Using Music to Express Different Emotions - Essay Example

This is the aspect that distinguishes different artists. There are different genres of music with each having a unique history and features that define it (Patel 182). The preference for each of the genres is also considered as a way of self-expression because the different genres convey varying emotions.

            Emotions that are expressed through music can be categorized into two groups. There are both negative and positive emotions depending on the type of mood that is the cause of the emotion. For example, emotions such as happiness and love are expressed differently from negative emotions such as anger, resentment, grief, and remorse. When students are seeking to express any of these emotions in their music, they must be aware that their gestures, body movements, facial expressions, tone variations, tempo and mode of the music as well as the accompanying instruments should be used to enhance the emotions to be expressed. When expressing negative emotions such as resentment and grief, a slow tempo is preferred. On the other end, fast tempo signifies happiness or positive emotions when used in a song (96).

            In a more specific way, students can use music to express emotions that define their experience as students. For example, students who are victims of bullying can use music to express the anger, resentment, and pain associated with bullying. Evidently, bullying is one of the terrible experiences that students have to handle. Such deep emotions can be expressed effectively using music as long as the student chooses the right features in conformity to the emotions being expressed. Other students have experienced the adverse effects of divorce and can rely on music to narrate their experiences (300). One of the highly expressive music genres is the blues category which has its roots in African Americans who served as slaves.

A close analysis of different features of the blues category can help students develop expertise in expressing themselves using music. African Americans had a terrible experience during the years they spent in slavery and their human dignity had been lowered.  They used music to express the range of emotions brought about by their slavery experience. Students can also learn from other categories such as rock and roll music, in which young people sought to express their emerging need to adopt a new lifestyle as defined by the founders of the genre (127). The tempo of rock and roll was fast signifying the high moods expressed by the artists while that of blues was slow because this genre was used by African Americans to express their grievances. Without a doubt, students can rely on music to express their diverse feelings and emotions.