First professional piece on music

This is a paper I wrote for my college writing class. The artist mentioned in the introduction is Four Tet.

A Kind of Magic

            One of my favorite electronic producers recently posted online, “I hope people play it fucking loud,” with a new DJ style mixtape he released that is being commercially sold. So the night it came out, I took my headphones and turned up the volume as loud as my ears could permit and let the music engulf me before I drifted to a lost slumber. Because music is an art form, just like seeing a painting in a new light, it can be appreciated differently depending on how it’s digested. For example, a song’s impact on me will change if I’m relaxing in my room browsing the internet or if I’m driving around town with friends. So, why listen to music? After thinking of a few different functions, I discovered that the list of different reasons people listen to music is quite extensive. People listen because they want to forget about a long day or to drown out the noises the neighbors make or to just have some background noise fill the air. When I encounter different types of music on a typical day, I can easily notice some of the different functions that music serves: the Playlisters are made to be enjoyed, the Uplifters can make a person dance, and the Transporters alter emotions.

            Generally, songs that I consider to be Playlisters are ones that I experience in a social setting and that I can mesh together to form a playlist. It doesn’t matter if I’m at a party and I hear these songs on the dubstep playlist, or if I’m just hanging out in a friend’s dorm listening to some down-played rock, these songs are always enjoyable. The music provides an extra layer of ambiance to the atmosphere and can even be recessed from focus, allowing more important priorities to take precedent. This category is the largest because most artists intend for their listeners to enjoy the art. Ever since the invention of portable media, music has been allowed to soundtrack our lives. Many students at Texas State bring their MP3 players along their walks to class so that they can hear their favorite musicians during their daily stroll. Technology has enabled musical creativity and originality. The internet has virtually erased all limits that had previously blocked the growth of musical diversity. For example, I’ve enjoyed musical genres called experimental electronica, post-rock, and even chill-wave, which captures feelings of nostalgia using the sounds of 80’s electronic synthesizers, laid-back beats, and hazy production. Since what causes enjoyment is subjective, anyone can like anything if given the proper opportunity.

            Some intrinsic qualities exist in the very nature of music that can affect the human body and its movement. I consider any song that compels bodily movement to be an Uplifter. Multiple factors like beats, rhythm, and even frequencies attribute to an X-factor found in music that will lead to physical movement. This function of music is revolved around the moment when the ear translates vibrations in the air to movement in the body. The reaction can happen virtually anywhere. For example, the pulsing beats in a club could move a dancer’s feet, or I could just be stuck at a red light tapping my fingers along to the tunes on my stereo.

            I was inspired to name the final category Transporters because some of the music that I hear can transport my mind to another place. Because music functions this way, the sounds of Burial’s muffled synthesizers invoke images of an imaginary place under a quiet street lamp and an approaching fog. Music also has the power to completely change one’s present emotional mindset. We can experience these feelings when put on a song and we’re reminded of someone we miss. This power is complex and can mostly be attributed to how well music can trigger memory. The brain can recognize the smallest sound and attach it to a memory or a feeling. This function of music is close to magic because for a few minutes, while the music is playing, a daydream is being sound tracked in a distant reality.

            The functions of music can change from setting to setting and from person to person. The nature of music allows us to attach emotion and feelings to songs, so the amount of time a certain song has been in one’s life is also a factor. An iPod can enable a bus ride to be a thought-provoking adventure as the outer world blinks away. Songs don’t always exist to stir emotions or spark epiphanies, however. We listen to make driving fun and to dance at a party and to relax after a tiring day. Some of the effects of music can seem magical and beautiful. The wonderful thing about music is that an abundance of freely accessible music is available on the internet, just waiting for someone to press play.