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THE ROLE OF MUSIC IN HUMAN’S LIFE

Nowadays many people enjoy music as their hobby. Thanks to this fact you can make many new friends, you can exchange cd’s, records, listen to music together and visit different concerts.

Sometimes  music plays more important role in our life than good pastime. It is something, which helps to be in a good mood, understand different things and remove from tension. Music brings pleasure and keen delight and fills one’s life with great expectations of joy and happiness. It stirs up imagination and fills one’s mind with new ideas.

For example when you are sad or feel bad you may prefer gloomy and melancholy music that can reflect spirit of moment and express the thoughts. If you are in a good mould you may prefer rhythmical dance music, and of course in a company of good friends.

Music is a huge factor in the way we are affected by our culture. Hence the fact music is in all cultures even in our own way of life

 We often take for granted the fact that music is all around us no matter what kind you listen to. You listen to music in your car, in the mall while you are shopping, in the shower, on television and at parties. Music is a key component in any kind of culture; it is a way to express the ideas and beliefs of that culture. Music has been a powerful force throughout history. Its power has affected all aspects of people’s lives. The ideas and attitudes people have toward their society can easily be seen in their music. Expression in music comes in every emotion you can think of sad, happy, mellow, anger, peaceful and many others. Music, especially in today’s society, brings about certain ways of life or attitudes about life.

Music is an art form whose medium is sound. Common elements of music are pitch (which governs melody and harmony), rhythm (and its associated concepts tempo, meter, and articulation), dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture. The word derives from Greek μουσική (mousike), "(art) of the Muses".

The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of music vary according to culture and social context. Music ranges from strictly organized compositions (and their recreation in performance), through improvisational music to aleatoric forms. Music can be divided into genres and subgenres, although the dividing lines and relationships between music genres are often subtle, sometimes open to individual interpretation, and occasionally controversial:

Middle Ages: Music composed from around the middle of the 5th century to the middle of the 15th century, largely characterized by monophonic and polyphonic music.

Renaissance: Music largely composed from the middle of the 15th century to around 1600.

Baroque: Music composed from around 1600 to the middle of the 18th century.

Classical: Music that was composed from around the middle of the 18th century until the early 19th century. Also used to describe some more recently-written music (neo-classical) that contains many of the same musical elements.

Romantic: Music composed from the early 19th century to about 1900. Also used to describe more recently-written music (Neo-romantic) that contains similar musical elements.

20th century: A wide classification of music composed in the 20th century. This music deals largely with sound experimentation and moving away from the traditional tendencies of tonality.

Opera, Operette and Zarzuela

Folk: Musical adaptations of old stories that were passed from generation to generation. Considered somewhat more niche now.

Rock: Music that originated from Folk and Blues. It used newer electrical instruments instead of relying solely on the classical woodwinds and stringed instruments. It first became popular in the mid 20th century because of famous bands like The Beatles.

Grindcore: Grindcore is fast, metal-influenced crust punk, often featuring extreme singing styles, low-tuned guitars, blastbeat drumming and short, high-tempo songs.

Heavy metal: Similar to Rock, and generally considered a subgenre of it. It usually uses the same electrical instruments, but the music is more intense and less "pop" in style (see below) such as Black Sabbath or Iron Maiden.

Punk: a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed the perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock. Includes work by The Adverts, the Sex Pistols and The Clash.

Pop: "Pop music" once referred to any popular music during the time period, though the term has slowly gained use as a more specific (yet still somewhat vague) genre descriptor for music with a catchy, relatively consistent melody, among other aspects. It is commonly placed as having started in the mid 20th century, alongside Rock music. Much dance music falls under this genre, and much modern Rock music is considered to include elements of it as well, since bands such as the Beatles were a significant stylistic influence on what is now considered Pop.

Rhythm & Blues (R&B) - an evolving range of genres that first began to develop in the early 20th century.

Blues: A somewhat somber, quieter style of music whose name refers to the unhappiness of the performer, and which gained popularity in the early 20th century alongside Jazz, and influenced the early development of Rock music. A major genre within R&B, and one of its earliest genres as well.

