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Sharle Samuel
Professor Frances Ray
English 102
01/30/2020
Music
Music. A language, a movement, a sound. There are many ways to explore music and the
different effects it has on people. Music is fascinating because of the various genres it is
composed of and the amount of people it reaches. Can music change the way we conceptualize
and perceive things? If so, can listening to a certain genre or type of music cause someone to
behave erratically? Can music be used as a form of therapy? Can it be incorporated in medical
procedures to treat anxiety? Does the type of music one listens to raise or lower anxiety levels?
Does it have any affect at all? What are the neurological effects of music? Can it spark reactions
in our nervous systems? How does music impact our emotions? How does it make us feel? Does
it spark emotion or allow release? Is music used to motivate, discourage, inspire, empower? Is
there concrete proof of the affect music can have on a person or is it mostly observational? Is that
the best we can get?
What effects does music have on an individual, a group, and the mass? Do you receive
music differently when you are alone versus surrounded by other people? Do people change their
preference of music because of others? Is it voluntary or involuntary? Are we so driven by the
need to fit in, that our personal preferences in music are starting to matter less? Are we willing to
listen to an artist we have no interest in to make friends? Is it worth it? Can being around
someone who listens to music that contrasts our own choices influence what we will listen to?
How can we determine whether a music choice is ours or the one we’ve been pressured to
choose by society?
What is good music? I believe this is subjective to the listener, however, is there a genre
or maybe a song that everyone agrees is good? How many different types of genres of music are
there? Are there a top five or ten categories we can place music in? Or has the music world
become so diverse it would be impossible to do so? Is “older” music better than music today?
What is considered to be “older” music? How has music transformed in the last fifty years? What
about since the beginning of recorded history? Do you think that the music we listen to affects
the way we learn? What are the long-term effects, if there are any? Should music remain a
subject in education today? What are the positive and negative effects of removing music from
school’s curriculum? Should music be a required course in school? Is it possible that because
music has not been required in the past as a subject in school, that it has affected the literacy rate
in The United States of America? Does being able to play an instrument and understand how to
read music affect our understanding?
Why do we listen to the music that we do? Are our preferences determined by our
gender, race, and/or economic background? Does this cause a separation or bring people
together? Is there a middle ground? Are we required to stick to our original choice of music or
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music we grew up on, or can we jump genres? Is there always a nostalgic feeling associated with
music from our past, or do we begin to hate it? Does the music our parents listened to contribute,
in part, to the music that appeals to each person as they grow up? What are the cultural restraints
on music perception and cognition? Do we register better with music made by someone the same
color as us? Music today has changed tremendously, which is obvious in several ways. However,
has it become more difficult for an artist to “breakthrough” today, then in previous years? What
must an artist do to remain in the spotlight? Who is the G.O.A.T. (greatest of all time) in music?
Is it possible for a new artist to claim that title or has it already been secured by someone else?
Music is a universal language. It has heavy influences and can generate a lot of power
depending on the language the songs use and the group who receives it. What are the different
uses of music? Can music help us understand the world and each other better? Or is that a barrier
we have no hope of breaking? We have seen music unify people across the nation and the world.
Can crossover music be the beginning of a unified nation? What kind of power does music have
over us?