way of life. As part of the Islamic culture, music is incorporated into their worship however the meaning of the music differs. Islamic music is more about their experiences and emotions to music whereas Christian music is more related to bible passages. An example of this is ‘the call’ which is an art that uses 29 tonal patterns and different rythms in their voices to create unique and interesting sounds in their music. The Quran is not only the primarily written word but is first of all the recited word of “Allah”, sounded with precision and acuracy. A number of different styles have been traced all the way back to their origins, to the teaching of ‘Mohammed’ and have been passed down through generations.

Throughout human history some religous behaviors have been found in musical articulation in most religious tradition. The primary carriers of the Sinhala traditional religion are drummers and dancers and the Navajo priests are mostly singers. The Shamans of northern Eurasia and Inner Asia use music as their principal medium of contact with the spirit world. For centuries, monks, priests and other specialists have sung the Christian masses, Buddhist pūjā s, Islamic calls to prayer, Hindu sacrifices, and other ceremonies that form the basis of organised religious observances in the world’s major religions.

Conclusion

In conclusion, music is a universal medium used is almost all religions. There are many similarities in the ways it’s incorporated into the religion as well as many differences. It is an essential and powerful element that enables worshippers to express their beliefs, their innermost thoughts and emotions. Music, when used sensitively, can create an atmosphere of worship, though if it is used insensitively the atmosphere can be destroyed. Composing music, taking part in the performance or simply listening and reflecting evokes a sense of spirituality.

Music Power And Brother Love In The Short Story Sonny’s Blues

The dictionary defines music as “sound in time that expresses ideas or emotions in significant forms through the elements of rhythm, melody, harmony, and color.” Music gives even the most silent people a voice and is known to be one of the few coping mechanisms that doesn’t have negative side effects. It is no surprise that music is a prominent feature in everyone’s life because of this. Whether a person plays or just listens to music it can, if you let it, heal you from the inside out. James Baldwin highlights music’s healing power through his character Sonny in his short story Sonny’s Blues. Although Sonny and his brother have a rocky relationship at the start of the story due to the pressure installed in the Narrator’s psyche by his mother, his growing relationship with music opens him to a new relationship with his brother, and himself.

To the narrator, jazz music represents his little brother being wrapped up in drugs and making poor decisions. Just after the death of the boy’s mother, Sonny confides in his brother that he really wants to become a musician. The Narrator, having a predisposed opinion on jazz music, therefore refuses to listen to his brother’s wishes. When Sonny comes to stay with him later in the story, he consistently infers as to his brother having a tendency to wrap music and drugs into the same package. He notes that Sonny’s friends ‘seem to shake themselves to pieces pretty…fast.’ (baldwin) Jazz music ends up dividing the brothers because of the Narrator’s unwillingness to see the value it has in Sonny’s life. For Sonny, music represents his freedom and passion. He is a talented musician, but his brother refuses to see that. Since his brother is so unwilling to accept the possibility of Sonny establishing himself in music, Sonny temporarily gives up on his goals in order to take a chance at pleasing his brother.

Music doesn’t affect everyone in the same way. For Sonny, music is an emotion outlet, but for the Narrator, it is the impetus for a relationship with his younger brother. The Narrator did not realize growing up that simple cues such as his mother singing gospel songs or passerbys whistling would all just be foreshadowing for his relationship with music and ultimately his brother. Sonny’s music is the main source of disagreements for the brothers. When the narrator asks Sonny what plans he has for the future while at their mother’s funeral, Sonny tells his brother: “I want to play with-jazz musicians” (Baldwin). The narrator dismisses Sonny’s dreams right off the bat and they continue to argue about it until parting ways. After letting music take such a toll on his relationship with his brother, Sonny is sad because he recognizes that his dream is a burden to the people he loves. His passion for music causes his brother a large amount of stress and pushes them apart.

Music is a huge source of conflict for these brothers yet, it also brings understanding. While Sonny is living with the Narrator, he invites him to attend one of his music concerts. Sonny is able to explain to his brother that music, is just a way to express his pain and release his fears and hardships. During the performance, the narrator comes to a realization that his brother has earned the respect of the people within the club because of his passion for music. He is a common figure among the people which brings a sense of comfort to the Narrator’s mind. Throughout the night, the Narrator watches his younger brother play music, and becomes part of aware of it’s meaning to Sonny.. He then understands that Sonny lets his problems emanate through his music and help him find inner peace. The narrator realizes that his brother is managing to also give back to the society while expressing himself. He says “And he was giving it back, as everything must be given back, so that, passing through death, it can live forever” (Baldwin). This experience brings the Narrator to understand Sonny’s personality. He is finally proud of Sonny as a musician.

Music is the only way for Sonny to express himself. Throughout the story he struggles to communicate with his older brother who refuses to listen to him. The Narrator ultimately rejects Sonny’s passion for music which leaves them with a very broken relationship. The first time that the Narrator truly hears Sonny is during the conversation the brothers have after witnessing the street revival. Listening to the honest and beautiful singing of one of the women has opened the brothers to each other and allowed them to communicate. More dramatically, the narrator’s moment of redemption occurs while finally listening to his brother play in the jazz club, Sonny’s music allows him to understand his brother’s struggles and through them understand his own.

James Baldwin highlights the difficult relationship these brothers have and how the narrator slowly begins to recognize Sonny’s relationship with music throughout the entirety of the short story. While the narrator is initially appalled by Sonny’s dream to become a musician, towards the end of this short story, he finally recognizes that Sonny is only able to express himself through his music and that it is his driving force in his life, and his passion. While the narrator is at first apprehensive about contacting Sonny after his dark past, and because the brother had lost touch over the years, he eventually reaches out to Sonny and gains insight into what Sonny had been doing during their estrangement. During that time, that the narrator recognizes that music is not only an artistic outlet for Sonny, but also provides an emotional and psychological outlet for him. He also acknowledges that, for those that listen to Sonny’s music, Sonny is their outlet.

Communication through music is not close to a new practice, many religions also use music as a form of expressing their devotion or coping with their struggles. Just as Christians use their gospels in order to communicate their faith and express their devotion to one another, Sonny uses his music to show not only his faith but furthermore express his pain. It is Sonny’s music that brings the Narrator to deal with his repressed feelings. It is not hard to see that without the Narrator deciding to step into the “light” (baldwin)and letting Sonny’s music resonated with him he never would have faced his pain. Without music these brothers never would have reconciled or made it away from their individual addictions. Music intertwines all of our lives together, these brothers discovered this first had.

Neuroscience and Music: Neurological Impacts on the Brain While Listening to Music

Imagine some 40,000 years ago, a vulture bone with precise and delicate holes along its length was used to play a tune by a human. In 2013, a recent archeology finds of this object most likely means that instruments have existed for thousands of years already. Neuroscientists can safely infer therefore that music is among the most ancient of human cognitive traits. This is one of the first steps towards researching the neuroscience of the brain on music and possibly answering why an individual may find music pleasurable or not.

Neuroscience is essentially the study of the all the sciences and how they deal with a structure or function with the nervous system or brain. To make it clear, the study of music through neuroscience is just another way to understand what music is. Music is a form of art, and art is a very hard thing to measure or understand and therefore neuroscience may help provide a better understanding of this phenomena.