Rap music and Hip hop - more rhythmically-based, mostly urban-derived genres, with a wide array of subgenres between them.

Jazz - Jazz originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions. Jazz has, from its early 20th century inception, spawned a variety of subgenres, from New Orleans Dixieland dating from the early 1910s, big band-style swing from the 1930s and 1940s, bebop from the mid-1940s, a variety of Latin jazz fusions such as Afro-Cuban and Brazilian jazz from the 1950s and 1960s, jazz-rock fusion from the 1970s and late 1980s developments such as acid jazz, which blended jazz influences into funk and hip-hop.

Electronica - includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing.

Breakbeat - a term used to describe a collection of sub-genres of electronic music, usually characterized by the use of a non-straightened 4/4 drum pattern (as opposed to the steady beat of house or trance). Includes work by The Chemical Brothers, Fatboy Slim and Orbital.

Drum and Bass or Jungle - a type of electronic dance music which emerged in the late 1980s which is characterized by fast breaks and basslines. Includes work by Roni Size, Chase & Status and London Elektricity.

Ambient - a musical genre that focuses on the timbral characteristics of sounds, particularly organised or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.

Downtempo - a laid-back electronic music style similar to ambient music, but usually with a beat or groove unlike the beatless forms of Ambient music.

Electro - a genre of electronic music directly influenced by the use of TR-808 and funk records. Includes work by Kraftwerk.

House - a style of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, USA in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Includes work by Fedde Le Grand and Frankie Knuckles.

Trance - a style of electronic dance music that is generally characterized by a tempo of between approximately 128 and 150 BPM, melodic synthesizer phrases, and a musical form that is progressive as it builds up and down throughout a track. Includes work by Darude, ATB and Chicane.

Techno - a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan, USA during the mid to late 1980s. Includes work by Tomcraft, Leftfield and Moby.

UK Garage - an umbrella term that refers to several different varieties of modern electronic dance music generally connected to the evolution of house in the United Kingdom from early/mid-1990s. Includes work by T2, The Artful Dodger and Shanks & Bigfoot.

Reggae - a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady. Reggae is based on a rhythmic style characterized by accents on the off-beat, known as the skank. Reggae is normally slower than ska. Reggae usually accents the second and fourth beat in each bar.Reggae song lyrics deal with many subjects, including religion, love, sexuality, peace, relationships, poverty, injustice and other social and political issues.

Calypso: A music form that developed in the mid 20th century out of Kaiso music. The genre became a worldwide hit 1950's when the 1956 album titled Calypso was the first full-length record to sell more than a million copies. Calypso's most notable and popular subgenre is Soca music.

Over the last 1,000 years, 'classical' music has been composed in a variety of genres which are themselves worthy of investigation; indeed many seasoned collectors gradually move towards a particular preference after a time, be it violin concertos, piano sonatas, string quartets, religious music or opera. Whatever the form or description of any given piece, it usually falls comfortably into one of five broad categories: orchestral, chamber, solo instrumental, choral or opera.

Orchestral Music

The typical orchestra as we know it today, consisting of upwards of eighty players, can be traced back roughly to the middle of the 17th century. By this time the string section already formed the basis of any large ensemble of players, with brass, woodwind and percussion being added variously as the situation demanded. By the end of the Baroque period (c.1750) this was still very much the case, so that it was not until the end of the eighteenth century when the Classical period was at its height that a full woodwind section had become more or less established, often with the addition of horns, trumpets and timpani. It was finally during the mid-1800s that the orchestra settled into a regular, basic pattern of strings, woodwind, brass and percussion, with various 'exotic' instruments being introduced from time to time.

The most common genres the collector is likely to come across may be summarised as follows:

Symphony - commonly in four, but occasionally only in three, contrasting movements, the outer ones often being vivacious in character, with a more reflective slow movement and contrasting minuet or scherzo.

Symphonic Poem - a one-movement work popular during the nineteenth century, with a story-line or programme often detailed by the composer.

