Music is without a doubt a worldwide medium that people listen to, be it through apps such as Spotify, Vinyls or at concerts, live and in-person, but why exactly do we all find it so appealing?

 

Besides it often just sounding nice, Music has proven benefits on a person’s wellbeing and even health. Namely, in an article published by John Hopkins Medicine, it is stated that music’s impact stems all the way to helping with not only mood, but memory, alertness and anxiety, but, even more so, with just a little thought, several other impacts can come to mind.

 

First off, given Music is most definitely the past-time of many, many people, it is clear to say that it can benefit us through providing straight-up entertainment through filling silences, this leading to an overall better wellbeing as nobody likes being bored, right? Not only that, but Music’s impact in this way also stems deeper, given it provides an almost “backing track” to life, which, combined with some wireless headphones or earplugs, can often turn mundane chores or tasks into homemade raves or even operas.

 

Speaking of which, another benefit of Music, provided more so by current-day technologies in the form of digital music services, is its variety and overall accessibility to all. For instance, we obviously all have different tastes in music, apps such as Spotify, Apple Music or even YouTube providing, on top of ease of access, an almost literally infinite arrangement of a variety of songs, from pop and jazz to rock and roll. Significantly, this makes anybody’s listening experience not only easy to access but also unique and adapted to their likings, allowing people to form senses of identity, incredibly simply, just from what they listen to.

 

Namely, bringing me also onto my third point, this formation of identity, being that people can build a persona of themselves, can be used trivially as a means for social interaction between friends, family or people you’ve just met. Namely, on one hand, two or more people can easily connect through their music preferences, talking on their favourite genres of music or songwriters or, on another, people can ‘enlighten’ others to their preferences, sharing certain genres or songs with those who haven’t already experienced them.

 

Lastly, a final benefit of music in society, although not an often recognised one, is its overwhelming usage in all other mediums, its impact spreading from video games, television and radio, to forming key parts of certain cultures around the world. Firstly, music fills a completely unique role compared to other media, being that it is entirely audial, allowing it to be adapted into almost anything to provide backing tracks, invoke meaning or to establish atmospheres. Secondly, around the world, music forms integral parts of some communities, from fanbases to music groups as it primarily brings people together under one roof, or is celebrated by communities first birthed by it.