In a journal article, written by Robert Zatorre and Valorie Salimpoor, called ‘From Perception to Pleasure: Music and Its Neural Substrates’, first look at the neurobiology of musical cognition. Both writers asked the question of how evolution may have specifically shaped the human auditory system, and what is the most characteristic of the way we use sound. An obvious answer would be that humans use sounds to communicate our emotions and mental representations. While taking this approach, one may say that music and speech can be thought of in the same way. Many other articles have taken this approach as well, which helps solidify that this approach may be the best approach towards researching the neuroscience of music.

Many factors must go into determining what music may be and how humans perceive music. Due to needing to research many known and unknown factors, researching neuroscience and music can be very difficult. Many scientists do their best in measuring the factors they thought of as most important in how it may affect the way humans understand music. Again, in the journal written by Zatorre and Salimpoor, they discuss the neuroscience behind perception, pleasure and reward and the connections they have to the way humans perceive music. Music evokes pleasure which is linked to reward, and studying musical pleasure gives a set of hypotheses that serve as a framework.

First, when looking at the neurobiology of the brain and music, it is useful to consider features of non-humane primate auditory cortex to help determine both homologies and unique properties. The primate auditory cortex is like visual and somatosensory systems in the sense that both are organized in a hierarchical manner. Core areas are surrounded by the belt and parabelt within the superior portion of the temporal lobe, which allows for corresponding patterns of feedback loops and feedback projections. A common organizational feature across species are the pathways starting in the core areas that have two eventual targets in separate areas of the frontal cortices and so are best thought of bidirectional. This architecture creates a series of functional loops that allow for integration of auditory information with other modalities. The superior portion of the temporal lobe main function is to process sensory information and derive it into meaningful memories, language, and emotions.

The frontal cortex controls important cognitive skills, emotions, language, problem solving. In essence, it controls our personality and our ability to communicate. “It has been shown that other cortical areas within or outside the temporal lobe are activated when listening to music or discriminating specific music components” (Avanzini, 2012, par. 18). Writers Zatorre and Salimpoor found the same thing when looking at neuroimaging of patients listening to music. Neuroimaging is a very important tool and has been shown to be profitable towards the research of neuromusic. When the superior portion and frontal cortices are active in patients listening to music, this means the brain is working to process the music through the patient’s past perceptions, memories and expectations. The frontal cortex holds all of a human’s past memories, using them to make sense of sounds they hear in the present. For example, when someone hears the word ‘hello’, the frontal cortices process that the word ‘hello’, through past experiences and memories that it is a way of greeting.

With what has been found through neuroimaging, it is still unclear as to how humans are able to distinguish speech and music from each other. A neuroimage from Avanzini’s book also shows that both the right and left hemisphere of our brains are working. Our right cerebral hemisphere specializes in pitch, with an accurate pitch mechanism both in perception and production. The left cerebral hemisphere specializes in speech sounds that do not require as great of accuracy in pitch tracking. It can be inferred that somewhere in the right hemisphere of our brain is where humans are able to distinguish speech from music.

Going back to considering features in a non-human primate auditory cortex helps better explain why humans may find pleasure and reward in music. “In the animal kingdom, the phylogenetically ancient mesolimbic reward system serves to reinforce biologically significant behaviors, such as eating, sex, or caring for offspring” (Zatorre & Salimpoor, 2013, par. 16). Reward is based off our need to survive. Animals have this mechanism to reward anything that helps the species be successful in surviving by releasing dopamine. “However, as animals become more complex, additional factors become important for successful survival” (Zatorre & Salimpoor, 2013, par. 16). For simple animals, factors that affect survival involve food, shelter, and reproduction, but for more complex animals like humans, making money is a factor that impacts how successful our survival is. Understanding how the reward system in our brains work helps give a clearer understanding of musically meditated pleasure.

In the world of neurobiology, a reward can be thought of as something that produces a hedonic sense of pleasure. This means that humans can derive a pleasurable sensation from behaviors that induce reward. in theory humans are able to understand the conceptual value of an abstract item that does not inherit reward value, like the reward value humans see in money, due to reinforcing qualities of secondary rewards. In line with this, stimuli that are conceptually meaningful and have little to no relevance with survival and yet many people obtain pleasure from these stimuli. A new question that the two writers, Zatorre and Salimpoor, now propose, is: ‘How does a seemingly abstract sequence of sounds produce such potent and reinforcing effects?’.

To answer this, understanding how the brain understands music is important. Physicist Burkhard Maess and colleagues at the Max Planck Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience in Leipzig, Germany, conducted an experiment that involved right-handed patients listening to five chords in the key of C major that ended, following a convention, on the tonic (C major) chord. The second and third chord sequences threw in a wild card: a ‘Neapolitan’ chord that contains two notes that are found in the key of C major. When inserted as the third in the five-chord sequence, this chord is a bit incongruous. What the experiment was measuring was how right-handed people’s brains would react to a set of chords, with the last chord being put into fifth position as the first four chords set an expectation of the ending of the tonic (C major) chord. With magnetoencephalography (MEG) to measure these responses from the set of chords, the team found the in-key chords mainly registered in the primary auditory cortex, but the incongruent set lit up areas above and in front of the temporal lobe, in the speech area, and its corresponding region on the right. This helps reinforce the theory that music and speech are related in neurobiology and can also help explain how the brain distinguishes the two. A possible explanation of why the speech area of the brain, also known as Broca’s area, and its right hemisphere mate lit up in the MEG because those two areas are given the responsibility of making sense of the wrong sounding notes in the last chord. The subjects in the experiment had no musical training and with these MEG results, this helps solidify existing evidence that the brain has an implicit ability to apply harmonic principals to music (Holden, 2001, par. 4). All of these findings help support other findings that music and language share the same brain regions when being processed. This brings to attention when talking about ‘language areas’ of the brain, it should not be taken at face value. These findings conclude the experiment by raising the question of what our brains areas are really doing. This part of neuromusic and neurobiology research is still yet to be understood completely by researchers and scientists but there are still many other questions that need to be answered.

Music seems to understand music through patterns of notes like a chord, which is what the experiment before uses a way to measure the brain’s activity. This idea opens the question that writers Zatorre and Salimpoor raise is: ‘Why do certain combinations of sounds seem aesthetically pleasant to humans, but not to other animals, even primates?’. Coming back to mesolimbic systems in humans and animals, it is found that many organisms have mesolimbic striatal regions, but the anatomical connectivity of these regions with the rest of the brain varies across species depending on the complexity of the brain. Furthermore, as animals become more complex, the concept of reward can take on different forms. This shows another way to approach the new question. First the writers define the music they are examining would be a sequence of sounds that have certain pitches and tones, and then play with the concepts of reward, perception, and pleasure, which is the main theme throughout their journal article. Since the regions that light up when music is being processed involve perception, there is a theory that when humans hear a sequence of sounds, several templates may be activated to fit the incoming auditory information. This process will inevitably lead to a series of predictions that may be confirmed or violated, and ultimately determine its reward value to the individual. The experiment done by Burkhard Maess uses a sequence of sounds, or chords to which they found their subjects creating expectations which were broken on the last chord. This is evidence that humans may have predictions when listening to music which correlates to reward and pleasure. These predictions seem to lead to activity in the mesolimbic striatal regions. The mesolimbic striatum has previously been associated with anticipation. Within the mesolimbic system, the dorsal striatum and prefrontal cortexes are involved in functions that help with relating information from earlier events, planning ahead, creating expectations, etc. These cognitive processes are highly significant in musical processing, which means it is likely that the mesolimbic system provides a mechanism for temporal nuances that rise feelings of anticipation and craving. Therefore, it is likely that the cerebral cortex and striatum work together to make predictions about potentially rewarding events and assess the outcome of predictions.