Overture - usually the orchestra-only curtain-raiser to an opera, often used to open concerts. During the nineteenth century it became increasingly fashionable to compose independent concert overtures, occasionally with picturesque titles.

Concerto - evolved from various forms of works using a solo instrument throughout the Baroque era and by the end of the eighteenth century denoted a work invariably in three movements (fast-slow-fast). It was designed principally as a work to demonstrate the virtuosity of the soloist, and was often written for the composer's own use as a soloist.

Ballet- evolved from passages of dance music, usually in an operatic context, into the popular, full-scale Romantic classics of Adam, Delibes, Tchaikovsky, early Stravinsky and beyond.

Incidental Music - usually composed in short sections, often with recurring themes, for a particular stage production.

Suite - usually a selection of short movements taken from a ballet or incidental music, sometimes orchestrations or another composer's work, although quite often an entirely original set of pieces.

Chamber Music

Normally understood to be any type of music composed for a small ensemble of between two and approximately fifteen players. Larger groups are usually referred to as a chamber ensemble/orchestra.

The most basic form is a work for solo instrument with keyboard accompaniment. There are countless miniatures of this type, particularly for flute, violin, cello, oboe, and clarinet, often with descriptive titles. For slightly larger appetites, there are also numerous accompanied sonatas dating from the Baroque period onwards, typically in three or four movements, and after about 1750 corresponding roughly to symphonic structure. Duets also exist typically for two instruments of the same family (e.g. violin and viola, or flute and clarinet) although pieces for almost any duo combination may be encountered.

Other chamber works which normally fall into multi-movement structures are the string trio (violin, viola, cello), piano trio (piano, violin, cello), string quartet (2 violins, viola, cello), piano quartet (piano, violin, viola, cello), string quintet (typically 2 violins, viola, 2 cellos, or 2 violins, 2 violas, cello), and piano quintet (typically piano, 2 violins, viola, cello). Examples of sextets, septets, octets and even nonets are rather less plentiful and can be for a variety of different combinations.

Solo Instrumental Music

Into this category falls any music composed for a single, unaccompanied instrument. Although distinguished examples exist for every conceivable instrument (including various works for percussion), the bulk is composed either for the organ (in a vast variety of styles and genres), keyboard (piano, harpsichord, clavichord, spinet, virginal), guitar (mostly miniatures/arrangements in the popular Spanish idiom) or lute (mostly dating from the Renaissance and early Baroque periods).

Vocal Music

The oldest genre of all, for what is humanity's oldest 'instrument'- the human voice. Anyone wishing to trace a stylistic history of classical music could do no better than to examine vocal music, for every composer worthy of the name wrote at least something which involves singing of some description.

In its simplest form vocal music consists of a single, monodic line, as in Medieval Gregorian chant for example. From this was derived all music for unaccompanied choir, so that as one moves further forward in time, more and more independent parts are gradually added, and the musical language and texturing becomes correspondingly more complex. The great majority of texts of pieces for unaccompanied and accompanied choir (masses, motets, psalms, canticles, vespers etc.) had a religious basis until the turn of the present century, although there are notable exceptions, especially regarding the secular madrigalists of the sixteenth century.

If choral music in the 'classical' tradition tends towards the sacred, then the accompanied song, chanson, ballade, virelei, lied or melodie is almost invariably secular in origin or intentions. Indeed there are Medieval and Renaissance songs which are positively ribald in terms of their chosen texts. The most popular form within this category is, however, the keyboard accompanied art song, particularly the German Lied of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Opera

An Italian invention, opera was born right at the beginning of the Baroque era (shortly before 1600), and although stylistic approaches to the genre have been many and varied, the basic outlines have remained remarkably consistent.

Essentially a play set to music, the typical opera will open with an overture or prelude designed to set the scene or even introduce some of the most important themes to appear later on. The action will be split into acts and scenes, and within these the principal vehicles for expression are (a) the aria, duet, trio, etc. for the soloists; (b) the 'chorus', to allow a larger group to join in with or more usually comment on the action; and (c) recitative, a formal device similar to sung conversation, where the plot typically moves at a faster pace before the next set piece allows greater contemplation on the chain of events.

