can music be life altering?
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Topic: can music be life altering?
Posted By: toolis
Subject: can music be life altering?
Date Posted: July 12 2006 at 06:51
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the reason i'm posting this is that i remember fan letters to a music magazine from people with real problems in their lives (physical disabilities, poverty, general life sucking) saying stuff like: 'music changed my life', i couldn't have done it without music', 'when all others abandoned me, music was my only friend' or 'if it wasn't for music, i would kill myself'... to me, music plays without a doubt a really great role in my life but i don't believe that can really change my perspectives for life...i mean, when i listen to music i have all kinds of great feelings going on but when i turn off the stereo, it's still all there: my f**king job, my unpaid bills, this city i live in and eats me alive, and little does music help me...
what do you think? |
Replies:
Posted By: Frasse
Date Posted: July 12 2006 at 07:19
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People may find comfort in the lyrics. Music can also help people with boring lifes full of problems keep going on, for example: A guy who works all day all week spends his spare time listening to music. It gives him the pause and inspiration he needs. |
Posted By: Bern
Date Posted: July 12 2006 at 07:27
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Music gave me some hope in life. Before I discovered prog and became a serious music fan, I suffered a lot of stress from my parents as they were always asking me what I was planning to study at university. It was like I had no real interests in life. I was a sad guy. I was just going through college with nothing in mind. Now that I finally found something that really passionates me, I made it my will to continue at school. I'm currently studying History of Arts and I simply adore it. I know it may not be the best way to have a job but I didn't drop-out of school  -------------  
RIP in bossa nova heaven. |
Posted By: MuzikLuva
Date Posted: July 12 2006 at 07:30
Sounds like you've been reading the story of my life! I live alone and work from home designing and maintaining databases. I've got music running the entire day. On weekends and vacations, I try to compose. Music is my one true escape from a mundane existence. |
Frasse wrote:Posted By: chopper
Date Posted: July 12 2006 at 07:32
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I can honestly say music changed my life (although probably not in the way you mean). In 1985 I received a phone call from someone who was looking for a bass player and had found my phone number on a piece of paper in his house. To this day I don't know how he got my number. Anyway, this lead me to join his band and we went on to make a single, spent a couple of months recording in Cyprus and got rejected by several major recording companies. After the band split, I got a "proper" job where I met my wife. One of our fans ended up marrying one of my friends, so this one phone call completely changed my life. |
Posted By: mystic fred
Date Posted: July 12 2006 at 07:51
Not life changing but life enhancing. Music for me also acts as a good memory-jogger, i pull out some great old album and soon remember everything i was doing or people i knew around the time of its release. Some happy memories come flooding back when i hear an album such as "Led Zeppelin 4", when i was driving round Devon with a beautiful friend (where is she now??), but it can work the other way - at the time "A Night at the Opera" by Queen came out my Dad was in hospital with cancer and died shortly after. I was so upset i still can't play the damn thing to this day. -------------  Prog Archives Tour Van 
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Posted By: bhikkhu
Date Posted: July 12 2006 at 08:44
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The music itself cannot do anything, but it could act as a catalyst. Any real change is the resposibility of the individual.