All the findings, theories, and evidence help neuroscientists better understand what our brains our doing when ingesting music. As well as what music may be and why it is pleasurable to humans although it is not necessarily something we may need to survive. There has only been 2 decades of research on the neuroscience of music, but the research has given opportunities for fields involved in science and neurology. Basic research shows that the field of music, physiology and cognition has an opportunity in creating individualized and precision medicine approaches. Music provides a tool to study numerous aspects of neuroscience.

The Healing Power of Music: Critical Essay

Ever since it was possible, humans have been finding ways to communicate and express their feelings, discoveries, and knowledge. One such popular form has been music. Although it is mostly associated with entertainment, music possesses a mental healing factor that has been utilized throughout the progression of history. In addition to traditional medicine, music therapy is an effective treatment option because of its proven use throughout human history, the effect music has on the brain, and its various, unique methods.

Before discussing the effects of music, it is important to understand what it consists of. Summarized by Carolyn Murrock and Abir Bekhet, music is the combination of five elements: rhythm, melody, pitch, harmony, and interval. Rhythm, the most fundamental attribute, is defined as the base pattern of sounds and silences that give structure to the music. Melody is the sequence and intensity of notes, whether sung or played. Pitch is the number of vibrations per second of a particular sound, additionally, this third component can determine whether the music is happy, high-pitched, or sad, low-pitched. The fourth factor, harmony, is the combination or blending of pitches to create distinct sounds such as chords. The final element, interval, is the time that elapses between each note thus giving depth to the melody. All of the above components combine together to create an endless combination of sounds called music (Murrock, 48).

Furthermore, the fusion of those five elements creates a product that has been created, reworked, studied, and critiqued since before the written record. Additionally, music has been used for its healing abilities even in early times. Many instances recorded in the Bible and other ancient writings acknowledge the soothing effects that it can have. The restorative and beneficial effects of music have also been utilized by people, including Judaic, Islamic, Indian, and Southeast Asian traditions. “[WWI], hospital workers noticed the healing of music… for troops recovering from physical and psychological trauma” (Engdahl, 184). Thus, people of different times, religions, and regions were able to reap the benefits of this alternative treatment or therapy.

However, it was not until the 1950s that the organized regulation and legitimacy of the trade were realized. The National Association for Music Therapy (NAMT) was founded in 1950 in response to a recognized need for a formal organization that could promote and further the development of the music therapy field. The creation of the NAMT led to legitimization and increased trust in treatments such as these. Another important step forward was the creation of the profession of a registered music therapist. This set a standard that all RMTs would be held to and created quality assurance for patients and employers. From then on, the trust and confidence put into these alternative therapies continued to grow. In addition to further research on music therapy techniques and effects, the creation of the International Journal of Music Therapy in 1983 further legitimized the field and availability of professionals. Sadly, even with this advocacy for music therapy, the field has remained somewhat hidden, with only whispers of information being circulated by the general public. Others believe that treatments such as these pose no actual benefit or results; however, with decades of research behind it, it is understood how music affects the brain and how that can be utilized for different treatment techniques.

Next, it is known that the human brain responds to and can be affected by music or the different elements that compose it. Another important factor, brought up by Alex and David Bennet, is the biological proof that music is, in a sense, made for us. These being: “(1) It is universal…, (2) It reveals itself early in life…, (3) It should exist in other animals…, (4) We might expect the brain to have specialized areas for music” (Bennet, 278). The above factors suggest that the brain is able to process, react, and change due to different collections of music. More specifically, research has led many to believe that music increases the function of certain parts of the brain, which can improve cognitive performance. An example of this was demonstrated by the Winston-Salem Triad Symphony Orchestra of North Carolina. A woodwind quintet was arranged to play two to three half-hour sessions per week to an underperforming elementary school’s first through third graders. After three years, the test scores of the students showed a substantial increase with 85% being above their grade level for reading and 89% for math (Bennet, 282).

Additionally, there have been more positive psychological effects tied to music. Carolyn Murrock and Abir Behket report that “continuous music training resulted in enhancement of cognitive control abilities in older adults and that early to midlife musical training enhanced late-life episodic and semantic memory” (Murrock, 50). These benefits are produced by the brain’s biological response to the combined attributes that create music. Secondly, it has powerful physiological effects. Several noticeable effects may include mood alteration, calmness, and distraction from uncomfortable stimulants. Other, usually hidden, effects also include reduced rate of breathing, heart rate, pain, and cortisol levels, leading to a reduction of stress. Music has these effects because of the wide array of the body’s systems it touches. In all, the body’s cardiovascular, respiratory, neuroendocrine, immune, autonomic, and neuropeptide systems can fluctuate based on the use of music. However, unlike the psychological effects music has on humans, the variety of vibrations that enter the ear and travel through different parts of the brain explain these many physiological wonders (Murrock, 50).

Furthermore, there are three different forms of using music to help heal someone; those three are music therapy, preferred music, and individualized music. Music therapy is specifically defined as “the controlled use of music and its influence on the human being to aid in the physiological, psychological, and emotional integration of the individual during treatment of illness or disability” (Murrock, 46).

In conclusion, alternative therapies, especially in today’s environment, have become more accepted and popular methods of treatment. This relates to not just music therapy, but countless other underappreciated, under-researched, or unpopular medical practices. With the countless number of diseases, illnesses, and accidents that affect millions, there is always room for new or unordinary practices that may aid in healing or recovery. Additionally, individual patients may react differently or more favorably to other treatments, or may even prefer one treatment as opposed to another. With this amount of uncertainty, it is necessary for new alternative therapies to be developed or for established ones to be advanced.

Evaluation Essay on Music

Abstract

My current knowledge of music and its effects is incredibly detailed as I have ADHD which is a mental health disability. Music from my understanding goes hand in hand with mental health, the factors that affect mental health decrease when surrounded by the right kind of music. The research needed to fill the gaps in my knowledge is to find the medical terminology to explain the links between music and how it affects a listener with mental health issues, I will also talk about the links between mental health, music, and drugs. Most people do not know that drugs have a massive part to play when it comes to mental health. Famous musicians that take drugs to help with the effects of mental health will be researched and documented for this dissertation.

Some of the questions I will be asking are why does music have a massive impact on mental health? Why is the mental health of male artists overlooked? I will be answering these questions because I feel very strongly about these statements. Mental health in music is blatantly overlooked the facts and figures all show that the deaths of old and young artists can be linked to their mental health state and that the pressures of stardom are overwhelming. Music can heal but can also destroy, so I will be addressing both sides of the argument.

Section 1: Why does music have a massive impact on mental health?

In the documentary Jamal Edwards explores mental health in the music industry ‘Musicians are three times as likely to suffer from depression and anxiety this here shows that the link between mental health and music is one that is very known in the industry. When asked about the troubles he faced Jamal talks about how he tried to deal with the change in lifestyle as he grew his brand and became more successful. Young Jamal who is now an MBE has worked through anxiety before realizing that it was okay for him to talk about what he is going through.

‘Sasha Keable, who is an artist, featured in the video talks about how she suffered terribly with depression that she deleted her social media accounts due to not being able to cope with the ongoing depression.’

