Does music make anyone else emotional?

Status
Not open for further replies.
AnnaBanana

AnnaBanana

Puritan Board Freshman
Does music make anyone else emotional? Is the purpose of music to do this? I don't know why but songs can make me sad, happy, joyful... basically all the emotions that we have, I feel them immensely during different songs. Some bring me back to times in my past, and some make me hopeful for the future.

It can be the simplest song... and I notice something inside that makes me truly "feel" something.

I don't know, maybe I am a weird. Just wondering if anyone else feels this connection to music
 
Yes. Music is practically an emotional language. That's why it is important to know what you are hearing and know how it affects you.

I've studied music. I write music. I have listened to a lot but I'm very selective at what I'll allow into my head.

That is because it passes through my head in the background pretty much all the time. If I pay attention to what I'm hearing in my head, it reflects and reminds me of my emotional status. For example: during sentencing hearings I'll often hear in my head Dies Irae from Mozart's Requiem. In its way, it keeps me sober and focused.
 
VictorBravo said:
Yes. Music is practically an emotional language. That's why it is important to know what you are hearing and know how it affects you.

I've studied music. I write music. I have listened to a lot but I'm very selective at what I'll allow into my head.

That is because it passes through my head in the background pretty much all the time. If I pay attention to what I'm hearing in my head, it reflects and reminds me of my emotional status. For example: during sentencing hearings I'll often hear in my head Dies Irae from Mozart's Requiem. In its way, it keeps me sober and focused.
Click to expand...

This is very helpful. Thank you!
 
The mentioning of Dies Irae brought back a dear memory.

Hubby sang with a professional choir. They were to perform the Requiem, had a rehearsal CD. Five year old daughter apparently took it all in, as we were driving along on day and she started belting out the Dies Irae, about perfectly. A tiny, blonde fury of righteous justice.

But to the OP: yes, music brings forth all sorts of emotions. As mentioned above, take care what you put in, and then you can enjoy all the feelings and pictures and loveliness and even occasional melancholy(Schubert's Die Winterreise!) freely.
 
I believe we are created with an appreciation of music and melody within us, for it was so designed in order to sing our praises to the One who created us. Just imagine all of us gathered in one great congregation, joining in a concert of worship singing an inspired psalm. Allthough I am decidedly EP, yet to hear a Welsh male voice choir singing Welsh hymn tunes, imakes my eyes a fountain of waters. Because of historic sufferings and the melancholic nature of our race, the tunes are mostly in the minor key. To hear them stirs a symphony of emotions. Listen to 5000 Welsh voices at the Albert Hall London on utube, and you will get the feeling. But to listen to a Welsh folk love song,Myfanwy, sung by a male voice choir, wets the eyes. Again utube it. When a congregation joins in harmony and vents its psalming praise, it brings us nearer to heaven, yea, and heaven to earth. But the music without the meaning of the words is pure emotion. Yet even that proves this inbuilt melodic gift.
 
Of course! Your not alone.
Sometimes music gets the best of me and the emotions take over...ha
974A5993-52FE-4078-BAE1-0C4C6C52F050.gif
 
Last edited:
It's not just you, Anna. Arthur Schopenhauer thought music was the only relief from suffering in a miserable world.

In Much Ado About Nothing (II.3), Shakespeare has Benedick say:
"Now, divine air! Now is his soul ravished. Is it not strange that sheeps’ guts should hale souls out of men’s bodies? Well, a horn for my money, when all’s done."

The reference is to stringed instruments, and the enormous influence that they can have over our interior state. So it can be a question of considerable importance to learn how music affects us, and how to use it wisely so it helps rather than hinders us; and (as in Trent's case) how to ignore it when we can't turn it off. Violin concertos from the Italian Baroque composers always remind me that creation is wonderful and unexpected.

John Dryden said about as much as anyone could, and perhaps a bit too much:

A Song for St. Cecilia’s Day

From harmony, from heavenly harmony,
This universal frame began:
When nature underneath a heap
Of jarring atoms lay,
And could not heave her head,
The tuneful voice was heard from high,
‘Arise, ye more than dead!'
Then cold, and hot, and moist, and dry,
In order to their stations leap,
And Music’s power obey.
From harmony, from heavenly harmony,
This universal frame began:
From harmony to harmony
Through all the compass of the notes it ran,
The diapason closing full in Man.