It can also be a great comfort. "Misplaced Childhood" has done that for me during some rough times. ------------- a.k.a. H.T. http://riekels.wordpress.com" rel="nofollow - http://riekels.wordpress.com |
Posted By: ElwoodHerring
Date Posted: July 12 2006 at 09:04
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If music doesn't affect you emotionally, then the problem is one of three things:
1) Perhaps you're not listening to the right sort of music (for you) 2) You don't have an "ear" for music in general, or are tone deaf (not an insult; a great deal of people apparently don't have sufficient aural resolution to appreciate fine harmonies and subtle tones in music.) 3) You are Mr. Spock. (Again not an insult; music has the ability to convey all sorts of emotions, but only if you're "tuned" to them in the first place. Spock would have a hard time appreciating any kind of music, I reckon.) I have been listening to all genres of music for over 30 years, starting with classics like Beethoven and Mahler when I was in my teens. They completely blew me away at the time, and still can. There is nothing, and I mean NOTHING more emotionally charged than Mahler's Resurrection symphony. If that doesn't move you then there's no hope. But Rock music can do it too. In fact any type of music (providing it is played with conviction) can move me. There is something intrinsically human about music. Every musician leaves part of him/herself in their work, I reckon. Music can also attach itself to memories in a powerful way (as in Mystic Fred's point about Queen.) When my best friend was dying of cancer, I gave him a copy of Pink Floyd's Division Bell (which had just been released then). The last song on that album, "High Hopes" reminds me of him ever time I hear it, as it was the last piece of music he ever heard. Highly appropriate too, as it happened. Music has definitely altered my life, in all sorts of ways. I can't live without it. I write music, I write ABOUT music, I analyse it, I play it, I (used to) perform it, and even research the history of it. (see my website http://www.herring.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk - http://www.herring.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk ) But I still can't explain exactly what it is, or why it has the effect on me that it does. Maybe if I knew, the magic would go away (and I don't want that to happen!) p.s. Read this story about one man's quest to regain his hearing and hear his favourite piece - it's quite moving. http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.11/bolero_pr.html - http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.11/bolero_pr.html ------------- [IMG]http://www.herring.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/DRMkillb.JPG"> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4816930.stm - Right the Copyright Wrongs (Bill Thompson's BBC blog - essential reading!) |
Posted By: man@arms
Date Posted: July 12 2006 at 09:17
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Prog has given me an escape from all the madness of the world in general and the day-to-day montony of my own life in particular. But, I wouldn't say it's more life changing than being a father. Having kids has been completely life altering and more so than any other experience I have ever had including: religion/spirituality, travel, drugs, sex or anything else I can think of. |
Posted By: Teaflax
Date Posted: July 12 2006 at 10:15
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Music is as close as I come to religion, and other than my wife and
step children, nothing can evoke such strong emotions in me. I wept like a child when I first saw Yes play Gates of Delirium at the Wolf Trap outisde DC (in 1999?) - it was entirely unexpected (I had avoided set list spoilers online) and I had not though I would ever get to hear that song live in my lifetime. The reaction took me somewhat by surprise, but in hindsight, it shouldn't have - that's a song I can hardly listen to at home because it's so emotionally draining. Not a week goes by that some song doesn't either give me shivers, bring tears to my eyes or just make my chest swell with joy. I have a colleague who doesn't listen to music at all; she considers it all just noise. To me, that's one of the saddest things I have ever heard. -------------  
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Posted By: Empathy
Date Posted: July 12 2006 at 10:36
There are entire curriculums at many music schools outlining a degree in "Music Therapy". So, I'd say yes. 
------------- Pure Brilliance: 
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Posted By: Bob Greece
Date Posted: July 12 2006 at 10:43
 ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/BobGreece/?chartstyle=basicrt10"> 
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Posted By: The Wizard
Date Posted: July 12 2006 at 11:15
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Music gave me something to be passionate about, and it also got me intrested in other things related such as literature and philosophy.
So yes! -------------  
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Posted By: Barla
Date Posted: July 12 2006 at 11:26
When I listen to music I just forget all the problems I have. It's, as you said, a therapy !!