‘Researchers found that music releases dopamine, the feel-good chemical in your brain. It also found that dopamine was up to 9% higher when volunteers listened to music that they enjoyed. It may be obvious to us, but this is strong evidence of the link between music and mental well-being.’

‘An article from the BBC states that music has a strong link to dopamine as a study, reported in Nature Neuroscience, found that the chemical was released at moments of peak enjoyment. Researchers from McGill University in Montreal said it was the first time that the chemical – called dopamine – had been tested in response to music. This article shows how research was conducted by Dr Vicky Williamson from Goldsmiths College; University of quoted ‘The research didn’t answer why music was so important to humans – but proved that it was. This paper shows that music is inextricably linked with our deepest reward systems.’

As I suffer from ADHD, which is short for Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, I’ve incorporated my experiences with music and how it has affected me. Music for me is an escape, I can express myself in a form that can help people understand my feelings and emotions. I am creative and I use my emotional state to produce music or DJ mixes. To me it is important to take people on a journey with the music I produce, I can say I’ve experienced all sides of music as it has helped me get through the darkest moments of my life. I have suffered from depression, self-harming, and dyslexia.

In the difficult times I faced I turned to music to help me refocus. Through the music I made people could see my cry for help as people understand the meaning behind the music, the creation was based on my emotional state therefore people were able to help me accordingly. I used music to cry out for help when I self-harmed, it helped me suppress the depression as I found myself using the energy from my emotions, I used music therapy to help me control the feelings of suicide and self-harm which helped me realize that I found a new way to use music in my everyday life.

To this day I use music to help me through tough times, music is pretty music my full-time career as I am a signed international DJ, music producer, and sound engineer. Having this pressure allows me to stay focused on producing the highest quality DJ mixes and has elevated my career to a different level. I have toured many countries and taken people on journeys throughout my DJ sets by using my ADHD to my advantage. Being a person who has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder helps me to take full advantage of my unmatched creativity as I’ve been studying music for eleven years.

Having a mental health disability comes with so many advantages, for example, I can think of creative ideas that no one would expect. Suffering from depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts must have been my toughest challenge in life so far. Being a student with learning difficulties and having to fight through the depths of depression by myself without help meant I built strong character, confidence, and a resilient mindset. Using music to build a fall safe to rely on when I need to let out anger or sadness.

Being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD) after coming out of a coma I took full advantage of music to help me recover. The way I took music in when having music therapy changed the way I live my day-to-day life as I now use music to help overcome situations in which my PTSD is triggered, for example, I freeze and have an episode when traveling on a train, but once I play music it shifts my concentration to the lyrics and beats of the song. Turning to music in situations where my body is in a state of immobility helps to take my mind off the situation body is in and helps me to move my focus on how to regain control of the state I am in.

‘Music therapy has been employed as a therapeutic intervention to facilitate healing across various clinical populations. There is theoretical and empirical evidence to suggest that individuals with trauma exposure and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), a condition characterized by enduring symptoms of distressing memory intrusions, avoidance, emotional disturbance, and hyperarousal, may derive benefits from music therapy. The current narrative review describes the practice of music therapy and presents a theoretically informed assessment and model of music therapy as a tool for addressing symptoms of PTSD. The review also presents key empirical studies that support the theoretical assessment. Social, cognitive, and neurobiological mechanisms (e.g., community building, emotion regulation, increased pleasure, and anxiety reduction) that promote music therapy’s efficacy as an adjunctive treatment for individuals with posttraumatic stress are discussed. It is concluded that music therapy may be a useful therapeutic tool to reduce symptoms and improve function among individuals with trauma exposure and PTSD. Music has increasingly become internationally recognized as an intervention to be employed with clinical populations. In the United States, the creation of the National Association for Music Therapy and the Certification Board of Music Therapists led to the standardization and emergence of accredited music therapy programs in the early 1950s. Music therapy is now nationally disseminated across a variety of settings including hospitals, youth centers, schools, and prisons (American Music Therapy Association; AMTA).’

The statement above ties in perfectly with my statement on how music helps me overcome my PTSD as the manuscript implies that music therapy is an effective form of treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, it does show the uses of music in other ways, not just to help with health issues but also to help criminals in prison. The use of music in therapy has been in action since the 1950’s according to the American music therapy association.

‘The use of Binaural beats is a type of auditory beat stimulation believed by some to have many potential benefits, including improved concentration and increased calmness. A binaural beat happens when you listen to a sound at a certain frequency with one ear and a sound at a different but similar frequency with your other ear. Your brain produces a sound with the frequency of the difference between the two tones.

A very small 2010 pilot study Trusted Source of 20 children with ADHD did yield some promising results. The study looked at whether listening to audio with binaural beats a few times per week could help reduce inattention compared to audio without binaural beats. While the results suggest that binaural beats didn’t have a big impact on inattention, participants in both groups reported having fewer difficulties completing their homework due to inattention during the three weeks of the study.

Research on binaural beats, particularly on their use to improve symptoms of ADHD, is limited. But many people with ADHD have reported increased concentration and focus when listening to binaural beats. They may be worth trying if you’re interested.’

The statement above talks about the use of binaural beats which is when you hear two tones, one in each ear, that are slightly different in frequency, your brain processes a beat at the difference of the frequencies. This kind of study has shown that ADHD and music can be described as two peas in a pod. Mental health has a direct link with music and the factors that music provides to suppress the impacts and effects of mental health. People now realize that music can benefit them in multiple ways.

‘The majority of reviews conclude that music interventions have a positive effect on pain, mood, anxiety, or depressive symptoms in both children and adults in clinical settings. This suggests a positive association in line with epidemiological research and potentially a causal relationship. It is important to note that most of the music interventions described in these studies have been tailored to address the individually assessed needs of a client by a music therapist, which differs significantly from self-initiated musical engagement in daily life. Furthermore, as pointed out in most of these reviews, it is difficult to draw firm conclusions about the protective effect of music due to the mixed quality of many of the conducted studies, i.e., studies had small samples, suffered from bias due to methodological issues, and there was great variability among the results of the studies.

In summary, the direction of the association between musical engagement and mental health is still unclear with powerful population-based research still failing to establish a relation unequivocally. Furthermore, it seems that differentiating between active amateur and professional musicians might explain the discrepancy. On one hand, research is reporting beneficial effects of music in everyday life on mental health, and on the other hand the high rate of depression and suicides among professional musicians.’

This statement above is accurate in stating the links between music, depression, and the mental health between musicians and artists. This statement also suggests that there isn’t a direct link between music and mental health, but the countless deaths from mental health in the music industry are not something that has gone unnoticed. Many young musicians have died in the last couple of years from the lack of acknowledgment that mental health is an issue in music.

Section 2 Why is the mental health of male artists overlooked?

The last two years have been the most difficult time for the whole world due to the pandemic, but the biggest sector hit was the music industry as no artists were able to perform or go on tours nor were they able to perform at festivals. This resulted in a major spike in mental health-related issues within the music community, there are four male artists for every one female artist, and in what is a primarily male-dominated industry it is irrational to even suggest that male artists would be suffering more than their female counterparts but the fact of the matter is that male mental health isn’t taken as seriously due to society.