What passion cannot Music raise and quell?
When Jubal struck the chorded shell,
His listening brethren stood around,
And, wondering, on their faces fell
To worship that celestial sound:
Less than a God they thought there could not dwell
Within the hollow of that shell,
That spoke so sweetly, and so well.
What passion cannot Music raise and quell?

The trumpet’s loud clangour
Excites us to arms,
With shrill notes of anger,
And mortal alarms.
The double double double beat
Of the thundering drum
Cries Hark! the foes come;
Charge, charge, ‘tis too late to retreat!

The soft complaining flute,
In dying notes, discovers
The woes of hopeless lovers,
Whose dirge is whisper’d by the warbling lute.

Sharp violins proclaim
Their jealous pangs and desperation,
Fury, frantic indignation,
Depth of pains, and height of passion,
For the fair, disdainful dame.

But O, what art can teach,
What human voice can reach,
The sacred organ’s praise?
Notes inspiring holy love,
Notes that wing their heavenly ways
To mend the choirs above.

Orpheus could lead the savage race;
And trees unrooted left their place,
Sequacious of the lyre;
But bright Cecilia rais’d the wonder higher:
When to her organ vocal breath was given,
An angel heard, and straight appear’d
Mistaking Earth for Heaven.

As from the power of sacred lays
The spheres began to move,
And sung the great Creator’s praise
To all the Blest above;
So when the last and dreadful hour
This crumbling pageant shall devour,
The trumpet shall be heard on high,
The dead shall live, the living die,
And Music shall untune the sky!
 
Cymro said:
to hear a Welsh male voice choir singing Welsh hymn tunes, imakes my eyes a fountain of waters.
Click to expand...
I am the first to say I would rather hear the Welsh singing at a rugby game than the All Black haka.
Cymro said:
Because of historic sufferings
Click to expand...
Did you mean the All Blacks defeating Wales? I can imagine that would cause you to sing in a minor key :lol:
Cymro said:
the tunes are mostly in the minor key.
Click to expand...
I think it is important for the church in general to remember this. There is a tendency to sing only in a 'major' key, but we must remember the Psalmist incorporates a wide range of emotions - joy, sorrow etc.
 
Absolutely.
I can sure change my mood by selecting certain playlists.
 
I'm probably in the minority. For me, music is poetry set to music. It could be the type of music I enjoy listening to. I don't like sappy music. I don't like "happy" music etc. I like music with unique wording and unique music mixes. So I have to say I don't get emotional with music.
 
Cymro said:
I believe we are created with an appreciation of music and melody within us, for it was so designed in order to sing our praises to the One who created us. Just imagine all of us gathered in one great congregation, joining in a concert of worship singing an inspired psalm. Allthough I am decidedly EP, yet to hear a Welsh male voice choir singing Welsh hymn tunes, imakes my eyes a fountain of waters. Because of historic sufferings and the melancholic nature of our race, the tunes are mostly in the minor key. To hear them stirs a symphony of emotions. Listen to 5000 Welsh voices at the Albert Hall London on utube, and you will get the feeling. But to listen to a Welsh folk love song,Myfanwy, sung by a male voice choir, wets the eyes. Again utube it. When a congregation joins in harmony and vents its psalming praise, it brings us nearer to heaven, yea, and heaven to earth. But the music without the meaning of the words is pure emotion. Yet even that proves this inbuilt melodic gift.
Click to expand...
It's really neat how music is something we carry with us through life, almost like a dear friend, and the love and appreciation for the music that is so dear to us moves us so greatly as it becomes a part of us. Many times, songs from my childhood are so dear to me because they cause me to reflect on the innocence I once had, where all of life seemed sunny. As well, a song can bring us back to a place where we shared a sweet memory with a loved one who is now passed away. Music becomes a part of us as we take it with us through our experiences in life, and when we have passed through time, it remains with us to bless us with the beauty of life.

For me, I listened to those songs you recommended, and I personally wasn't moved, but I can see how one surely could be very easily if these songs had meaning in one's life, and they were carried along as a special friend. I'd imagine they would help produce all sorts of beautiful thoughts and emotions.

