Music: The Melody That Touches the Soul
I. The Charm and Value of Music
A. Emotional Support
Music is like a silent friend, always by our side. When we immerse ourselves in cheerful melodies, it seems that all troubles are thrown far away, and our hearts are filled with joy and vitality. According to statistics, more than 70% of people will choose to listen to lively music when in a good mood to further enhance their happiness. In sad moments, a lyrical slow song is like a warm embrace, giving us comfort. It makes us feel that we are not alone and that someone understands our pain. On lonely nights, music becomes the best companion again, filling the silent space with its melody and giving our souls a place to rest.
B. Cultural Inheritance
Music from different regions and ethnic groups is like vivid history books, recording their respective cultural characteristics and historical traditions. For example, Chinese classical music, such as "High Mountains and Flowing Waters" and "Guangling San," not only shows the elegant tastes and philosophical thoughts of ancient Chinese literati but also reflects the social style and people's living conditions at that time. African drum music is full of primitive vitality and rhythm, reflecting the African people's awe of nature and love for life. According to research, there are more than 2,000 different ethnic musics in the world, and each one carries unique cultural value. By appreciating these musics, we can deeply understand the charm of different cultures and promote cultural exchanges and integration.
C. Spiritual Enlightenment
Excellent music works can often stimulate people's creativity and imagination. When we listen to Beethoven's "Symphony of Destiny," the passionate melody seems to inspire us to bravely face the challenges in life and open up our own future. Music can also lead us to think about the meaning and value of life. For example, some folk songs, with their simple lyrics and moving melodies, make us reflect on the essence of life and the beauty of human nature. Data shows that people who often appreciate excellent music works score about 30% higher in creativity and imagination than those who don't listen to music often. It elevates our spiritual realm and helps us find inner peace in the noisy world.
II. Types and Styles of Music
Music has a wide variety of types and styles. Each kind of music has its unique characteristics and charm, meeting the aesthetic needs of different people.
A. Classical Music
Classical music is known for its rigorous structure, beautiful melody, and profound connotation. It has withstood the test of time and become a classic in the art of music.
Classical music refers to the Western music tradition from about 1750 to 1820, mainly including the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic periods. Classical music emphasizes clear harmonic structure and rigorous form. Music works often adopt sonata form, variation form, and symphony form. Its melody usually has a symmetrical structure and beautiful lines, and counterpoint plays an important role in music. Representative figures of classical music include Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, and Chopin. Their works have laid the foundation for classical music and had a profound impact on later music styles.
Although classical music is relatively rigorous in form, in the Romantic period, composers began to pay more attention to the emotional expression of music. Romantic music shows profound emotions and the individual's inner world with rich harmony and free form. For example, Chopin's nocturnes are full of delicate emotions, making people immerse in a quiet and sad atmosphere.
B. Pop Music
Pop music has the characteristics of fashion and vitality, is close to people's lives, and is deeply loved by young people. Its lyrics are easy to understand and the melody is easy to sing.
Pop music refers to those songs that are short in structure, popular in content, lively in form, sincere in emotion, and loved by the masses, widely sung or appreciated, and some even become popular for a long time or are passed down to later generations. The content of pop music works is easy to understand, and the themes are mostly taken from daily life, with love themes being the majority. Pop music's popularity is inevitable. First, it is easy to sing. Ordinary people can sing without receiving professional vocal music learning. Second, there are many types of pop music, and there is always a style that suits one's taste. Finally, there are many practitioners of pop music, so its natural development is faster than other types.
Pop music can bring many benefits to people. For example, music can relax the body. Good music can relieve stress and avoid the occurrence of chronic diseases caused by autonomic nerve tension disorders. Music can open the closed heart, relieve melancholy and depressed moods, and even music can achieve a certain degree of psychological therapy. Pop songs like "Little Apple," "Ordinary Road," and "Green" are deeply loved by the public.
C. Folk Music
Folk music carries the cultural characteristics and historical memories of various ethnic groups, and has strong regional flavors and ethnic characteristics. It is a treasure of ethnic culture and worthy of our inheritance and promotion.
Folk music is not only an art form but also an important carrier for reflecting cultural identity and inheriting cultural traditions. Folk music is usually deeply rooted in the history of a certain ethnic group and is one of the recorders of historical changes. Political, economic, and social changes in different historical periods are all reflected in the music works at that time.
Folk music has rich cultural characteristics, including historical and cultural characteristics, folk cultural characteristics, and regional cultural characteristics. Taking Peking Opera as an example, the music melody of Peking Opera is based on the ancient Chinese pentatonic scale, and the singing tunes absorb many elements of local operas. The content of the plays is often closely connected with Chinese historical events, myths and legends, folk customs, etc., becoming an important carrier for recording Chinese historical culture.
The composition techniques of folk music include elements such as harmony, polyphony, musical form, and orchestration. These elements enrich the creation of folk music from different angles and help better express the cultural value and aesthetic perspective of folk music. For example, in Mongolian music, the use of the morin khuur is not only a musical technique but also a cultural symbol. Its unique timbre can simulate the neighing of horses, symbolizing freedom and strength.