The effects the pandemic had on my mental health were life-changing, I lost all motivation to produce music, and record DJ mixes as I lacked the freedom to go outdoors to explore, which is how I find the inspiration for my ability to flourish. The world was on lockdown and so was my mind along with my creativity, the lack of socialization combined with not being able to DJ, my wedding bookings both domestically and internationally is where I was hit the hardest, not only losing out on money but the joys of being able to perform in new countries. I usually travel a handful of times each year to either carry out international residencies or international weddings, not being able to do that for two years not only left me depressed but also wondering if my career would ever be the same again.

Social media for an artist is a vital part of their career as it is how we interact with the world and potentially our next clients, not being able to upload content or vlogs of me doing what I love impacted me as I felt confined to my house, being a social butterfly, I normally headed out to social events to interact with potential clients and performed 5 days a week sometimes even 7 to 18 days back-to-back. Men have such a stigma around how they should and should not act.

[IX] ‘There is a key aspect to the mental health debate that is often overlooked, though, for men. There is a rule in our society that ‘men don’t cry,’ which is a form of toxic masculinity. Shamed and often looked down upon for showing emotions, men have been deprived of a vital outlet for taking care of their mental health. It’s important now more than ever to tackle this destructive stigma. Illnesses such as depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder do not discriminate based on an individual’s gender identity.’

With each passing day, the suicide rate of men in America grows exponentially. In 2017, for every 100,000 people in the U.S., there was an average of 5.73% female suicides to 20.27% male suicides. Every day, young boys internalize the notion that boys are supposed to be stoic and strong and keep their emotions in check. How is this fair? Women are encouraged to talk about their feelings and mental health, while men are criticized for sharing struggles or showing emotions.’

The reference above pulls upon my point about the mental health of males as the article says, ‘Men don’t cry,’ this saying is the reason men and I do not like to open up about the struggles we face, mental health is why over 300 male musicians and artists have committed suicide from having their mental health neglected. Over 20.27% of men out of 100,000 people committed suicide in the USA alone in 2017. ‘The figure for suicides in 2020 for the USA was 45,979 according to the American Foundation for suicide prevention, that in 2020, men died by suicide 3.88x more than women. This could be down to a variety of reasons as to why those men committed suicide.’

‘A documentary featuring Rag’n’Bone Man and members of Portishead and Idles is encouraging men to discuss their mental health. Man Down focuses on men working in the music industry and covers topics such as isolation, depression, and suicide. Anthony Mackie, an MC from Bristol who tried to take his own life, said: ‘Something needs to change’. The Help Musicians charity says 70% of musicians experience anxiety and or depression. Gemma Jennison, director of the film and founder of the Man Down Program, said male musicians were at high risk of experiencing serious mental health issues. Official government statistics show suicide as the biggest killer of men under 65, with males accounting for three-quarters of the suicide deaths in Wales. ‘I wanted to look at what the trends were and why men were struggling. ‘I decided that in order to do that music industries needed to be held accountable or have discussions openly about what they did with artists or with any of their staff about wellbeing. ‘She said the film came about as a way of capturing men’s experiences for a new training program.’

The extract above from the BBC documentary called man down furthermore backs my point on how men’s mental health is overlooked, as the show encourages men to speak up when it comes to how their mental health is doing. Rag’n’Bone Man is a multi-platinum record-selling artist who is involved with the documentary along with a few other big artists, they open up about the struggles they faced, one quote from Rag’n’Bone Man from the documentary that hit home was when he said, ‘It’s not as simple as that, but I can promise anyone that watches the film, once you break that seal, things can change.’ After watching the documentary and listening to what the artists said they suffered, I could relate to everything they said about how the pressure got to them, they talked about how they were affected by being overwhelmed by their career taking off so quickly which led to them feeling like they cannot talk to the loved ones about the challenges they are facing.

The Effects Of Music To The Human Body

People’s mood, intelligence, motivation, and concentration are all important factors to one’s life. In order to do successfully at school or to do a job properly, people must have these qualities; and with the help of music, everybody’s mood, intelligence, motivation and concentration can be increased. Music has always been known to increase the ability of learning through children and elderly people. Music has an effect on the human through an increase in test scores, mental health, and physical help.

Listening to soft music prior to something being graded, has been proven to increase scores. Listening to music that’s soft and delicate over nothing at all will boost scores on test. According to Harvard University, they administered standard IQ test questions to three groups of college students, comparing those who had spent 10 minutes listening to a Mozart piano sonata with a group that had been listening to a relaxation tape and one that had been waiting in silence. Mozart was the winner, consistently boosting test scores.

Harvard has proved that listening to classical music before being tested on something helps boost scores while listening to nothing does nothing to the mind of a student. Music not only increases scores, in also increases the moods of people.

Depression in teens is increasing everyday day. Bright, cheerful music can make people of all ages feel happy, energetic, and alert, and music even has a role in lifting the mood of people with depressive illnesses. Again, according to Harvard, An authoritative review of research performed between 1994 and 1999 reported that in four trials, music therapy reduced symptoms of depression, while a fifth study found no benefit. A 2006 study of 60 adults with chronic pain found that music was able to reduce pain, depression, and disability. And a 2009 meta-analysis found that music-assisted relaxation can improve the quality of sleep in patients with sleep disorders. Studies prove that music helps reduce depression along with other issues people have. Music helps mental health, so it can also help physical health.

Physical health is important to everybody. Nobody wants to be sick for days, weeks, months, or years long. Music in a person’s life can help their body in different ways. According to Medical News Today, The finding of music to physical health came from the first-large scale review of 400 research papers in the neurochemistry of music which found that music can improve the function of the body’s immune system and reduce levels of stress. Music has been proven to in some way help bodies of many people.

Music helps the human body in many different ways including the learning of someone, the mental health of a person, along with the physical health.

The Correlation Of Music And Curing Mental Illness

Music takes on several different roles in our society today. Whether it be accompanying you on your daily commute, setting the scene for what is about to happen in a movie, or providing motivation to power through a workout, music can be found virtually anywhere for various reasons. Aside from these simple, everyday situations that music is a part of, it is also responsible for altering one’s state of mind. Listening to an upbeat, cheery song on the way to work can start you off on a good note for a great shift. Hearing deep, ominous music in a scary movie can prepare you for the chilling scene that is about to happen. Playing a song with fast tempos and heavy percussion can inspire you to finish those last two pushups. As we can see, music has the power to enhance one’s attitude and help them persevere through the day. For some people, music is relied on to change their current state of mind from negative to positive. Music has been scientifically and emotionally proven to treat patients who have been diagnosed with anxiety and depression disorders because of its therapeutic qualities.

Before looking into specific cases of individual’s personal reactions to music and their mental illness, it would be best to look at the scientific proof behind it. The brain is a very complex organ that is responsible for everything we do, think, say, and feel. For some individuals that have an imbalance of certain chemicals in their brain, they can feel unhappy and empty or worried and uneasy. A severe imbalance of brain chemicals can lead to depression and anxiety. However, music can change a person’s mood by triggering a particular part of the brain which could make them feel more positive. An article written by Patrik Vuilleumier and Wiebke Trost called “Music and Emotions: from Enchantment to Entrainment” discusses the effects that music has on a person’s brain by performing positron emission tomography (PET) scans and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) on patients to monitor their brain activity. According to the article, “Pioneer studies using positron emission tomography (PET) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have consistently shown that pleasurable music activates brain regions usually responding to other pleasures… areas” (Vuilleumier and Trost 212). In other words, this quote shows that listening to an enjoyable type of music has the same effect on your brain as participating in activities that you like. Patients with depression could benefit quite greatly from listening to music they appreciate because it arouses part of the brain that could, at least temporarily, help them feel more positive. This goes to show that not only is music a great use of pastime, it actually gets part of your brain working.

