The study of how music affects the memory, motivation, and confidence has been the theme of interest for many researchers in this field. The interrelation of music to the mental and physical health of individuals has been the subject of debate aimed at improving scientific research. Many studies by Cardena (2011, p. 143) have maintained that music has positive effect on our memory, motivation, and confidence.
Music, as Thiam (2006, p. 97) notes, has the power of healing our frequent ailments as human beings. In addition, research validates that the classical forms of music has had an impact on individuals, reporting impressive results on the power of healing particularly (Effects of Music on the Mind and Brain 2014). Music has a calming effect on the human mind, and an inspiring zeal on the general composure of the body.
Besides, music is an exciting element that hastens human recovery from health illnesses, given its ability to inspire motivation to feel better. More than that, music helps in fighting nervousness, especially due to the comforting impact it has on the mind, the muscles, and the body. Music helps to reduce the impacts of depression.
For instance, when individuals are under depression are gloomy or feeling inadequate, music can offer soothing effects that can raise their composure to normal levels (Effects of Music on the Mind and Brain 2014).
Dejection has the capacity to moderate the actions of the brain, inhibits the ability of brain to think consistently, and perform certain responsibilities. In this aspect, music induces in individuals an aura of strong will that reverses the impact of depression and autisms in the body (Volkmar 2013, p. 48).
Deficiency of neurotransmitter and serotonin in the brain, according to Koelsch (2014, p. 172), may result in depression. However, listening to music has the ability to inspire the hormones and raise the levels of these elements to equilibrium, making the brain to work optimally.
Soothing musical sounds inspires the production of serotonin levels in the brain, thereby helping in the alleviation of mental depression (Larson 2010). Soothing music has a natural way of making the brain relaxed, creating an aura of confidence in individuals, as well as motivating people in very effective ways.
Among the tried, tested, and trusted benefits of listening to music includes a broad spectrum of ideologies and practicalities that research has sought to validate. To begin with, music has the capacity to relieve anxiety and make the brain more at ease with the body and the environment (Cardena and Winkelman 2011, p. 120).
Anxiety has a unique way of making individuals to degenerate to the lowest ebb of their lives given that it inspires a feeling of fear of the unknown to weigh the body and brain down (Effects of Music on the Mind and the Brain 2014). The outcome of the unknown makes individuals worried, and this might lead to temporary brain malfunction with probable greater consequences in the event that this trend escalates.
Increased levels of anxiety, according to Hallam, Cross, and Thaut (2009, p. 62), may lead to stress, and, further, culminate into insomnia. Additionally, lengthy instances of worry may lead to ailments related to nervousness. Though if noted in time, making such individuals to listen to music can be instrumental in checking the menace (Koelsch 2014, p. 175).
Introducing music to individuals undergoing extreme levels of anxiety can help in relaxing their brain and raise their hormones back to normal levels (Effects of Music on the Mind and the Brain 2014).
Used in this way, music can help in calming the body nerves and, finally, sooth the mind to easiness. Flat musical notes can also be instrumental in inducing sleep in individuals with sleep-related disorders, thereby helping in their brain development.
Music has the capacity to motivate individuals as it affects both the learning and the thinking processes (Jensen 2005, p. 309).Studies in sciences suggest that soft background music stimulates the mind and the brain to absorb knowledge and retain data (Effects of Music on the Mind and the Brain 2014). Individuals listening to soothing beats while doing some work help them to work more rapidly.
In the process, they become more effective too. Music used in this way, therefore, helps individuals to feel motivated, and people become more positive about work in general. According to Cardena and Winkelman (2011, p. 127), research in this area indicates that music makes individuals more consistent in learning as it brings about remarkable progresses in fast tracking motivation in individuals.
Students can also find meaningful motivation in their respective studies while listening to music given that music breaks the monotony of everyday classroom work. As Hallam et al. (2009, p. 65) note, students who attend classes that prescribe certain kinds of musical notes while studying in the laboratory record greater progress results as they become more involved in their tasks than those with no musical notes.
Listening to some pleasant music, while doing some boring work or difficult task will eventually spur motivation to make the work look easier (Curtis 2008). Normally, an individual working while listening to some soft music at the background usually records least interruptions from other environmental hitches.
Due to least interruption, such people concentrate more on what they do, thus making them produce quality results in their tasks.
Research in this area also holds that music has the capacity to boost confidence, especially in individuals with low self-esteem (Hallam et al. 2009, p. 72). Music has an affirmative influence in developing the interactive skills of entities. Lack of sureness as well as no aspiration to comprehend is one of the attributes to letdown.
Accordingly, it is not always the inability of people to learn, rather, it is due to lack of confidence in what one does (Avanzini 2003, p. 296). Individuals have every endowment to learn given motivation and chance to do so.
Indeed, it is only that the prevailing situations in different settings may make some people to own up and let their low self-esteem weigh them down. Learners attaining poor grades in learning institutions, for example, are not essentially devoid of the required intellect.
Most educators agree that musical involvement advances students’ self-discipline, coordination, dexterity, thinking skills, self-esteem, creative abilities, listening skills, and personal expression, each of which supports learning in very profound ways. Most music educators, though, are not aware of specific research that will support such feelings and observations (Music and Student Development 2014).
As Thiam (2006, p. 117) notes, the students’ disinterest in the subjects in question leads them to record poor grades. However, music classes can help the learners to regain composure and fight out their low-esteem lag that makes them perform dismally. Music, therefore, helps in boosting learner confidence, encouraging them to explore new ideas.
