Who doesn’t love music, right? I don’t think I know anyone who doesn’t and if you are someone who thinks music is an abomination, then please leave a comment below and explain it. Music is great because it comes in many ways, shapes and forms and can be utilized for so many different purposes. This is one of the reasons why us humans, be it young or old, love music. I think it’s safe to say though that I like music a bit more than the average person. A day without music is a bad day in my book. I tend to listen to a host of genres, never stick to the same thing for long, do not shun top 40 hits despite my love for indie music and on average I think I listen to music at least 5 – 6 hours every day. When I’m home all day, I listen to music well, all day, and here’s why.
1.) To relax
The first reason why I love music is because it helps me relax. It really gives me a moment of peace, helps me regain my thoughts and helps me to get from point A to B. What I’ve found that it especially helps me to relax when I’m listening to music on the train to or from work. Going into work it helps me to get into the right mindset for getting my workday started. Going back home it helps me to leave my work ‘troubles’ behind so I can focus on being at home, enjoying my down time.
2.) To unwind
Whenever I am hyper, upset, or tired, music always allows me to either give in to those emotions or to put my mind at ease. I especially love to listen to relaxing music right before going to bed. If I’ve just come home from dance class I will listen to some upbeat/ dancy tunes to get all that extra energy out. But if I’m tired or feeling a bit down, I will play more relaxed and sometimes even downright sad tunes.
3.) To concentrate
I ALWAYS without fail have music playing when I’m working on tasks that take a lot of concentration: grading exams, writing papers, designing courses, preparing classes, doing a huge pile of dishes, etc. Any strenuous task, be it work, school or household related becomes more bearable and easier to do when you play some music in the background. At work I have a set of headphones lying about so my colleagues know I don’t want to be disturbed. I do have to say though that I only listen to English language music or instrumental things and that is also the time when I will listen to albums rather than shuffle a playlist. The reason being that hearing any other language but English (especially Dutch) break my concentration. When I listen to one or more albums by the same artist, the sound is more uniform and thus less distracting then when your playlist simply plays songs at random.
4.) As background ‘filler’
Another way why I couldn’t live without music is because it drowns out other noises. I don’t do this anymore, but I used to play a cd while lying in bed, again to unwind and leave the day behind me, but to also drown out the sounds of the city. Playing music also drowns out any noise from people talking on trains. It allows me to concentrate on reading my book or to simply be half asleep on an 8 AM train journey. I especially like the latter as there is nothing more annoying than people who are super energetic while you feel like you could use a few more hours of sleep.
5.) To dance/ work out/ sing
Finally, an important reason for loving music is because I can dance to it. Nothing makes me happier than a good dance. Be it in class, at a party or at a club. All I need is some good music and I’m a happy bunny. If the music is bad though, it can ruin my evening. Apart from that, working out and singing along to songs also make me happy so overall music has very positive connotations for me.
Last but not least, music is simply an important force that drives me. It makes my dark days just a little brighter and my happy days burst with sunshine. I really don’t know what I’d do without music. I enjoy finding new stuff I don’t know yet. Whether it’s ‘old’ stuff from the 60s or something brand new that’s hip and happening: it all has its value and purpose to me. Hence my phases when I go through listening to one particular type of music for a while. The indie, the singer/ songwriter, that is all part of my every day music intake. However, there have been periods where I only listened to old house songs, beat music and chillwave. That’s what makes music so interesting: there is so much out there and there is something for everyone.
So my question to you is: what do you like about music?