While an individual might not be able to feel a particular part of their brain being activated, they can definitely feel the emotions that result. Most often times people think a song will either make you feel happy or sad, however, that is not the case. Music brings out several other emotions according to Vuilleumier and Trost. They wrote, “These emotion categories include emotions investigated in other domains, such as joy and sadness, but also… wonder, tenderness, nostalgia, tension, power, peacefulness, or transcendence” (Vuilleumier and Trost 213). These feelings are much more in depth that simply feeling good or bad. For an individual with depression to feel power by listening to music is very important. Depression causes people to feel very out of touch with themselves, however, by feeling powerful, even for a slight moment, helps them feel like they are in control of their lives. Similarly, patients suffering from anxiety have the chance to escape their common feelings of overthinking and uneasiness with peacefulness. Peace is the exact opposite of what anxiety patients feel in their daily lives, so to be able to restore that so easily with music could be essential to them.

After establishing scientific background and proof, it is important to look at specific cases in which music helps soothe mentally ill patients. Pre-teenagers and teenagers are very vulnerable in today’s society making them easy targets for depression and anxiety. Many deal with school, work, financial crisis at home, and numerous other factors that affect their mental health. A study has been conducted on 9-17-year-olds which track their self-reported answers to questions about their feelings before and after music therapy sessions. According to the article by Kim Archambault, “Our evaluation showed that participation in individual MAP sessions was associated with systematic reductions in self-reported general negative affect and state anxiety” (Archambault 396). This information is important because it demonstrates that individuals are feeling fewer undesirable emotions. If a patient can specifically point out that they feel less anxious, it is a major improvement. Additionally, showing young people a form of therapy that is easily accessible and affordable will benefit them because they can take action on their own to improve their mental health.

As important as it is that youth get treatment for their anxiety and depression, it is equally as important for adults as well. The rates of depression are more prevalent in women than men so it is important to look at how women can use music as a means of therapy. It is first of all imperative that women take care of their mental health because they are potential mothers or mothers-to-be (Najmeh and Biat). This means that women need to be in the right mental health space in order to properly care for a child. If a woman is not taking care of herself mentally, chances are it would be difficult for her to look after a child as well. By looking at the bigger picture, we see that a woman has a great impact on society because her child will be a part of the future, therefore it is important she protects her mental health. A study was performed on women who have been diagnosed with depression. The study was conducted by participants completing a questionnaire before and after they listened to music. Najmeh Hamid’s and Ali Biat’s article “The Effectiveness of Music Therapy on Depression and Happiness of Depressed Women” states, “Overall, the results of this study showed that music therapy significantly reduced depression in depressed women… Also, the level of happiness of depressed women after music therapy has increased” (Najmeh and Biat). Similar to the study performed on the youths, listening to music decreased the feeling of depression. This statement only reinforces the idea that music works as a form of therapy for not only minors but for adults as well.

After discussing the results of music therapy on patients categorized as having anxiety, it is necessary to look as a specific type of anxiety. Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder in which the individual constantly obsesses over every single detail to the point that it begins to negatively affect their everyday life. These individual’s lives are constantly disrupted because they are chasing after their perception of perfection whether it be everything being in their place, taking a certain number of steps, or overly washing their hands so much they hurt themselves. A book called Developments in Music Therapy Practice: Case Study Perspectives looks at specific cases of different individuals and evaluates the effect of music therapy on them. Chapter 28 of this book looks at a man named Kyle who is diagnosed with OCD. Kyle’s OCD is displayed through his occupation as a physician for ten-hour days, six days a week. He works obsessively and is never satisfied with the work he has done. He also does not take the chance to appreciate any of his achievements because he is constantly striving to do better. This stems from an emotionally abusive childhood where his parents always criticized him. The book states, “I asked Kyle to tell me if he had had even one positive, quiet moment by himself within the last few years. He had not, but he had had a vacation with his wife…a thought which Kyle found pleasant” (Meadows 492). This quote demonstrates that Kyle had not been able to find peace in anything for quite some time. However, he recognized one specific time that was enjoyable. After making him think of this moment, Kyle was instructed to listen to a serenade as he painted what he felt. When he was complete Kyle reported feeling “involved” and “focused.” These two emotions are not things typically felt in OCD patients, especially Kyle who felt disconnected from life and never accomplished. It was the combination of a memory and the soothing sounds of the song he listened to which finally led him to a breakthrough. In other words, music therapy led a man who, for many years, felt nothing to finally feel positive. This is beneficial to his mental health because he is now aware of what he can do to feel better. The chapter also states that Kyle was a wealthy, educated individual. This is important because though he had what is thought to be essential in today’s society, he could not mentally find happiness. However, all it took was a few music therapy sessions to help him find stability in his life.

In conclusion, music therapy has proven to be very beneficial in treating individuals diagnosed with mental illnesses. Scientifically, the same part of the brain that is activated during pleasurable and rewarding activities is also activated when hearing music. Additionally, there are very complex emotions that individuals feel other than just happiness and sadness which can lead to a better understanding of oneself. Several studies discussed throughout the paper have demonstrated that music therapy benefits people from all different ages and gender. Youths diagnosed with depression and anxiety self-reported positive feelings after a music therapy session. Women also reported feeling mentally better after a session. Specifically, a male patient diagnosed with OCD felt positive emotions he has not felt in years after listening to music. All of these cases support the idea that music therapy works wonders for people will depression and anxiety. Because music can be accessed so easily, mentally ill patients can help themselves feel more positive virtually anywhere for practically no cost. Music is nothing more than a compilation of sounds from different frequencies. However, it holds so much power over humans. Based on the way a piece is arranged, people can feel relaxed, scared, excited, or worried. According to Najmeh’s and Biat’s article, “From the beginning of history, humans have used music to heal. In the primitive culture of Africa and its ancient tribes (the witch doctor) was the music leader, the physician and cleric of the tribe” (Najmeh and Biat). This goes to show that music has been used from the beginning of time as a means of healing. With the new advancement of technology today, there is no doubt music can continue to help those in need of its healing.

How Music Helps Mental Health Essay

Dr. Debasish Mridha states, “Music can heal the wounds which medicine cannot touch.” Search the benefits of harmonized that you never knew because it is not just melody, tune, or lyrics, but it has a soul. Music has become our friend since the first time we knew it, and perhaps we knew since we still a child. When we are happy, we enjoy playing rock songs, but when we are sad, the mellow song is the best way to entertain us. It is like magic; our mood becomes good. However, the advantage does not stop there. Many researchers found that music has benefits to medical treatment. To treat mental illness, you should listen to music because it reduces depression and anxiety disorders.

Firstly, the melody and harmony of a song offer a cure for sufferers of depression. Music clears our minds. When we have many problems and burdens that we cannot bear, it helps us to relax our brains. The harmony then comes as our friend that is calming, comforting, and encouraging mentally. The lyrics contained are the soul of encouragement, while the instruments are the soul of tranquility. Music reduces the traumatic. Deep problems often provide deep trauma for sufferers of depression. The most severe thing is this cause can bring patients to a disease called Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). According to the National Institute of Mental Health, patients with this disease often feel excessive stress, shock, and afraid of the terrible events that they have experienced. Harmony works by diverting attention from negative thoughts and improving mood. The mechanism that music produces in the brain creates calm and makes patients feel better. Besides music clears our mind and reduce our traumatic, it also can regulate our emotions. Music with soft tones-for examples, classic or jazz songs can reduce blood pressure and creates a serene mood in a patient. Therefore, patients that are depressed can feel better and return to normal.

