Does Music Shape Our Lives?

In this week’s material, we learned how music can represent our feelings in many different ways. Pop culture music is one of the clearest mirrors of emotion, as artists commonly turn their own feelings into sound, storytelling, and imagery. You can make this argument with any genre of music with life experiences, from heartbreaks turned into a slow, sad, and quiet tuned pop song by Olivia Rodrigo, to Pharrell Williams singing about how happy he is in a more upbeat, groovy, and R&B type song. Different types of music really do represent our emotions in several lyrical and vocal ways. Most of us listen to music every day, taking in relatable emotions and using it to cope with ongoing stress or tension in life. For me at least, music has always boosted my mood with more upbeat and dance type songs, calmed anxiety with more ambient and classical songs, and of course release sadness with slow and quieter beats. Because of the influence music has on our every day lives, it’s worth asking: Does music impact the decisions we make and how we feel about certain things? More importantly, do we need music in order to cope with life?

A fascinating aspect of music for me is that it shapes our past memories and how we should feel about them. Whether it be a song that reminds us of something in the past we did with friends or family, or reminding us of a heartbreak or first love, hearing them again is like emotional time travel, forcing us to reinterpret those events and what they truly mean. If you think about it, the things we experience shape our identities. Events, adversity, accomplishments, failures, faith, all shape who we are and what we value. I argue that music enhances these past experiences, reminding us of certain events in our lives and how we should feel and understand them, which to me is a really telling example of how music can shape our identity.

Into a deeper dive, music most certainly shapes culture. When I think of decades and music, I immediately think of prominent 60s and 70s music tied to peace and protest in various songs, with the 2010s representing more digital pop and nostalgia. Our culture is essentially tied to music, and there’s no escaping. Below is an insightful TED Talk from 9^th grader Shireen Chrungoo, who uses her own life as an example of how music is linked to our identity and culture itself.

“It’s history, identity, perspective, and emotion, woven together in a language we can understand.”

Music also creates trends and style through popular slangs, dances, fashion, and social movements. Just take a look on how far this six-seven meme has gone on… As cringey as it is, it’s a strong example on how musical tune and lyrics can create a trendy slang or dance move, and in this case, bring us joy if anything. Seriously though, when will 6/7 stop! None the less, we see just how powerful music can be in our everyday lives, making me come to the conclusion that not only does music represent our emotions, but it’s also needed for us to cope, reflect, grow, and live our lives with true understanding and meaning.