Music is prevalent in almost every facet of our everyday lives. It’s a part of our subconscious, our active routines, and our relationships. Personally, I grew up in a family of music lovers, I’ve learned about music history from the competitive dance world, and I’ve overall become increasingly aware of how big a part of my identity music is. It’s always been around, and it’s something I’ve learned to rely on greatly, especially in the last five years. I believe that music shapes everyone in more ways than we often acknowledge, and it has the power to do even more.
The music industry in the media age
Music has evolved in a multitude of unpredictable ways. What started as a simple form of communication has multiplied into endless forms and varieties in such a short span of time. The vast world of music is only what it is today because of the history behind it. Modern forms of media streaming and consumption can only attempt to encapsulate its centuries of life and lore.Â
From live ensembles to radio broadcasts to records and CDs to insanely accessible global streaming, music has taken many forms over time, and is arguably more easily attainable than ever before. In its vastly varying state today, it often assumes more of a role of accompaniment or distraction. Many people aren’t as attentive to music analysis as they once were. A rise of short form media, especially on apps like TikTok, has created competition in gaining listener attention, and the cycle of attention shortening has been routinely perpetuated by the competition within the industry. We’ve become more receptive to faster paced music and are constantly seeking something new, we experience difficulty with silence, and we often only can listen to music when it’s in addition to another activity. The evolution of music has shaped our attention, and the evolution of our attention has also shaped the world of music.
the capacity of music
Music also has the power to directly affect our moods on a psychological level,in both the short term and the long term. Since music is such an essential part of so many of our memories and experiences, it holds emotion that we attach and associate with situations and feelings. We seek out happier, faster, and more upbeat music in settings like celebrations and social gatherings, or to overall curate a more positive feeling in ourselves or others. Major and minor chords, tempo, lyrics, and other elements contribute to how a song makes us feel. On the other side of the spectrum, we sometimes make a conscious choice to listen to sad music. While melancholic melodies can make readers feel seen and help them articulate complicated feelings, they can also prevent healthy coping, and moving on from struggles or negative, regressive emotions.
For me, artists like Olivia Rodrigo, Lizzy McAlpine, and Phoebe Bridgers have the power to create music that is devastatingly addicting. Something I’ve learned from having their most recent albums on repeat is how much you are in control of your own thoughts in relation to music. While it may feel comfortable to ruminate endlessly while you replay the songs you feel explain your most personal thoughts, it often keeps you in more of a rut than you realize. At times, this sadness can become normalized and even romanticized, which can be a dangerous loop to fall into. Music impacts our day-to-day lives and mood spectrums more than we often notice.
Music and identity maintenance
Lastly, and arguably most importantly, music is an essential part of our self-concept, specifically in our teenage years and early 20s. In a period of such uncertainty and change, music being a familiarity and constant is both a comfort and a vital part of growth. Music always accompanies the times in our lives when we’re learning how to navigate emotions through new experiences. In our most formative years, the vulnerability of individuality becomes increasingly prevalent. Nostalgia for the past and fear for the future become a right of passage, and music often is attached to these strong feelings.Â
As we begin to find ourselves and become more comfortable with our interests, music becomes a fundamental way we form our self-expression and presentation to others. We want to reduce any dissonance between our personal-internal identity and curated-perceived identity, so we tend to use music as a way to formulate them. From wearing band merch to posting with certain songs to discussing our favorite artists and genres and using them as bases of connections in our relationships and communities, we do many things relative to music in reaffirming our sense of self, specifically in our high school and college years. The rise of constant identity curation and categorized aesthetics amplifies this, with many of us wanting to appear as the kind of person our music taste suggests us to be.
Overall, music impacts many facets of our lives. These effects can be observed at a sociological level, but also happen subconsciously on an individualized level. Just a few of the ways music directly affects us are through our attention spans, our fluctuating moods and mental cycles, and our overall identity and self-expression. A world without music would be one void of an essential form of life, passion, and diversity, and the evolution of it and its ever-changing role in our lives is something that has shaped our world in an abundance of ways. Music reaches, changes, and connects us on a deeper level, allowing us to see and understand each other and ourselves in a way that can’t be expressed elsewhere.