So maybe what I'm trying to say is, for me, I don't know if it's necessarily the music that is the cause of such emotion, but more so the memories, feelings, and thoughts that become attached to that music.

This is one of the songs that really moves me as there is so much sweetness from my own life built around the time I really used to listen to it.

 
Ryan&Amber2013 said:
It's really neat how music is something we carry with us through life, almost like a dear friend, and the love and appreciation for the music that is so dear to us moves us so greatly as it becomes a part of us. Many times, songs from my childhood are so dear to me because they cause me to reflect on the innocence I once had, where all of life seemed sunny. As well, a song can bring us back to a place where we shared a sweet memory with a loved one who is now passed away. Music becomes a part of us as we take it with us through our experiences in life, and when we have passed through time, it remains with us to bless us with the beauty of life.

For me, I listened to those songs you recommended, and I personally wasn't moved, but I can see how one surely could be very easily if these songs had meaning in one's life, and they were carried along as a special friend. I'd imagine they would help produce all sorts of beautiful thoughts and emotions.

So maybe what I'm trying to say is, for me, I don't know if it's necessarily the music that is the cause of such emotion, but more so the memories, feelings, and thoughts that become attached to that music.

This is one of the songs that really moves me as there is so much sweetness from my own life built around the time I really used to listen to it.

Click to expand...
I love me some Explosions in the Sky.
 
Last edited:
Music is designed to make you feel. When I play and teach piano, my goal is to communicate through music and help others do the same. I'm not overly concerned that I play all the right notes (though I try), but that I communicate something much more profound through the music.

Pieces/songs in major keys often sound happy while minor ones sad, although composers can often turn this concept on its head. If you listen to Brahms Op. 117 No. 1 in Eb major or Op. 118 No. 2 in A major, the melodies are hopeful, but not happy. Peaceful, but longing. When I play both of these pieces, I have to be careful not to allow my emotions to get the better of me, or I might forget I'm playing (this is dangerous!). A piano teacher told me that to play well you need a "brain of ice and heart of fire."
 
timfost said:
When I play both of these pieces, I have to be careful not to allow my emotions to get the better of me, or I might forget I'm playing (this is dangerous!).
Click to expand...

That sparked a memory. I was playing an organ recital--Pachelbel's Chaccone in f minor, from memory. I knew that piece inside and out. While I was performing my brain drifted off and I was seeing myself in chest-deep water casting a fly-line for trout in a mountain stream. It was so peaceful.

But in the distant background I heard some music, Pachelbel? "Wait a minute..where am I?"

I was totally disoriented and didn't even know where in the piece I was. I had to rely on muscle memory until I could regroup.

A piano teacher told me that to play well you need a "brain of ice and heart of fire."
Click to expand...

I like that.
 
timfost said:
When I play both of these pieces, I have to be careful not to allow my emotions to get the better of me, or I might forget I'm playing (this is dangerous!).
Click to expand...

Opera singers maximally experience this. The emotion must be heard in the voice but one must not overcome by it. One must appear to cry and communicate such in the sung tones. But one must not actually cry, of course, because then one can't sing.

It's always interesting to hear acting talked about when it comes to opera singers. Many do not get that the best opera acting is not done in the character (as in other stage acting) but in the voice. Pavarotti, for instance, was not accounted by many a great stage actor in the craft, but that he was a good actor operatically can be heard in his voice.

Again, though, the emotion must be conveyed in the singing voice, but not really experienced, because, if it is, there goes the singing voice! The opera singer, of all musicians, must never allow his emotions to the get the better of him.

Peace,
Alan
 
@Ask Mr. Religion

Barber's Adagio was a favorite of JFK and played in conjunction with the news of his death as it was at the Last Night of the Proms in 2001 to honor the fallen of 9/11. It has become a renowned funeral piece, from Einstein to Diana of Wales. Mahler's Adagietto (from his 5th Symphony) was an influence, being famously played at Bobby Kennedy's funeral in St. Patrick's just over fifty years ago by Bernstein and the NYPO.

The power of music to stir the emotions is paramount in art. There is nothing quite like that aural experience. It is a shame that so many, having amazing musical riches so readily available, never avail themselves and remain so impoverished with respect to music.

