Fin

As this post will be my last, I wanted to go out o a positive note! (no pun intended)... I found the organization of the American Academic Pediatrics when I was writing an English paper. This group is a trusted organization when it comes to children's health and well being. Throughout this whole project, I have been trying to find some common link between music and how it can make us happy. But then I saw that instead of finding some complex link between the key/chordal tones and your brain waves (that's pretty complicated) I could just use example from everyday life. I used this link as a starting point: http://www.healthychildren.org/English/healthy-living/emotional-wellness/Pages/Music-and-Mood.aspx

The examples I found in the article were as followed:
            "Ancient philosophers from Plato to Confucius and the kings of Israel sang the praises of music and used it to help soothe stress. Military bands use music to build confidence and courage. Sporting events provide music to rouse enthusiasm. Schoolchildren use music to memorize their ABCs. Shopping malls play music to entice consumers and keep them in the store. Dentists play music to help calm nervous patients."

These are all great examples of why music is as powerful as it is. People might not even realize it, but you can never escape music. Even the genres of music that you don't like still live on. Not everything needs to be some incredible piece of music that's 20 minuets long. I believe that music, from the examples given, allows people to bond.

Another study in the article said the following:
                "Certain kinds of music make almost everyone feel worse, even when someone says she enjoys it; in a study of 144 adults and teenagers who listened to 4 different kinds of music, grunge music led to significant increases in hostility, sadness, tension, and fatigue across the entire group, even in the teenagers who said they liked it. "

This part of the article got me thinking about if the WORDS to a song may help influence how people perceive it. For some time during this project, I spent a lot of time trying to go too in depth (that's not necessarily a bad thing), but some of the best answers I have found on why music makes us feel the way it does has been right in from of me the whole time.