Music has a way of bringing out our emotions. We say that there are moods of music, and we know which songs make us happy and which make us sad. But music also connects with us intellectually through the lyrics and what we understand them to mean. Thus, music becomes a way to link aspects of intellectual and emotional life – to combine thought and feeling. In the novel Porgy, we see music used as a tool to do just that; music, whether sung, imitated, or described metaphorically, is used, among other things, to link mental and emotional states. One way music serves as a link is by tying the emotions of the reader to the situation and state of mind of the characters or community. The first instance of this is when the community is mourning the death of Robbins. The music starts with a crude call and response cry. “What’s the matter, chillen?” came the strophe. And the antistrophe swelled to the answer: “Pain gots de body, an’ I can’t stan’ still.”... “What de matter, Sister?” “Jedus gots our brudder, an’ I can’t stand still.” Ever since Porgy had come home the air had swung to the rhythm of the chant...The burden swayed out again. “Pain gots de body, an’ I can’t stan’ still.” (15) The words of the call and response describe the situation the community is in – it has lost one of its members and the others feel the pain of loss – but what really allows the reader to feel pain with the community is the chant itself. By putting the words in the form of a chant, the author has given them authority and made them personal to the characters singing them. Through his description of air swinging to the rhythm and of the swaying burden (which has a connotation much different from that of “refrain”), Heyward creates an image of ... ... middle of paper ... ...ame. “‘Little w’te babies,’ he crooned, ‘come sing fuh dis nigger.’ He cast – and won” (60). When Porgy says “come sing,” Heyward is showing us that the music has affected him. The fact that he won shows that the effect was genuine and not imagined. In Porgy, one function of music is to tie together emotional and intellectual states. At some points, music allows the intellect of the reader to be engaged with the emotions of the characters (or vice versa); at some points, music causes the intellect of characters to give in to their emotions; at some points, it encourages them to elevate their mood either by finding external reasons to be happy or simply though cohesiveness within a community. The use of music allows for a deeper understanding of the characters, what they are going through, why they act the way they do, and what it means to be part of a community.
The idea of music as a salvation runs through the story. Music keeps Sonny sane and off drugs; music enables Sonny’s older brother to see a different side of Sonny; music brings people together. Without music, there would be a disconnect between the brothers. Music keeps the family together.
The story's first encounter with music is after the narrator has learned of Sonny's arrest. He is thinking about the boys he teaches, and how they could all be "sucked under" (419) just as Sonny has been. He hears their laughter in the schoolyard and notes its "mocking and insular" quality, a noise made by disillusioned youth rather than the untainted, joyous sound one expects of children (410). One boy whistles a tune, a cool and moving, complicated and simple melody, "pouring out of him as though he were a bird," and the music manages to soar above the harsh sounds of disenchantment (410). Clearly this music is joy and salvation. Because he concentrates on this simple music, one boy does not curse and den...
...pinion a lot of children’s music is based off their creativity or social constructs. I found this book to be fascinating and I was able to relate it back to my own childhood experiences of singing on the playground or drumming on the lunchroom tables. I think that music is such an amazing way to express so many different emotions. Whether someone picks up an instrument, sings, writes music and lyrics, or just enjoys listening to their favorite band, music has a powerful connotation in all of our lives. I think musical expression should be an option from a young age and it is evident that many children have their own ideas of what music is and incorporate it into their lives in their own special ways.
Music adds tension to the story “Where are you going, Where have you been?” It's powerful in the way that it influences Connie. Music creates tension between Connie's sense of reality and fantasy. She daydreams about boys based upon love songs, not her actual experiences with them. In fact, the encounters that she had with boys proved to be much less appealing than the romance she has seen on television, radio, films, etc. Music is also powerful for Friend. He uses it as a tool to seduce, control, and entice her. The power of music is overarching and has the power to influence us all. It has the ability to shape our understanding and help us communicate. Joyce Carol Oates' “Where are you going, Where have you been?” effectively demonstrates this concept as she shows music's impact on popular culture and adolescents.
Music has the power to affect people in great ways. It can heal broken hearts, provide and escape from reality, and speak where words cannot. Both The Metamorphosis and “Sonny’s Blues” uses music to help the main character in life. In these pieces of work, music connects both Gregor and Sonny back to humanity and open windows that were previously closed.