 |
Posted By: ElwoodHerring
Date Posted: July 12 2006 at 11:52
I know what you mean, it was a long time before I came to terms with the fact that there were people who just don't like music at all. Unbelievable but true. They really don't know what they are missing. There must be some kind of switch in their brains which is permanently "off". Weird. ------------- [IMG]http://www.herring.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/DRMkillb.JPG"> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4816930.stm - Right the Copyright Wrongs (Bill Thompson's BBC blog - essential reading!) |
Posted By: ElwoodHerring
Date Posted: July 12 2006 at 11:59
Now there's a man who's got his priorities right. I envy you. I don't have any kids, and probably never will have now. But I do have my music, and for that I'm grateful. I just hope that some of my work will live on after me. ------------- [IMG]http://www.herring.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/DRMkillb.JPG"> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4816930.stm - Right the Copyright Wrongs (Bill Thompson's BBC blog - essential reading!) |
Posted By: Zadok
Date Posted: July 12 2006 at 12:03
| Most definately. Listening to prog and power metal helped me through a very depressed period a while back. |
Posted By: cuncuna
Date Posted: July 12 2006 at 13:03
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Music helped me at developing my imagination. Because of my mother, I was exposed to a large and diverse amount of music very early. From Folcklore to Jazz Rock. Everything I heard on that period (and since) was so mysterious and suggestive. As a no English speaker, I'm tempted to use the word "Soundscape" to describe what I use to imagine while I was listening to all those forms of music. On the otehr hand, Reggaeton transforms people into toxic post-apocaliptic prostitutes from hell or from another planet, all covered in transpiration, golden chains and horrible clothing. ¿How's that for a change?. ------------- ¡Beware of the Bee! |
Posted By: Ricochet
Date Posted: July 12 2006 at 13:06
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Music's my life. Having both classical music and this wonderful prog rock as passion is a bliss. Nothing wrong about my life then.
------------- 
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Posted By: DeepPhreeze
Date Posted: July 12 2006 at 13:12
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Music is my other drug of choice. Without it I would never call myself into question. There's something very spiritual about handing your thoughts over to the music and letting it guide you through thought processes you normally wouldn't explore. Music definitely can be life-altering. |
Posted By: Viajero Astral
Date Posted: July 12 2006 at 13:29
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One of the changes to me is that now Im a music fan from a specific genre. And now I spend more time listening music, and learn a lot about it. Music is the Best. ------------- 
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Posted By: chamberry
Date Posted: July 12 2006 at 13:35
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For me it was. Music changed the way I looked at life. Believe it or not I was one of those teens that hated life and was very emo and angry and blah blah, but when I first heard Mago De Oz it changed my life completly. It was the lyrics that did that. They portray life and nature like the most beautiful things ever existed. They look at life like nobody had ever done it before and to this day I have never hear lyrics as powerful as those of Mago De Oz. It also changed my direction in music too. Now another band that changed the way I look at life and music as a whole is Godspeed you! black emperor. They don't have lyrics, but I have never been so moved emotionaly and mentaly... ------------- 
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Posted By: Aaron
Date Posted: July 12 2006 at 13:36
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honestly, i think music has had more negative aspects on my life
but i like it to much to give it up
Aaron
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Posted By: Prog-man
Date Posted: July 12 2006 at 13:55
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- “Without music, life would be a mistake”. Friedrich Nietzsche (german philosopher, 1844-1900) ------------- Arriving somewhere but not here |
Posted By: mgallard
Date Posted: July 12 2006 at 13:58
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Music as any art can generate extreme responses, as I can read in this thread. Personally music is an intrinsic and positive part of my life, from the moment I wake up to the moment I sleep, I listen to music (there are pauses of course), an average of about 8 hours at least, in the car, at home, at the office, at the gym, etc. I'd say music in a way changed my life and my way of thinking, I started off with Genesis, this stimulated research (in the Encyclopedia Britannica we had at home, no internet at that time) into mythology, history, etc, which derived in Sci-Fi (which I love) later on. Pink Floyd made you think of madness, society, psychological issues (mother, teachers, society, war, presidents, etc.) and so on. Music has stimulated in me a certain way of looking at the world early on, a more varied worldview and as my musical horizons expanded so did your interests in music and in general. Life would certainly have been more boring and uneventful without music, and I'd certainly be more ignorant and stupid than what I am now. Greetings Mogens |
Posted By: titico
Date Posted: July 12 2006 at 14:33
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Im a younh guy, but I think that music also change my life! When I was a little kid i started with music lessons, and that didn't interested me so much, but now that I'm older I realize that for me that lessons where a thing that slowly changed some little things in my life. Now I love music, and I can't spent time without music! I play guitar and spent most of my days studiyn guitar and music :) ------------- Take me As I AM! From Venezuela or Italia? Both! |
Posted By: el böthy
Date Posted: July 12 2006 at 14:47
My situation is similar...but in a way I always knew that I wanted to do something with art. Now I study images & sound (no, now words you DT freaks) design which is the crossover between design and movie director. But I also got "stregh" form music. Art rules  ------------- "You want me to play what, Robert?" 