Moreover, the instrument of melody that made by a musician is a therapy for those who have anxiety. Music can develop their self-confidence. The inspire lyrics uplifting the patient to believe that they can overcome the concern that they experience. It is like motivation that is built from the mind. Cheerful and upbeat melodies also erase their fears -for example, rock music. This is related to their psychology which becomes more relaxed because of their heart rate decrease. Sounds that are pleasant creates a comfortable emotion to develop a relationship. The Anxiety and Depression Association of America explains, there are roughly 15 million American adults encountering a social anxiety disorder. Therefore, singing then offers relaxation through the rhythm that makes social uneasiness decline. Anxiety sufferers will enjoy starting a conversation with those around them if they feel safe. The desire to create beautiful songs provides an opportunity for anxiety sufferers to find out and share ideas with others. Music helps the patient to express their feelings. Not only to be heard, what they think and what they feel can also be poured into a lyric or melody. When they succeed in creating a song and getting praise from people around them -for example, parents, close friends, or relatives, they will become brave to express what they feel. People who suffer from anxiety tend to work alone, for this reason, music then becomes a media for them to share their feelings and eliminate their fears.

To conclude, if you do not want to feel stress and angst disturbance, then music is the best way for you. It will provide you serenity and comfort. Learning to reduce these disturbances will give you a long life. Do not wait too long and allow these disturbances to become severe. Also, do not let these torture the people around you. Let us encourage them to do music therapy. Listening to music can be done easily, anytime, and anywhere. You do not need to pay a lot to listen to one song. Therefore, what are you waiting for?

Music Therapy As An Effective Treatment To Support Hong Kong Pupils

You may be a little bit confused when having a glimpse of this topic, I guess most Hong Kong citizens do the same. Generally speaking, music therapy is not a hot topic in Hong Kong, but music actually is a good medium to assist patients. This treatment involves three types: music programs, passive and active music therapy. (Gold et al., 2011). I believe that music therapy should be introduced in Hong Kong mainstream schools as a new methodology to improve the health conditions of pupils. In the following paragraphs, I will present the reasons behind in both specific and general aspects: they are offering help to SEN students, enhancing the mental health level of Hong Kong pupils, and is more effective than the existing mental health supports in mainstream schools.

To start with, music therapy is able to aid students with special educational needs (SEN students), especially students with Autism and Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD), which is worth implementing to Hong Kong mainstream schools. The illnesses of students with Autism and SPD are quite similar, and students with SPD are very likely to have Autism. They have relatively weaker social skills when interacting with others, they are shy and may not speak much to others they are unfamiliar with. The feature of music therapy is that music and the sensory system are both linked to people’s nervous systems (Simhon, Elefant & Orkibi, 2019). Creating and listening to music stimulate patients’ multisensory networks and sensory systems (Sharma, Gonda & Tarazi, 2018). Music has positive influence on Autism and SFD patients. According to The Cochrane Collaboration, this organization has revised its review in 2006 on music and Autism, which has shown evidence that music therapy may help Autism students to improve social interaction and communication skills, etc., which enable them to communicate with others in the society better (Sharma, Gonda & Tarazi, 2018). Besides, music therapy can also improve the communication and social skills of students with SPD (Esteves et al, 2009). These results have shown that music therapy assists students with Autism and SPD to perform better socially. Talking more specifically, I will talk about two specific types of music therapies. One is music-based speech therapy, as they have hindrances in communication, this therapy can help them to supersede this defect and may prompt them to speak more with others (Schlaug et al, 2009). Another kind of music therapy is wind instrument, which has shown that wind instrument can help reducing fright and anxiety of Autism students (Hoelzley, 1991). In addition, nowadays, there are an amount of SEN students studying in mainstream schools in Hong Kong, this may due to their parents’ objections, or shortage of special schools. However, mainstream schools may not have enough resources to help these students who require special educational needs, and the corresponding oppressive environment in mainstream schools setting may exacerbate the health conditions of these students. So, music therapy will be an alternative choice to help SEN students, and can improve their conditions as well.

Besides, music therapy can enhance the mental health level of Hong Kong’s children and adolescents, which should be introduced in Hong Kong mainstream schools. Nowadays, the psychological status of Hong Kong students worried people a lot. Children and teenagers having internalizing disorders like anxiety and depression are commonplace in Hong Kong, the environment in Hong Kong makes students feel extremely stressful and oppressive, this can be proved by studies. According to a cross-cultural study, the anxiety scores of Hong Kong students were significantly higher than that of adolescents in Germany (Yuen, Liu & Tse, 2019). The most important affecting factor is academic stress, the comprehensive study environment in Hong Kong is very oppressive, achieving academic success and possess a bachelor’s degree is equivalent to ‘winners’ in Hong Kong culture. Take HKDSE as an example, most secondary six students have to attend HKDSE this public examination in Hong Kong, they have lots of pressure, they may set the goals that they want to achieve for themselves, meanwhile, they may have to fulfill their parents’ expectations, which has shown anxiety symptoms on secondary six students (Yuen, Liu & Tse, 2019). Having unsatisfied mental status can lead to severe issues. Take the student suicides cases as an example, there are 36 student suicides cases in 2016, while in the past 10 decades, the average annual student suicides numbers per year are 20 cases, we can see that the data in 2016 has increased sharply (Yuen, Liu & Tse, 2019). Also, a recent survey conducted among primary school students by a local nongovernmental organization found that 9.7% of the interviewees had two of the main symptoms of depressive disorder (Yuen, Liu & Tse, 2019). The situation is alerting Hong Kong government to take actions to deal with the problem. Music therapy may be a good consideration, according to the study, music-based interventions might be advantageous in assisting youth with internalizing symptoms, music is a good medium to help students relaxed, get rid of studying for a while, enable them feel less anxious and less tensed, not pushing themselves so harsh, which may have side effects. According to the study, music therapy is an effective intervention, youths who receive this treatment has recorded in a reduction of internalizing symptoms (Geipel, Koenig, Hillecke, Resch and Kaess, 2018). This shows that music therapy is an effective way to students in Hong Kong.

Some people may argue that music therapy should not be promoted to Hong Kong mainstream schools, because it is not a very well-established profession, it is more like the complement of other treatments, like psychological therapy. (Geipel, Koenig, Hillecke, Resch & Kaess, 2018). Besides, as nowadays, in Hong Kong, there is at least one social worker in each mainstream school to help with the students’ psychological problems already, so it may not be necessary to implement music therapy in schools. However, I am afraid that I may not agree with this opinion, because in terms of effectiveness, social workers may not be effective at all, and I think it is worth giving music therapy a try. Social workers solving students’ mental problems are ineffective in mainstream schools, which can be supported by the statistics of students’ suicide cases and internalizing symptoms aforementioned. Also, nowadays, we are still listening to so many news about students’ suicide cases nowadays, the situation seems do not have any improvement. The reasons of this circumstance are that some students may not want to reveal their sadness in front of social workers, some of them may think that social workers are always spreading out some positive messages to them, which are not very usual to them. Most importantly, some articles have revealed that ‘positive energy can actually kill people’, social workers are always spreading lots of philosophies on life to students, although they want to encourage students, this is very likely to exacerbate the mental health problems of pupils. So, I think that Hong Kong government should try to adopt another methodology to deal with the existing situation, and music therapy is worth considering.

