The Driving Force Behind Popular Music

The Driving Force behind Popular Music

By Brian Wojcik

English 101

March 9th, 2005

The Driving Force behind Popular Music:

Music is the universal constant of self expression. In many cases, the shaping of society evolves around music. To break down, but not restrict the branches of music, the following will be discussed; Psychology through Music, Music and the Church, the Education of Music, as well as Music as Entertainment. The analysis of these subjects will help demonstrate how important music is to society.

Psychology through Music:

Music to the ear is what color is to an eye. In a world of shade-less black and white, one might find repetition with what is seen, leaving them in a sense of complete dullness. The same theory applies to music. If all a person could hear is one pitch of one tone, he or she is at risk of falling into a realm of insanity, or at least severe boredom.

The human body is equipped with an advanced system in which has the ability to take an electronic pulse, and associate it with a distinct feeling. This process, also known as “hearing”, starts with the outer ear; the electronic pulses flow through the ear canal, which soon reach the ear drum. At this point, the ear drum vibrates a bone structure consisting of “the hammer, anvil, and stirrup”. The signal is then carried and processed into the vestibular organ, which manipulates receptor cells into triggering a reaction in the auditory nerve. The auditory nerve then relays the information to the brain, which converts the sensation into a feeling (Understanding Psychology, 2003). When a feeling occurs in an individuals body, whether through sight, sent, hearing, touch, or taste; it begins to organize and sort thoughts into emotion.

Imagine for one minute a gigantic rubber ball. Inside this ball, there is a machine, constantly shaping thoughts, ideas, along with building emotion. As the content of sensation is constructed, the constant pushing and stretching produces wear on the enclosed space. Eventually the constriction of space will cause the machine to break down and burn out, rendering it useless. Imagine that ball is our mind, and the machine is our heart. As our lives proceed with imperfection, emotions constantly build up inside, leaving us with feelings of love or hate, life or death. At some point, we will need to exhaust these feelings to free up thoughts and continue living. Music can be this necessary vent.

For many years, Psychologists have been studying the effects of music on human beings. Using developmental Psychology, many theories and hypotheses have been formed in areas such as creativity, musical education, emotion, etc. Analyzing such issues leads us into a better understanding of how the sensation of music is processed.

Music and the Church:

Although religious music serves the purpose of worship towards a significant creator, the structure is at constant change. Starting back before Christ, the earliest recorded reference of music in literature appears in The Bible when Jabal, the son of Lamech, is called the “father of all who play the harp and flute” (Genesis 4:21, New International Version). As time develops, so does the style of worship, from the Gregorian chant back in the medieval days, to the modern “Marshall on Eleven”, in modern society, music in the church has been aimed consistently at readying the hearts of modern believers. Bands such as delirious, third day, and the “passion worship” team have been delivering modern tunes in a worshipful manor; Completely redefining the way contemporary churches engage in the presence of God.

Martin Luther (1483-1546), a strong believer in the importance of church music once stated the following:

Music is a beautiful gracious gift of God. It has often been the inspiration of my sermons. Music rouses all the emotions of the human heart; nothing on earth is so well suited to make the sad merry, the merry sad, to give courage to the despairing, to make the proud humble, to lessen envy and hate, as music.( Cole, Basil, 1991)

The Education of Music:

Perhaps one of the most important aspects while looking at the importance of music; is education. Passed on century by century, music has consistently improved in theory and formula. Numerous text books