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Posted By: Certif1ed
Date Posted: July 12 2006 at 15:41
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It's totally possible - and quite likely - that music is life-changing; Could you imagine life without it?
What a huge change that would be! It affects us in a very physical way - the sound waves resonate in our bodies in different ways and cause us to not only feel the vibrations, but to carry out unconscious chemical reactions - hence music really is a drug. If you doubt its power, watch a trained soprano hit a high note that resonates so strongly with a wine glass that the glass shatters. And consider that sounds have been considered as tools for destroying buildings, under the same principles - and even weapons. We take it for granted, because it's everywhere these days - but it's not just music.  ------------- The important thing is not to stop questioning. |
Posted By: Soul Dreamer
Date Posted: July 12 2006 at 20:21
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"However eagerly I sought salvation,
Oblivion, and deliverance in many other ways,
However much I thirsted for God, understanding and
Peace, I always found them in music alone.
It did not need to be Beethoven or Bach: It has been a continual consolation to me and a justification for all life that there is music in the world, that one can at times be deeply moved by rhythms and pervaded by harmonies"
Herman Hesse, Gertrude
------------- To be the one who seeks so I may find .. (Metallica) |
Posted By: mgallard
Date Posted: July 12 2006 at 22:46
Not so stupid those German guys (Nietzsche & Hesse). And yes, it's true, at times watching the news can make you lose faith in "human" life (and may even doubt it actually exists out there) and then you listen to Genesis, Yes or Pink Floyd (among many others) and then you understand it might not be such a good idea to fry ourselves alive (in either an nuke war or thanks to global climate change)... and then you hear some rap and you lose faith again...  Mogens |
Posted By: darkshade
Date Posted: July 13 2006 at 01:36
| music is a drugs that causes great responses to it, it is life altering |
Posted By: cuncuna
Date Posted: July 13 2006 at 01:42
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Music killed my dog in front of me... it also killed my neighbours and then went to anihilate another civilization. Music also ruined my puding. I find that to be most life alterating... woulnd't you agree? ------------- ¡Beware of the Bee! |
Posted By: Penumbra
Date Posted: July 13 2006 at 01:45
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Every time I listen to truly "large" sounding music (for example, the bombastic ending to Dark Side of the Moon, or the powerful section of "I get up, I get down", from Close to the Edge), I feel this great love for humanity. The first time I felt this was listening to finales such as the end of the 1812 Overture, Beethoven's 9th and, oddly enough, the Barber of Seville. When I hear this great music by great composers, whether they come from the last 300 years or the last 30 years, there is a sense of accomplishment I get, from being a person. This has changed the way I see others and how I live many times. Music is powerful. ------------- The Holy Trinity of Symphonic Progressive Rock 
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Posted By: rupert
Date Posted: July 13 2006 at 10:52
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Music CAN be life-altering. It changed my face, my clothes, my way of hearing/seeing and perhaps it made me ultimately strange. Don't believe anyone saying that I was the same before, not even myself... aaah, it made me ugly, too, cause it made me wear hats and grow a beard !!!!
Any more change necessary ?  ------------- ...I'm a musician/singer/songwriter, visit me on www.reverbnation.com/rupertlenz and there you can choose from 125 recordings you can listen to ( for free ) if you're not limited to prog-rock ! |
Posted By: Trickster F.
Date Posted: July 13 2006 at 10:59
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On the contrary, when the situation is not that bad, you can make a horrible mistake by listening to, say, a Funeral Doom album and then cutting yourself.
