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Why music matters

Music provides a sensational complement to life’s moments.

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A student listens to music on Jan. 22.

Though some of us prefer Apple Music and others prefer Spotify, we all have soft spots for the artists and genres that get us through our busy lives, accompanying the wide array of experiences we undergo. Among my own playlists lie folk acoustics for evening walks around campus, upbeat melodies for summer drives to the coast and high-energy classics for a night out with friends. Even in times of grief, hopelessness or contemplation, music can enhance our feelings, change our perspectives and allow us to relive memories. Although we all have different tastes in genres or artists, music universally helps us feel.

A few evenings ago, I texted my father about Nick Drake, a singer/songwriter from the ’70s whom I discovered some months before our conversation. I had developed a liking for Drake’s simple melodies and symbolic lyrics, most recently enjoying his music with close friends and in my daily stints of alone time. However, on this particular evening, I chose to share my musical fascination with my father, knowing our similar tastes. As the texts went on, my father explained that he used to play Nick’s music to me as a baby. I questioned him, having no prior recollection of the songwriter, but he insisted. “I used to drape you on my arm and walk at night. You’d be like a reverse sloth. Mum never knew. She needed to sleep,” he confirmed. My father noted Nick’s ability to “settle” me and save my parents from a restless night. This revelation stood out, as Nick Drake’s music and the feelings that emerged from it had seemed so familiar. While music has always been a staple in my life, it was only recently, in the formative years of college, that I began feeling deeply attached to it. I’ve found inspiration through vibrant melodies and felt deep emotions from meaningful lyrics. Perhaps my foundational experience from infancy had inadvertently drawn me back to Nick’s sound? I began to wonder how and why this music produced the same feelings of calm and peace today as it had long ago. Why does music calm us — or make us cry? Why does music motivate us? Why does it inspire us? I asked myself these questions.

Uniquely, music communicates emotions and moods that improve our quality of life. The brain can predict and retain musical signals, connecting our earliest sound bites to similar situations of today. Moreover, many emotional hormones are stimulated by musical tones. These hormonal phenomena, driven by music, often become catalysts for the most thought-provoking and reflective times in a person’s life. They explain why, combined with my fathers admittance, I developed new feelings of curiosity, nostalgia and gratitude when listening to Drake this time around. 

While not every moment spent listening to music has to be life-changing, I think that many of us have stopped thinking deeply about why music matters. It is more accessible and diverse than ever, but too often overlooked. As I researched and approached music’s value introspectively, I came to realize just how foundational music is in shaping seemingly insignificant moments into valuable memories. The formative years of our lives, whether it be as a baby or a hard-working Tufts student, involve a plethora of new experiences and changes. In times of rapid change, music offers an emotional constant.

Think back to the last time you listened to music. Was it to focus on homework? Was it to motivate you at the gym? Was it to soothe your mind before bed? Whatever it may be, that music may have helped express an emotion, broaden your perspective or take you back to another time. Accompanied by my favorite genres and artists, I traverse campus more inspired and aware of music’s value. Through songs like “Pink Moon” and “From the Morning,” Nick Drake returns me to childhood, to family and to the subtleties of my evolving life.