An Appreciation for Music - Essay Example

An Appreciation for MusicSeeking to provide a rational or an understanding for musical appreciation is much like seeking to describe why one enjoys a beautiful day or a walk in the countryside. There are so many different factors to engage with and so many different individual items to consider that even a long analysis falls short of taking into account all of the details that provide enjoyment to the individual who experiences music to its fullest. As a function of this, this very brief assignment will seek to highlight some of the main points of interest and key facets of enjoyment that music provides to this particular listener.

The first of these feelings that I have when listening to my favorite music is a complete and total immersion; similar to jumping into a pool. The music seems to float around me, engaging each of my senses to heights that would otherwise not be realized within the course of an average day without music. This heightened sensitivity allows my brain to focus in on the individual components of the music that derive the most empathy, joy, sadness, courage, or whatever other emotions the composer is trying to portray.

However, beyond enlivening the senses, music for me serves as a tool.Naturally, depending upon the type of music that I listen to, it can ultimately be used in a way not dissimilar to a drug. For instance, when I am having difficulty sleeping, I can easily find a piece or a series of pieces of music that reflect a very calming and soothing tone; thereby helping me to get to sleep. When I need a level of focus or would like to bring out key attributes of determination or courage, I can turn to music as a way to instill such emotions.

In short, music and the feelings it inspires can act as a type of stimulus to achieve the given mood that I am in search of or to induce feelings that would otherwise not come to me in a natural way. Finally, as a function of the other two ways in which music affects me, the third way is an ultimate end in and of itself. Music for me provides an escape, a type of imaginative portrait that can be painted in any number of ten thousand different ways. Even though I may have heard the song, track, or album before, the fact of the matter is that the imagery that it engages me with as a function of the aforementioned emotion and mood alteration is something that can only be described to a fellow music lover.

Whereas one can read a book and have the same thought process, look at a piece of art and evoke the same images or memories, when I listen to music, there is never a firm or defined way in which my brain imitates the imagery that is presented; it is ultimately different each and every time. As a function of all of these things, music has a profound effect on the way I view the world.