Since the earliest days of human civilization music has been a key tool for communication of stories which carried emotions through them. If we think back to our youngest years of life music has surrounded us whether it was from our parents singing us lullabies or from some sort of toy that played music we can say that musical melodies have helped shape or lives one way or another. Once we start growing up and figuring out who we are our musical preferences change; some people like classical and some like punk. We start to befriend people who like the same music as us and eventually we may attend a musical event. Our lives somewhat revolve around the music that we listen to.
Music is an art and a wonderful gift to human race. It soothes, stimulates and makes us feel happy. It affects our moods in many different ways from lullaby to war cry for changes in the society. Music is actually distinct to different people. Above all, it has a transformational importance that is captured in its art and nature. Music draws our emotions and it has an impact of bridging different cultures across the continents. Slave songs were very vital channels through which all kind of information was conveyed both positive and negative.
ABSTRACT: There has yet to be a culture discovered which lacks music. Music is a part of our existence, but we do not fully understand it. In this paper, working in the tradition of Aristotle, Wittgenstein and Langer, I elucidate some of the connections between music and the emotions. Using contemporary philosophy of mind theories of emotion, I explain how we can have a better understanding of our emotive responses to music. I follow the pattern through representational painting and abstract painting to music, and show how each functions as an intentional object for the object of our emotions in response to each art form.
Hearing the sounds of, “Whip! Whip! You nigger I caught you running away from my plantation.” This day of hearing these words would humbly give slaves the courage to become free. Slaves song songs that were a form of expressing how they felt.
It is true that music has a compact link to our emotions. Music assists people to overcome the bad situations in their life, just like it did for Sonny, the barmaid, or some other people in the Harlem. Music has a tremendous effect on people’s mind because it makes them feel relax and comfortable, especially the soft classical music. It helps distressed people to stay smooth and peaceful. In fact, music is a remarkable way to ease our stress.
He said, “You better work for me / I have some land to drain” (1.2). In this song, he takes on the role of an African storyteller, recounting the hard life many African Americans faced. With the song, Wining Boy helps preserve the culture and their blues songs.
The first paragraph builds a mental image of the person reading this poem of a vessel that just returned from a long journey with a reward won from an enemy. They are returning home to a harbor filled with family, friends, and random citizens with bells ringing very loudly. Everyone on the harbor has their eyes fixed on the ship. Although, the misfortune of the sea dog who found the Captain’s corpse bleeding, and fallen lifeless. The next passage gives you the sensory of the sailor trying to pull the Captain’s lifeless corpse off the floor as though he’s still convinced the captain is still alive. The flag is flying in the air, the bugles play for him, and the crowd is throwing flowers and ribbon tied wreaths up in the air. The mass of people
“Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb; Mary had a little lamb, whose fleece was white as snow.” For centuries “Mary had a little lamb” has become one of the most universally recognized nursery rhythms since being published in 1830. Centuries later it is still one of the most popular songs of the world. Merriam Dictionary defines music as “the science or art of ordering tones or sounds in succession, in combination, and in temporal relationships to produce a composition having unity and continuity.” With that in mind, music is found everywhere. Whether it’s in the Great Wall of China to the jungles in Africa, music is found everywhere. The main purpose of this paper is to show that music is in fact a universal language by comparing music with other official languages, showing how music influences emotions and how music literacy and emotions helps people understand music as a language. In order to fully execute my purpose of proving that music is a universal language, I will be focusing on using personal experiences, researching articles and specific musical examples from class.
In conclusion towards the arguments and observations, musical expression consists in presenting emotion characteristics in appearance. It turns out people listen to music as having a purposeful nature and that it has an effect on psychological emotions. If there is a case in which music showing emotional qualities with no reference to feelings, there is a case of happy music that is not powerful of happiness.
Music, a form of art, made up of unique and special sounds containing elements of pitch and rhythm can powerfully soothe one’s soul. Firstly, there are different types of music, and each has its own features. These sounds and features are what I admire in music because to me it creates a new form of communication to one’s consciousness. It stimulates our mind and gives it a sense of harmony and peace through the hardships that life poses for us. As a kid, I would always listen to music from any genre, deciding which genre would complement me the most as I grew older. In middle school, I remember going on the computer and finding a website/program where I could make my own beats. From that day on, I spent countless of hours each day making sure the tune sounded proper and pleasurable for my ears. At first, it wasn’t good, but eventua...