French opera also typically makes provision for an extended balletic interlude, and from middle-period Wagner onwards (c.1865), the general tendency is to interweave the various elements as seamlessly as possible, thereby avoiding the heavily sectionalised procedure which had then dominated the genre for over 250 years.

To many people in many cultures music is an important part of their way of life. Greek philosophers and ancient Indian philosophers defined music as tones ordered horizontally as melodies and vertically as harmonies. Common sayings such as "the harmony of the spheres" and "it is music to my ears" point to the notion that music is often ordered and pleasant to listen to. However, 20th-century composer John Cage thought that any sound can be music, saying, for example, "There is no noise, only sound." According to musicologist Jean-Jacques Nattiez, "the border between music and noise is always culturally defined—which implies that, even within a single society, this border does not always pass through the same place; in short, there is rarely a consensus.... By all accounts there is no single and intercultural universal concept defining what music might be, except that it is 'sound through time'."     

Music affects our thoughts, feelings and behaviours.  The rhythm can affect our bodies so that our pulse and respirations are in time with the musuc's beat or rhythm.  Music can relax or energise, and certain pieces of music can affect us in deeply personal ways.  Whilst most of us listen to music, making music can be a very effective means of expression.  It’s also great for our self-esteem and confidence.

Music is very personal and affects individuals in different ways.  Different parts of the body resonate to different sounds and pitches, and most significantly, certain kinds of music can powerfully effect the human spirit or soul.  We can listen to music anywhere and everywhere

Music is already real therapy for millions, whether they make it or listen to it.  It is an important part of spiritual life.  Most significant religious traditions use music to help create the mood for prayer, worship, reverence or joyful celebration. 

Listening to music can change your mood – sometimes dramatically.  Sometimes if you’re feeling low, it’s tempting to play slow sad music, but this will make you feel worse.  An uplifting tune or cheerful song can instantly improve your energy levels and your emotional well being.  

Music in film and television shows us how music can affect mood.  A romantic drama would have a very different filmscore to a thriller.  The old “silent” films originally had a pianist in the cinema playing along, trying to strike the right mood.  Scientists have shown how even hens are happier and produce more eggs when played calming music!

Playing Mozart when studying is said to increase our IQ. Another study showed that children who learn a musical instrument are much quicker at developing spatial awareness and problem solving skills.

There are times when we might feel like taking our temper out on a set of drums, and it would almost certainly help us to feel better. 

Relaxation (or New Age) music has a slow rhythm.  Sounds are often synthesised and there may be added natural sounds, such as whalesong, birdsong, waves or gentle rain to help produce a feeling of calm and relaxation. 

UK schools found that classrooms are much calmer with relaxing background music, with even the most “unruly” child being able to work and concentrate better.  They have been playing a variety of music that children wouldn’t normally listen to such as classical and traditional music from all over the world.  

Music experience has been shown to:

-        Improve motor functioning

-        Decrease muscle tension

-        Entrain and regulate respiration

-        Improve respiration and vital capacity

-        Reduce pain

-        Reduce heart rate

-        Increase pain tolerance and threshold

-        Decrease pain medication required

-        Decrease blood pressure

-        Decrease corticosteroid levels

-        Decrease finger temperature

-        Improve comfort

-        Compress/shorten time during labour

-        Promote well being of new-born

-        Provide measure of control and reduce helplessness

-        Reduce anxiety

-        Reduce psychological trauma

-        Enhance relaxation

-        Provide diversion

-        Elevate mood

-        Decrease fear

-        Increase verbalisations - speech is less inhibited

-        Increase mental performance during study

Music   influences bodily processes.  It can affect our heart rate, blood pressure, and muscular responses. 

Music is one of the few things that is constant in life. People run to music in times of sadness and joy. Music in a way gives advice and inspires us to do things. Sometimes when you are in a situation and don’t know what kind of stand to make you turn to music for advise. Many people use music to escape, if just for a little while, the harsh realities of the real world to gain control of our emotions and to continue in our daily life. Music is a way of life, a map to cultural expression, because a world with out music is a world with out culture.