Theraputic Value Of Music Essay, Research Paper

Title: Music Has Therapeutic Value

Argument Essay Format

Attention Grabber:

Stress. Anxiety. Frustration. “All the things in my life are not going as they should be! Time is not on my side. There is no time for the things I have to do every day anymore!” Thoughts, such thoughts with anger go through my mind as I am driving my children to their sports club practices after a day of school. Upon their pick up, they are in their own happy worlds with absolutely no cares or worries to worry them. They do not know of all my business, my struggles as their mother, or my daily battles. As soon as I start the car into motion, my oldest daughter turns on the radio and all of sudden, the car is quiet with no one talking but just listening. The music not being too quick in melody or too slow. My children must have had their own wrestles throughout the day at school because they seemed to have relaxed just as I did when the music began to sound. They seem to have become more content with just sitting back in an automobile and simply enjoying more of their ride home to their practice matches. Music. Pure enjoyment. Soothing. Relaxing.

Background:

By simply listening to music, it can help reduce stress block out negative emotions in an individual. Music is known for eliminating anxiety, frustration, and depression. With various types of music to choose from, all have different effects on a human being. For energy, sounds with upbeat rhythms have been used before workouts or sports games with athletes. With calming one’s self down in mind, individual veer toward listening to lighter beats and tones to accomplish a relaxed mood. Many studies and experiments have been performed throughout the years to prove that music does have beneficial values to individuals. Many of music purposes is solely focused on entertainment only but with evidence, music can be used in aiding stress.

Position Statement (Thesis): Music has therapeutic value, as many researchers have found. Through surveys and studies, this theory is proven.

#1-Logical Appeal, Reason With Evidence: After surveying a group of students at San Juan College in Farmington, New Mexico, of the Spring semester of the year two thousand. The students were given optional pick-and-choose questionaire. The scale being quite simple. The calculations include each percentage pointing the tallies represented fifty to sixty San Juan College students. A ten percent response is represented five to six hundred students. The survey resulted in the following:

Emotional and Ethical Appeal (if appropriate): The survey results were high in individuals listening to more than four hours of music per day. The “none at all” category had no marks at all stating everyone listens to music sometime or throughout their days. The highest score for purpose of listening to music was for enjoyment and second, for relaxation. The students at San Juan College agreed that music could be used as therapy with a ninety-five percent to five percent result. Nearly half of the students that participated in the survey are parents. The survey included age for additional survey information, sixty percent of the students were between eighteen and twenty-five years of age, twenty percent between twenty-six and thirty-five. Ten percent, both age categories of thirty-five to forty-five and forty-six or older, was tallied on the survey.

A section on the survey included asking the student to share any experiences of music as therapy in their lives and some responded with, “Classical music was played to see if listening to it would better my grades?and it did.” “I listen to music when I’m mad. It helps me calm down.” “When a death occurred in my family, I couldn’t sleep. During counseling, they gave us some recorded music to listen to to help us sleep better at nights.” “Music is essential for me because it is the only way I can go to sleep.” “Listening to music calms me and tends to aid in getting rid of headaches.” “Music relaxes me when I need it and also it helps me get pumped up for sports or for work.”

#2-Logical Appeal, Reason With Evidence: Many studies have been performed and one of them on a group of depressed adolescents. Two forms of therapy performed on them to find which worked best were massage or music therapy.

First, thirty adolescents around the age of eighteen were randomly assigned to massage and music group. All were unmarried and their socioeconomic status was low. Sixty percent being African American and the other forty percent were Hispanic.

After the massage and music sessions, three-minute electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings were obtained. With a stretchable lycra “EEG” cap that was place on the participant’s head, electrodes were positioned and place at the outer canthus and around one eye. Eye movement and gross motor movement was monitored.

The massage therapy the adolescents received were of a Swedish style which consisted of long, broad strokes, using moderate pressure, and administered to the back, arms, hands, and neck.

The music therapy given to the adolescents involved listening to fifteen minutes of uplifting rock music. This music had previously been selected by another group of adolescents who were similar to the group being studied. The music list consisted of “Straight Up” by Paula Abdul, a song that is upbeat and can be dance to. “Nasty” by Janet Jackson, another upbeat and dance song. “Vision of Love” by Mariah Carey, this song is a love ballad. The last song was “Keep the Faith” by Michael Jackson and is a moderate in tempo and an inspirational song. All students wore headphones while listening to the songs.

Though both massage and music therapy altered the depressive symptoms, music scored the most over the massages received (Jones 2)

Emotional and Ethical Appeal (if appropriate):

#3-Logical Appeal, Reason With Evidence: Human beings have always found intensely personal meaning in patterns of sound. Robert Jourdain has examined the brain and its patterns to sound in his book, “Music, the Brain, and Ectasy.” Mr. Jourdain has found that our brain makes sense out of what it hears and makes a relation. If we are stressed and music begins to play, our brain will use the music as a tool to help in coping with the stress or frustration.

Emotional and Ethical Appeal (if appropriate): It is often read or heard in the press that the right side of the brain is relational and the left side of the brain is analytical. According to Jourdain, such descriptions are extremely na?ve and are a misconception of what laterilization is all about. Laterilization is the notion that each side of the brain dominates certain activities. Dominance does not mean absolute control according to Jourdain. (Jourdain 280)

The generalization of the roles of the two sides of the brain is that the left brain is particularly concerned with modeling relations between events across time, while the right brain favors relation between simultaneously occurring events. The left hemisphere specialized in not jus the grammatical transformations of language but also trains of analytical thinking, purpose of physical movements, perception and generation of rhythmic patterns in music. While the right hemisphere is expert of modeling relations, body position, and relations among sounds and the musical chords. Dominance in melody processing goes to the right hemisphere.(Jourdain 281)

Possibly more Appeals:

Opposing Position:

Logical Appeals (And possibly ethical appeals) to Refute:

Repetition of Position Statement:

Music has therapeutic value, as many researchers have proven. Though the criticism and disagreements from others, music has a definite positive effect overall.