III. Music Creation and Appreciation
A. Music Creation
Music creation is an art that requires creators to have profound music theory knowledge as a foundation. For example, creators need to be familiar with basic elements such as melody, rhythm, harmony, and musical form, just as architects need to understand bricks, beams, columns, and structures. According to statistics, about 80% of successful music creators have received systematic music theory education. At the same time, rich life experience is also the source of music creation. Just like Ah Bing created "The Moon Reflected on Erquan," his life experience and perception of the warmth and coldness of the world are integrated into his works. Beijing Huarui Yingfu Industrial Development Co., Ltd. pointed out that to become an excellent music creator, love is the foundation and prerequisite because the music creation process may be very boring, and only love can make people stick to it. In addition, music creators also need to master multiple musical instruments. This is not only basic skills but also helps better express musical emotions. Many music creators start practicing musical instruments such as piano, guitar, and violin from an early age. Moreover, music creators need to be like directors, responsible for various links such as composition, lyrics writing, arranging, mixing, and post-production, which requires them to have good literary accomplishment and comprehensive music production professional skills.
B. Music Appreciation
Music appreciation is a highly subjective aesthetic experience. Different people often have different feelings and understandings of the same music work. This is because everyone's life experience, emotional state, cultural background, and aesthetic ability are all different. For example, for Beethoven's "Symphony of Destiny," some people may feel the passionate fighting spirit and the struggle against fate, while others may experience the frustrations and helplessness of life from it. To better appreciate the charm of music, appreciators need to have certain music literacy and aesthetic ability. This includes the ability to distinguish basic elements of music such as rhythm, pitch, timbre, and intensity. Only by being able to distinguish these elements can one judge the style and characteristics of music. At the same time, appreciators can also deepen their understanding of the work by understanding the background and creative motivation of the music work. In addition, the process of music appreciation is also an emotional experience process. When the psychological experience of the music sound by the appreciator forms an isomorphic fit relationship with one's own life experience, emotional resonance will occur. For example, when hearing a sad music, people who have had similar experiences may recall past pain and thus more deeply understand the emotions expressed by the music. In short, music creation and appreciation are mutually promoting and influencing. Excellent music works can stimulate the emotional resonance of appreciators, and the feedback from appreciators can also provide inspiration and motivation for creators.
IV. The Role of Music in Life
A. Stress Relief
In the fast-paced modern life, people are faced with various kinds of pressure. Music is like a magical key that can open the shackles of pressure and give people's souls a moment of tranquility. Scientific research shows that when people listen to soothing music, the body will secrete neurotransmitters such as endorphins, which can help people relax physically and mentally and reduce stress. For example, after a busy day, listening to a gentle piano piece, such as Richard Clayderman's "A Comme Amour," the beautiful melody is like a warm spring breeze, gently brushing people's souls and making people forget fatigue and troubles.
There are various ways for music to relieve stress. On the one hand, music can regulate people's breathing and heartbeat rhythms. When people hear slow-paced and beautiful melodies, breathing will gradually become stable and deep, and the heartbeat will also slow down, thus achieving the effect of relaxing the body and mind. On the other hand, music can divert people's attention. When people immerse themselves in the world of music, they will temporarily forget the pressure and troubles in life and focus on the beautiful feelings brought by music.
B. Promoting Communication
Music is a cross-linguistic and cross-cultural communication method that can promote communication and understanding between people. Music from different countries and regions has unique styles and charms. By appreciating and sharing these musics, people can better understand the characteristics and values of different cultures. For example, in international exchange activities, music often becomes a bridge for people to communicate. A music work with strong ethnic characteristics can let people from different countries feel the local cultural customs and enhance friendship and understanding between each other.
Music can also connect people through common hobbies and emotions. When people like the same music, they often have resonance, and this resonance can promote communication and interaction between people. For example, at a concert, the audience enjoys the wonderful music together, and the emotions between each other are sublimated. This common experience can make people closer. In addition, music can also be used as a way to express emotions. When people cannot express their emotions in words, they can convey their inner world through music.
C. Promoting Social Development
Music has strong infectivity and appeal. It can stimulate people's patriotic enthusiasm and social responsibility and promote social progress and development. In history, many classic music works have become symbols of the times, inspiring people to strive for national independence, national liberation, and social progress. For example, "March of the Volunteers" inspired countless Chinese people to fight bravely during the Anti-Japanese War and sacrificed their lives for the dignity of the country and the survival of the nation.
Music can also promote the development of the cultural industry and create economic value for society. With the improvement of people's living standards, the demand for music is also increasing. The music industry has gradually become an important economic field. The development of related industries such as music performances, music production, and music education not only provides people with rich cultural products and services but also creates a large number of employment opportunities and economic incomes for society.
In addition, music can also play an important role in the field of education. Music education can cultivate students' aesthetic ability, creativity, and emotional expression ability and promote the all-round development of students. By learning music, students can better understand and appreciate the artistic achievements of different cultures and enhance cultural confidence and national pride. At the same time, music can also be used as a treatment method to help people with psychological diseases and physical disabilities recover health and improve the quality of life.