In so doing, they venture in new fields giving them the basic orientation of people, places, and ideas that they previously felt was impermeable. From this perspective, music increases people’s ability in believing in themselves and in increasing their capacity to think big.
The effects of music in the recovery of physiological difficulties experienced after a stressful aperture induced by aversive visual stimuli are equally great.
Studies show that the relaxing nature of music is effective in regulating the spectral of the frontal temporal lobe, rejuvenating the skin conductance, moderating the heart beat variability, creating the respiration ambience, as well as encrypting the facial capillary blood current (Cardena and Winkelman 2011, p. 128).
Under normal circumstances, aversive visual stimulation evokes heart rate deceleration and decrease facial blood flow that could be detrimental in causing visual impairment. In such situations, respiration rate gets to unguided levels that may make the brain not to function optimally.
Studies show that pleasant music has the capacity to restore the baseline levels of several parameters and the recovery process of most of the body tissues (Sokhadze 2007, p. 37). Music relaxes the body thereby exerting positive modulatory effects on respiratory and cardiovascular activity.
Such activities regulate increased heart rate with the ability to balance the heart period variability, while regulating vascular blood flow, as well as respiration rate in the course of post-stress recovery (Sokhadze 2007, p. 43). In much of the research done in this area, data has been consistent to the effect that positive emotions guaranteed by music facilitate the process of neurochemistry recovery that arise from negative emotions
Invariably, music stands out as a universal feature in human development, partly due to its power and capacity to evoke strong sensations and influence moods. Investigation both in the scopes of science and art continue to develop their expanse of the richness of music to the wellbeing of man (Cardena and Winkelman 2011, p. 131).
In numerous studies, the neural correlation of music with its capacity to evoke emotions in individuals continues to be an invaluable element in the understanding and study of human emotions (Koelsch 2014, p. 177).
It is no doubt that functional neuroimaging research based on music and feeling demonstrate that music has the capacity to moderate actions in the mind much of which are critically encompassed in developing emotions.
Several brain structures such as hypothalamus, hippocampus, cingulate cortex insula, orbitofrontal cortex, amygdala, and nucleus acumens heavily rely on hormones to inspire them to perform their desired functions (Cardena and Winkelman 2011, p. 139).
The possibilities of music to inspire and control hormones to act in these arrangements have imperative inferences for the application of music in the management of neurological and psychiatric ailments.
Essentially, emotions inspire the brain and enhance the processes of memory (Norden, Reay and Leven 2007, p. 60). Since music has the ability to evoke strong emotions, it could be instrumental in inspiring the brain to rise to the occasion and perform its duties optimally. To that effect, music arouses individuals either about a particular music, an event, or about an episode or information related to a particular music.
Neuroscience studies enhance insights into the role of music in relaxing the brain to inspire memory. Playing musical instruments, according to Jensen (2005, p. 313), acts as a multi-sensory as well as a motor experience generating emotions and motion tapping of the finger to dancing. Seen in this way, music engages the pleasure while acting as the reward element in the brain systems (Norden et al. 2007, p. 61).
Moreover, music has the potential to alter brain function as well as the brain structure when done well for over a period. Accordingly, intense musical tutelage and exposure has the capacity to generate and inspire new processes in the brain, and, normally, this occurs at different stages in life (Jensen 2005, p. 314).
As Norden et al. 2007, p. 68) observe, music is instrumental in developing the brain with a range of impacts based on creativity, the learning process, and cognition among other things.
Whether the purpose of music has to be for recreation, entertainment, or enhancement of moods, Koelsch (2014, p. 178) supports Forinash (2001, p. 33) argument that many people listen to music for various reasons, especially for its inspiring value.
Because of its potent and ubiquity, music is very effective in the construction and correction of autobiographical memories while helping in building judgments about others and on oneself (Forinash 2001, p. 34). Several elements in human development factor in the role of music such as aiding in memory formation and recalling of autobiographical facets and episodic information.
From the forgoing analysis, it becomes clear that music has a vital role in developing individuals in very many special ways. In essence, music is an essential and extremely valuable tool in the way individuals learn. Music has a calming effect on individuals and, indeed, an inspiring zeal on the composure of individuals generally.
Music has the ability to incite hormones exciting and speed up human recovery from health ailments given its ability to inspire motivations (Music and Student Development 2014). Apart from that, music’s comforting influence aids in fighting nervousness since it relaxes the muscles, the brain, and eventually the whole body.
Neuroscience, in particular, offers firsthand and profound perceptions into the function of music in composure of sentiments. Moreover, neuroscience studies enhance understandings into the role of songs in feelings, relaxing the brain to inspire retention. Moreover, music helps to reduce the impacts of depression; it is true that when individuals undergo depression, they become gloomy, making them feel inadequate.
Music, therefore, can offer the basic soothing effects that can bring the discomfits back to normal levels. As observed, depression has the capacity to moderate brain functions, inhibits the ability of the brain to think and reason with a high level of consistency, and carry out certain tasks. When played along, it induces in individuals an aura of strong will that reverses the impact of depression weighing down the body.
Finally, since deficiency of neurotransmitter and serotonin in the brain may go down because of depression, music offers itself as a correctional factor that incites the hormones needed to raise neurotransmitter and serotonin to normal levels. In retrospect, listening to music has the ability to inspire the hormones and raise the levels of the brain structures to equilibrium, making the brain to work optimally.
In conclusion, as the case may be, comforting musical sounds inspires the production of serotonin levels, thereby helping in the alleviation of mental dejection. Soothing music, therefore, has a natural way of making the brain relaxed, creating an aura of confidence in individuals, while motivating to rise to the occasion and feel better.
References
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