The Mythology of Music

Shakira Qian

Remembering creates meaning.¹

We expect pleasing haromines,

not      j                                                                                                  o

                 a                                                                                      s        n

                                r                                                                    s                a

                         r                                                                      i                           n

                                          i                   g                           d                                   c

                                                   n                                                                               e     …²

But it’s not just about the good.

Music can provoke other feelings, too,

such as  

anxiety

                boredom 

                                     or even                                           ANGER. ²

Composers and producers walk a delicate tightrope, needing to tweak expectations to just the right degree. ²

Correct beats and measures?

Good note placement and chords?

What type of genre are we looking for?

And so on.

But it’s not the whole story. ²

Connectivity will replace repetition. ¹

What seems like “nostalgia”

                                           might just be a form of 

                                                                               low-grade experience

                                                                                                                   that amplifies the value

                                                                               of the listening event. ¹

                                       Because that seems to

make the most sense. ¹

Music evolved as a social glue for the species.

But it’s growing more and more important to create one’s own cocoon of sound. ³

How could that be the case

When listening to music

HURTS 

our ability

to recall other stimuli? ³

And any pop song

REDUCES

overall performance 

for both extraverts and introverts? ³

Is it because what

music steals

in acute concentration,

it returns to us

in the form of good vibes? ³

Science says we’re full of it. ³

In a wreck of people

and activity

Two plastic pieces connected by a wire create                            an

                                                                                                            aura

                                                                                                              of

                                                                                                          privacy. ³

A small, invisible fence around our minds. ³

And a shield is created.

That’s the triumph of headphones,

for they make their own rules of etiquette. ³

Although music evolved as social glue for the species,

headphones allow music to be enjoyed friendlessly. ³

An oasis of privacy

in a public space. ³

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Footnotes

1 _{Klosterman, Chuck. “Nostalgia on Repeat.” ” Nostalgia on Repeat, 6 Oct. 2011, http://grantland.com/features/nostalgia-repeat/?print=1.}

2 _{Ball, Philip. “Will We Ever… Understand Why Music Makes Us Feel Good?” BBC Future, BBC, 18 Apr. 2018, https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20130418-why-does-music-make-us-feel-good.}

3 _{Thompson, Derek. “How Headphones Changed the World.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 30 May 2012, https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/05/how-headphones-changed-the-world/257830/.}