Music as Medicine

I don't know when in time it happened, but at some point, people started making noises and somehow music came out of that. Expressing oneself by belting it out as loud as you can is very therapeutic. But beyond that, you find that you can live in the songs that you hear. You hear what songwriters and musical artists are going through and you become one with them. It's a very interesting place to be, for both those listening to music and those producing said music.

I am one of those people where the music has to match my mood or what I'm doing. I have playlists for happy music, sad music, and even a playlist called "The Best Breakup Songs". I'm hoping I won't be using that playlist anytime soon, but it has come in handy in the past. I listen to music all day long. I listen at work, in the car, and even in the shower. Music is my outlet. Saying that seems silly as I have never written or produced a song in my life. I do have an okay voice, but no one outside my middle school choir group, or anyone in my house when I'm in the shower would know that. You won't find me writing songs or becoming a famous singer anytime soon, but this form of art is still an outlet for me. It is still a form of art that I rely on and need in my life.

Just like any form of art, music has the ability to pull emotions out of people. For an amazing singer or a place in a song where all the instruments come together to make a beautiful noise, my hair will stand on end and I just bask in the sound. As I type that out, I realize how stupid that must sound, but that's what happens to me. I know that reactions are different for different people.

I have gone through my own versions of depression and have had anxiety my whole life. When I have lost folks in my life, music was there to console me. When I have felt alone, lost, and frightened, music was there to help me wallow or pick me up again. I don't think that people who produce music or songwriters realize the power they have over their listeners. I think the music industry has changed a lot throughout the years and a lot of people end up creating music to make money. While I understand the need to make ends meet, we end up with pop songs that portray nothing but sexual innuendos and groupings of words that rhyme but have no actual meaning.

I love how musicians can change a popular theme or story into something else. It's the same as a painter changing a popular theme into something darker. Think Disney character, but as zombies. I know that's a silly thought to think about but anyone who's been to a convention where they have artists (Comic Con Artist Alley), you know how people can change the persona into something completely different. Musical artists have that ability too. There's a song by Sara Bareilles where she talks about princesses in popular fairy tales and completely changes them to have real-life problems. I mean... let's face it, there's a very good chance that these princesses did not have amazing lives after the movie was over. Sara Bareilles is one of those smaller artists who got popular on a song where she essentially told off her record label because she wasn't going to write a catchy tune just to make money.

I love supporting smaller artists who are breaking onto the scene with songs that mean something. These people put their hearts out on the line and show their listeners that they have the same kind of feelings. They show the emotional aspect that music has. To these artists... please keep going. There is beauty in your artwork. There's a reason that the word artist means so many different things.