-- Ivan ------------- sig |
Posted By: Empathy
Date Posted: July 13 2006 at 11:59
I assume you were listening to ELP then?  ------------- Pure Brilliance:
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Posted By: cuncuna
Date Posted: July 13 2006 at 13:11
I think it was Robert Fripp. He is very bad tempered after all... ------------- ¡Beware of the Bee! |
Posted By: rupert
Date Posted: July 14 2006 at 14:31
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Can you tell me what I AM LISTENING TO ? Perhaps this could alter my life some more ! ------------- ...I'm a musician/singer/songwriter, visit me on www.reverbnation.com/rupertlenz and there you can choose from 125 recordings you can listen to ( for free ) if you're not limited to prog-rock ! |
Posted By: toolis
Date Posted: August 29 2006 at 10:36
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so far, you guys have mentioned about feelings you have while listening to music, changes you did regarding to life style, you mentioned bombastic slogans etc...
what i'm trying to say is how can music affect you when you are at work, where, let's face it, we spend most of our day, and it's awful or when you lose someone you love, or you are poor or, god forbid, lose a leg or sth... how's Dark Side Of The Moon will help me then? |
Posted By: Vibrationbaby
Date Posted: August 29 2006 at 16:10
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I`ll keep it simple and to the point. If it weren`t for music I could not exist.
------------- |
Posted By: memowakeman
Date Posted: August 29 2006 at 16:22
as simple as that words.....
Also, when all is horrible and life sucks... music is my only friend... and wife... and mother... ------------- Follow me on twitter @memowakeman |
Posted By: The Hemulen
Date Posted: August 29 2006 at 16:23
| Yes. |
Posted By: Vibrationbaby
Date Posted: August 29 2006 at 16:26
------------- |
Posted By: Kleynan
Date Posted: August 29 2006 at 19:17
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I believe that music is life-altering. But I've never really been without music, since everyone in my family listens to music... basically all the time. If I imagine a life without music: It's all barren. ------------- 
You've just had a heavy session of electroshock therapy, and you're more relaxed than you've been in weeks. |
Posted By: THE_POLE
Date Posted: August 29 2006 at 22:47
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I listen to music from the moment i wake up in the morning until the cd
finishes and im asleep in the evening. Music has changed my life. I used to hate society, i tried so hard to be cool, but i didn't fit in. i finally gave up. around this time i discovered bands like the mars volta, dream theater, muse, pink floyd. These bands helped me escape from my miserable life into another world. i would sit alone and listen to music. but I soon discovered that i'm not the only one. i'm now in a large group of friends whose hobbies all revolve arond music. Music makes everything ok for me. It calms me down, it can make me happy, it can help me cry. I would rather be blind than deaf. Life without music would be a miserable one. ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/the_pole/"> 
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Posted By: mrgd
Date Posted: August 29 2006 at 23:18
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Music has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. My family background is with music .My sister and her husband are professionals. My children live and breathe it with at least 2 out of the 3 going on to careers in music or music theatre.Our home simply reverberates with it
I could not imagine life without being able to enjoy playing, listening to and being involved in music.So, I guess, for me, it has not changed my life because it is such an important part of it, while not being a professional musician. For others, I can see how it certainly could change lives in various ways too many to mention. ------------- Looking still the same after all these years... mrgd |
Posted By: gods of marble
Date Posted: August 30 2006 at 03:34
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going deaf would suck. major.
i feel sorry for all those who have never heard amazing-ness
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Posted By: Jim Garten
Date Posted: August 30 2006 at 03:42
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Were it not for music, I would not have met the circle of friends I have now - for that alone, I thank music. ------------- 
Jon Lord 1941 - 2012 |
Posted By: The Whistler
Date Posted: August 30 2006 at 03:44
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I dunno...if I hadn't heard Bungle in the Jungle on the radio, twice mind you, would I have recently purchased Brain Salad Surgery? I think not. Music has become somewhat important to me, especially as of late. My wallet can atest to that. Ha! ------------- "There seem to be quite a large percentage of young American boys out there tonight. A long way from home, eh? Well so are we... Gotta stick together." -I. Anderson |