MMM Whatcha Say?

Being someone that appreciates music on all different types of levels, I was curious as to how others might feel about music, whether its music as a whole or their own particular favorite genre. I asked a few of my friends the following questions, hoping to understand their background on the topic and hear how they feel about music:
1. How is music important to you?
2. What kind of music are you interested in and why?
3. Do you feel that music is changing over time, if yes, is it a good thing or a bad thing & why?
4. How does music affect you, and how do you think its affecting people as a whole?

The majority of responses I received were the same. 1 out of 4 people however, had a completely different mind set on the topic.

For the most part, people felt that music is an important aspect of their lives. For example, one person said that "music is definitely my best friend" because although one can speak to someone about how they feel it'll never sound as good as it does in a song. Most music is like poetry, at least good music. It has the ability to flow and it triggers an emotion in the mind and the body and makes you feel at home and accepted. For everyone else, music is an escape from daily troubles and life in general. I can say the same thing because as much as I like a good beat, I appreciate a song more if it relates to how I feel, and that can either be a good feeling or a bad feeling but whats important is that I have a song that can define my feeling.

Although there are tons of genres out there, the people I interviewed liked hip hop and rap the most, even hip hop that's just a good beat without witty lyrics. Music is music, it's available in all kinds of languages and genres but of course everyone has a story behind how they came across to love a specific genre. Here's an example from someone I interviewed :

I have always been interested in rap. I never clearly knew why, all I know is I heard my first rap song in the 3rd grade and have been hooked ever since. When I first heard “they shooting, aww made you look, you a slave to a page in my rhyme book,” i was so excited. I had never heard something like it. Then as I grew some of the songs became relatable but I can’t say that’s why. I like rap because some songs that have nothing to do with me still capture my attention. Maybe it’s the way the words flow or the ideas behind, but a good rap song always seems to capture my attention.

As you can see, some people form a liking towards a genre at a young age however, that might change once you get older, it all depends on the person. It might also depend on if music changes over time, and if that change appeals to you. The idea that music changes is true, because the music that was around in the 80's is not the same at it is now. This is because "the things we can do with music now are a lot more in depth than what we could have done decades ago. Music production has changed with technology. The sounds as well." Most changes are due to the fact that with newer technology it is possible to do so much more, however, a drum is still a drum and that was an instrument that was around even when the Native Americans lived in North America. Although now there are new drum sets that are made with better equipment and materials the idea of a drum still remains the same. As far as, if change is a good thing or not, if music didn't change over time it would get boring and die out fast. In order for music to continue it needs to change, just like fashion, it always changes but it often takes trends from older days and modifies it to make it modern. This is the same for music, the basics stay the same, the details of it change over time.

For everyone, music affects them differently, it can be something that's said, the beat, the emotion, etc. However, regardless of how it affects them most people find music as a necessity. In this era, music is available EVERYWHERE. Literally. Its in the radio, on tv, on the computer, in an ipod, on the phone, even on the train. This makes it so much easier for people to accept music and have it affect them in a certain way. I remember, in my english class, sophomore year of hs, my teacher used music as a means of teaching us the historical background of the book we were reading in class. Not only does music provide lyrics, emotion and beats, it also provides us with some information on the time period that the song was written. It's a part of history. This is why music is important.