Peace,
Alan
 
Alan D. Strange said:
Opera singers maximally experience this. The emotion must be heard in the voice but one must not overcome by it. One must appear to cry and communicate such in the sung tones. But one must not actually cry, of course, because then one can't sing.

It's always interesting to hear acting talked about when it comes to opera singers. Many do not get that the best opera acting is not done in the character (as in other stage acting) but in the voice. Pavarotti, for instance, was not accounted by many a great stage actor in the craft, but that he was a good actor operatically can be heard in his voice.

Again, though, the emotion must be conveyed in the singing voice, but not really experienced, because, if it is, there goes the singing voice! The opera singer, of all musicians, must never allow his emotions to the get the better of him.

Peace,
Alan
Click to expand...

I had the privilege to accompany my sister's senior voice recital some years back. With some of the songs she felt the greatest connection, she abandoned everything we rehearsed for complete spontaneity. The wonderful thing about a good artist (and family member) is that we continued as one voice without hesitation as if we were a single instrument with two timbres. It was as if time slowed down and we no longer were performing but living the music. Moments like this are hard to forget (and to explain).
 
timfost said:
t was as if time slowed down and we no longer were performing but living the music. Moments like this are hard to forget (and to explain).
Click to expand...

I know what you mean as a performer, having experienced that myself.

Even as an auditor, however, one can experience this. There have been unbelievable, unforgettable nights in the opera house and the concert hall in which the singers/instrumentalists/conductor are on a high plane together and the audience is all drawn in. I'll forbear rehearsing specifics here!

I recall reading many years ago (early 80s?) in Stereo Review that the sound reproductive quality would so improve in coming years as to render live performances passe. The idea was that the acoustic fidelity of recording and listening equipment would become so true as to close the doors of music venues. Perhaps this has happened in a measure here and there.

But nothing can compare (on every level) with a live performance, which is less costly than the finest sound system (which is exorbitant) and draws us into the music like nothing else. One quick example (just one!): Haitink conducted a CSO performance of Mahler's 2nd here a decade ago that I'll never forget. The choral entrance in the last movement, which I believe is the quietest in the repertoire, was ethereal and other-worldly as I've never heard it. One often weeps at the finale of this but I started right there, albeit very quietly and holding my breath! It was a magnificent night in the concert hall!

Peace,
Alan
 
AnnaBanana said:
Does music make anyone else emotional? Is the purpose of music to do this?
Click to expand...

Yes. The Bible has a lot to say about singing unto the Lord, but I am thinking now of one place where prophetic ecstasy is reached with the aid of music.

2 Kings 3:14‭-‬15
14 And Elisha said, As the Lord of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee.
15 But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him.
 
AnnaBanana said:
Does music make anyone else emotional? Is the purpose of music to do this? I don't know why but songs can make me sad, happy, joyful... basically all the emotions that we have, I feel them immensely during different songs. Some bring me back to times in my past, and some make me hopeful for the future.

It can be the simplest song... and I notice something inside that makes me truly "feel" something.

I don't know, maybe I am a weird. Just wondering if anyone else feels this connection to music
Click to expand...
I really want to watch this documentary




Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
 
AnnaBanana said:
Does music make anyone else emotional? Is the purpose of music to do this? I don't know why but songs can make me sad, happy, joyful... basically all the emotions that we have, I feel them immensely during different songs. Some bring me back to times in my past, and some make me hopeful for the future.

It can be the simplest song... and I notice something inside that makes me truly "feel" something.

I don't know, maybe I am a weird. Just wondering if anyone else feels this connection to music
Click to expand...
Also this may bring eye floods


Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
 
I saw this touching youtube and thought of this thread:


Baby hears Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata for the first time.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Richard King
  • Locked
Does this remind anyone else of BAWB?
Replies
5
Views
2K
N. Eshelman
N. Eshelman
J
  • Locked
John Piper and Christian hedonism, does this bother anyone else?
2
Replies
39
Views
15K
py3ak
py3ak
CatherineL
  • Locked
Anyone else snowed in?
Replies
28
Views
2K
Herald
Herald
JohnGill
  • Locked
Learning German - Anyone else game?
2
Replies
39
Views
4K
Pilgrim72
Pilgrim72
Kevin
  • Locked
Anyone else going to GCA?
Replies
0
Views
958
Kevin
Kevin
Back
Top