The Power of Music
Music can set any mood that you want it to. Yesterday I was at my brother's house for family dinner and we ended up watching a new movie on Prime. It was your classic Aliens invasion movie where every creature looks very similar to the creatures in Stranger Things. You know what I am talking about, their extensions always seem to open up like a teething three-pronged flower. At one point in the movie when I was frantically petting one of their many dogs trying to expel my nervous energy I said, “you know these movies would be so much less intense if the music wasn’t here.” Because it's true. You can always tell that something important is going to happen in a movie by what the music is telling you, or when the music suddenly stops, that usually tells you a jump scare is going to happen. It doesn't just apply to thrillers either, think of all the romcoms from the 90s and how all the scenes in the rain are accompanied by John Mayer. Imagine Guardians of the Galaxy without its spunky 80s soundtrack. Music evokes feelings. So how can we use music to reorder our own moods?
I have different playlists on Spotify for moods that I want to create when doing different activities.
Workout music
I always try to find music with a good consistent beat so that I can match what I am doing in my workout to the beat of the music. Take the song “Thunder” by Imagine Dragons, it's a little fast for squats but it's a good beat to match any kind of exercise too. I also find songs that give me a burst of confidence to help me keep going when I get too tired to keep working out. Songs by artists like Kelly Clarkson, Beyonce, or Demi Lovato.
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Music to bring me out of a depression
I also have my go-to playlist that helps bring me out of a depression. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the music is happy or that it will make me happy, but it is a list that I know will just make me say, I am glad that I live in this world today. Usually, my go-to is Andy Grammer or Ed Sheran because they are my all-time favorite singer-songwriters.
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Music to make me happy
Sometimes I do need those songs that just make me happy. The perfect song to start this playlist is the song “Happy” by Pharrell Williams. It literally talks about being happy. Other songs on this list are “Hooked on a Feeling” by Blue Swede, Bjorn Skifs, and “Twist and Shout” by the Beatles.
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Calming music
For calming music, I tend to stay away from lyrics, so this either means I have some classical music on or just instrumental piano music. Anything with slower pacing of the music to not rev up my blood is good.
Music to sing to
Sometimes I just want to belt songs and there is nothing like belting Broadway show tunes. If you don’t like musicals though there are the classic songs that everyone knows; “Somebody to Love” for example or “Escape (The Pina Colada Song)” just the chorus of course, “I’m a believer” by the Monkeys, or “Uptown Girl” by Billy Joel. I could go on and on. What types of songs can you think of to help evoke specific moods?
Written by Sharla Ball
