The power of music

Out of 25 people polled at the Anoka-Ramsey Community College (ARCC), nearly 70% answered that they would rather have music than have television, newspapers, magazines, or video games.


Dictionary.com defines the term music as “an art of sound in time that expresses ideas and emotions in significant forms through the elements of rhythm, melody, harmony, and color.” Whether it was the soft hum of vibrating strings on an instrument or the melodic sound of a human’s vocal cords, music is something that has been around for many years. Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff once said, “Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music.”


The results of the poll done with ARCC students revealed that of the 25, 64% of the participants answered that music is ‘very important’ to them. ARCC student Laura Sweeney said in response to her opinion on what life would be like without music, “I don’t think there would be life without music.” Andie Anderson mentioned on helium.com that music surrounds us all; there is music in dentist offices, operating rooms, weddings, funerals and music also plays a crucial role in movies. Seventy-six percent of ARCC students polled reported that they listen to music everyday for a minimum of two hours.


True Grimes, a student at ARCC, said, “Because music is considered the most popular way that Americans relax, we’d be a lot more stressed out without it.” According to psychcentral.com, Grimes may indeed be correct in her statement. Psychcentral.com says that music, especially slow and quiet classical music, can have a very strong relaxing effect on both our minds and bodies. The website also points out that soothing classical types of music can have a positive effect on our physiological functions, lower blood pressure, and minimize the levels of stress hormones.
ARCC student Rachel Hiel said, “I think people would be less open without music. Music is a great way to express your emotions and feelings and without it people are less likely to express that,” in response to the idea of a world without music. Healthychild.com confirms Hiel’s opinion and says that music can not only just be a useful relaxant, but also can provide people with the means of expressing their feelings and releasing their emotions. In the same way as poetry, the lyrics of songs themselves are expressions of a writer or singer’s emotions and feelings.

There are many different types of music in the world so, in turn, there are many people who like different types of music. The survey conducted with ARCC students asked them what their favorite type of music was. The top response, given the alternative choices of country, classical, hiphop/rap, and rock, was ‘other’ with 44%. The remaining percentages were: rock (32%), country (12%), classical (8%) and hiphop/rap (4%). Also included in the poll was the question of favorite music artist; among a broad variety of answers, the only answer mentioned by more than one respondent was The Beatles.