Music to My Ears and Yours: How Songs Connect Everyone

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Music is something that goes beyond everything. Be it border, culture, ethnicity, or whatever, music transcends them all and connects them all. The art of song has the ability to join human beings together at a fundamental level. From the simple beat of a simple drum to the complex harmonies of a symphony, the music evokes emotions and stirs memories.

How Songs Connect Everyone

The essence of music and why we are all drawn to it is, perhaps, because of its impact on our brains. There’s something about music that just simply stimulates the mind in initially inconceivable ways. Multiple papers have shown that when the brain interacts with music, multiple regions of the brain are activated. These parts include the auditory cortex, the limbic system, and the prefrontal cortex. Respectively, these parts of the brain are involved in sound processing, emotion regulation, and decision-making.

We emotionally resonate with music because the interplay of melody and rhythm has a triggering effect on various neurochemical responses within our minds. These internal cascades include the release of dopamine, a neurochemical that is most associated with the sensation of pleasure. By listening to music, our agitated emotional states are calmed, and we are also immersed in a sense of belonging and connection—that we are, in a way, in communion with the music and the musician.

Memory formation, surprisingly enough, also benefits from music. How we associate specific songs and musical vignettes with specific moments and experiences is very important. Music can function as powerful triggers for recalling a wide variety of memories. Songs can be a snapshot for important events in our lives, evoking vivid recollections and sensations.

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Music is also a compelling social adhesive. Through it, social bonding and group cohesion can be improved. The many activities that we build around and with music can do wonders for socialization. Singing together, dancing or just listening can foster unity and give us a sense of belonging.

Music to My Ears and Yours: The Cultural Significance

With its neurobiological impacts as the basis, music has an invisible role in shaping cultural identities. When you think of macro-cultures like China, Mexico, Italy, and others, there are stereotypical sounds that your mind has already associated with them. Thus, it is clear that music is an integral part of the human condition. It serves a variety of means, from expression to celebration to protest.

Traditional music, folk songs, and national anthems are all ways of expressing and reinforcing one’s culture.

Music is also a galvanizing force for change. Throughout the social movements that upended history, there are associated songs that inspired people and made their message more accessible to the masses.

With globalization, music has also become a potent medium for the greater exchange of cultural influences.

Music to My Ears and Yours: The Communal Significance

Aside from cultural cohesion, music simply just brings people together. While musical genres have stereotypical audiences, that only scratches the surface of the influence of music. Whether it’s a music festival or a bar performance, everyone can be found listening to the beauty of the harmonies and the melodies.

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Because music is inherent to the human condition, it can be a commonality for further connection and interaction. Music breaks down barriers and bridges understanding.

By virtue of its creation from human emotion, music functions as an emotional crutch. Who hasn’t listened to songs just to feel and to give words to our emotions? Music offers comfort and solace and, often, it gives us hope.

Music also helps us understand ourselves better. Through the careful curation of sounds that one resonates with, personal growth can be achieved, and you can discover a new means of expressing yourself.

More Than Just Sounds, A Living Network

Music is such a powerful force that connects human beings at a transcendental level. Although the foundation comes from something biological, the effect is utterly spiritual.

Rebecca Hendricks’s Hound Dogged is a book of found family, band music and shared experiences—but in the middle of it all, it is a story of the connective power of music and the singular song that plays in all of our hearts.

Click this link to order a copy of the book from Barnes & Noble.