All in all, music therapy should be implemented in Hong Kong mainstream schools, as it can help students with special learning needs to enhance social skills and skills apply to getting along with others, this is also an effective method which can make Hong Kong’s study environment less stressful and less oppressive.

How Music Education Improves Mental Health

Many argue that music classes in schools are useless to students. Some parents believe that their kids need standard classes such as Language Arts and Math. These parents do not realize the tremendous mental benefits that music classes have. Most students are stressed while they are at school. The amount of schoolwork given, level of difficulty, and extracurriculars can bring anxiety to many if not all students. Music classes are proven to boost the mental health of students. Due to the benefits that music has on people, an occupation has been created to share the wonderful benefits of music. This occupation is music therapy, which is one of many music occupations in the world. Music therapy is used in hospitals, nursing homes, and many other places because of all of the benefits. Some of the benefits that music education presents include being less stressed and anxious, having a group of people that have the same interests, and improved mood.

Listening to music causes people to relax and calm down. Students become stressed with all the school work that they are dealing with on a daily basis on top of after school activities, work, family issues, and much more. If students had at least one period out of the day where they could release their stress, their mental state would be more positive. There have been studies to show that students who are in music classes are less anxious than students who only take standard classes throughout their school day. This does not mean that music students are not still anxious, but they are less anxious than they would be. All of the schoolwork that is given to students can overwhelm them and create anxiousness and worry. Music calms people down and lowers nervousness. This is why there are different genres of music. Different types of music can make people feel different emotions. For example, a person might listen to dark and sorrowful music when they are feeling down or listen to happy and fast-paced music when they are feeling joyful. Music can influence these moods.

Many students feel as though they cannot find a group of people that fits in with their interests or personality type. Personally, I have made the most friends through my music classes and music activities such as choir, symphonic band, and the musical. Within these music classes are people who share the same love for music and often just click with one another. The more positive friends one has, the happier they are. This will decrease anxiety and depression in students. The people who are involved in music classes might never meet if their school does not offer any music classes. This is an opportunity for students to branch out and meet people outside of the same few they see almost every class period in their regular classes. This will expand the amount of friends that students will make, which will boost their school experience. Nobody wants to feel left out or alone. There is not one person on this planet that does not want a friend. As humans, we naturally desire to feel loved. The more friends we have, the more loved we feel. These classes create a wide range of people that we hang out with. The more people we know in our school, the more we will feel like a family and motivate one another in the classroom. This can also increase our school spirit. The more united we are as a school, the more school spirit we will have.

As stated in the last paragraph, the more positive people one is surrounded by, the more positive that person will be. Music also causes endorphins to be released which are chemicals released in your body that makes you happier. Endorphins are what are released when a person works out. Music has this same powerful effect. Music is so powerful that it can influence a person’s mood. For example, when one hears the song Taps, they become emotional. There are types of music that can make people happy and cheerful. Music is also powerful enough to help students to concentrate. Certain types of music can cause people to concentrate or become calm and relaxed. In my opinion, all students need to feel relaxed and stress-free when they are in a work environment for seven hours a day, five days a week. Students should feel relaxed and ready to take on any assignment given to them.

Music therapy was influenced by the Civil War. This time was so emotional that musicians would play music to the soldiers to help them out of their time of grief of losing a fellow soldier or to give the soldiers still living hope. Music therapy was turned into an occupation and is now used in hospitals, nursing homes, substance abuse facilities, hospices, special education, and mental practice. If music is this powerful and has this great of an effect on people, then we should provide our students with these same benefits to help them to succeed. Students can still get the same benefits from their other classes while also taking music classes. I have the most credits in music classes and I will have one year done of college, walk at Ivy Tech, and graduate with a Core 40 with Academic Honors. Taking these music classes have helped me to be calm and collected with all of my after school activities. Music has such a tremendous and positive effect on people and will help make students successful. When people get involved in music, their mindset changes into motivation. When motivated, students will produce their best work.

Some parents may want their kids to be in all standardized classes so they can get more education. They think that the music periods are just a blank period for the students to do whatever they want. This is very inaccurate. Students can learn about the history of music, how to count rhythms, how to properly sing, and so much more in music classes. Some students may be wanting to go into a career involving music after high school, so taking these music classes could be just as beneficial, if not more beneficial than standard classes. Music classes are used to teach students about music and not to slack off from their schoolwork. In fact, music classes give out homework just like regular classes do. These classes are not as uptight as regular education classes, but still these students are learning. The material that they are learning could still help them in their lives. Such as how to use music to cope with stress, use the information that they have learned to carry with them in a music field, or by just knowing the history of music. Some schools offer early career classes for nursing, education, ect. This is another reason why music classes should also be offered for those who want to make a career out of music.

Many people don’t understand how beneficial music classes are. When music classes are provided, students are more motivated, more relaxed, and enjoys school a lot more than if they did not have music classes. Some students may need the music classes to help them in their future if they are wanting to be in a career that involves music. Jobs have been created to spread the amazing benefits that music brings to people. Being in music classes involves being on stage to perform whether it is band, choir , or the drama club. This can help boost the self-confidence of students. If the students are wishing to go into a field where they need to speak publicly in front of others or be on stage, then these experiences will help them to prepare and be successful. The students will be used to being on stage and will not be afraid when they have to perform or if a speech in front of strangers. These people will already be one step ahead from those who have not heard on-stage experience.

Music education increases creativity and involves a new way of thinking about this can help to expand the mind and increase creativity in the classroom and in other situations such as problem-solving when conflicts arise. This will help her to create more well rounded students who have the life skills needed for their future careers. These skills can also be applied not only within careers but also in life. Conflicts arise every day and we need to be able to problem solve and have creative ways of thinking to solve conflicts. Everyone needs these skills to succeed in life, yet parents do not want their students to be enrolled in music classes. A lot of parents just focus on learning standardized information while music classes also teach much more and off for a period for students to relax during their school day. Personally, music has helped me to have a relaxing period throughout my day, make new friends that I never would have met before without music class and music extracurricular activities, learn more about the history of music, learn about music theory, made me have a place to meet people with the same interests as I do, and influenced what I want my career to be in the future. Music classes has shaped me into the person I am today and has caused me to grow in love with music even more than I already was. I have always loved music and I do not know what I would have done if I did not have any music classes offered at my school.

Play music classes are my favorite part of my day. They help me to relax And get a fresh mindset that before returning to my standardized classes. These music classes have reduced the feelings of being anxious, nervous, or overwhelmed by all of the schoolwork we are given. I believe that all students should have the option to be a part of these beneficial music classes. Since I was taught how to properly sing in my music class at school, I can audition for music scholarships based on how well my vocal performance is. If I did not have this training, I may not have had this opportunity. This is another example of how music can help prepare us for the future. Taking music classes has taught me to always do my best and put out my best performance. I can relate this back to my everyday life I always doing my best I’m trying my hardest no matter what. I will do my best to succeed no matter what obstacle is thrown at me. I am so elated that I have gotten to experience these music classes that were offered at my school I am so happy to get to share these amazing benefits with my friends who are also in the music classes.