Sparks1

YammondaSparks
Mrs.Scaife
Composition1
February15,2016

MelodyoftheMusic
Inanearbyroomyouhearavarietyofnoisesandsoundsthatformabeatandit
immediatelygrabsyourattention.Theorganizationofpitchesformarhythm,thatsuddenly
engagesyouentirely.Doyoudance,doyousing,orwillyoujustlisten?Nomatterwhich
reactionyouchoose,themusichasalreadycapturedyourmindsoyouhavenochoicebutto
react.Ifyoutrytoresist,itbecomesanagonizingbattlebetweenmindandbody.Istheremoreto
musicthanwethink?
Inthelasttwoyears,mylifehaschangeddramatically.Itransitionedfromhighschoolto
collegeanditwasafeelinglikenoother.IwasacceptedtotheUniversityofArkansasatLittle
Rockwithafullridescholarship.Afewofmyhighschoolfriendswereacceptedaswell,Ihada
car,allofmyschoolsupplies,anewwardrobe,andabankaccountfullofmoneythatIhad
savedjustforthismoment.Sofar,itsoundsliketheperfectliferight?However,Ididnothavea
mothertomakedecisionsforme,Ididnothavepreparedbreakfasteverymorning,Ididnothave
asiblingtofightoverthebathroomwithinthemorning,andIdidnothaveacurfew.Therewas
alonglistofthingsthatInolongerhad.Beingaspoiledchild,Iwasnotaccustomedtobeingon
myownsoIsoonfeltalone.Ibegantoreachouttomyfamilyandtheycomfortedmeasmuch
astheypossiblycouldbut,theyhadproblemsoftheirown.NomatterhowmanytimesadayI

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calledhome,thatstillneverchangedthefactthatIwasthreehoursawaytryingtopiecetogether
anewlife.Itriedturningtomyfriendsforcomfortbuttheymadenewfriends.Itriedmaking
newfriends,butmymomhadinstilledthestrangerdangerlessoninmyheadforsolongthat
therewasstillabarrierwhenmeetingnewpeople.ImovedtoLittleRockhopingtocontinuea
twoyearrelationshipwithathreehourseparationandthattoo,cametoanend.Duringthat
miserablemomentintime,itwasveryhardformetoconcentrateonmystudiesandshortlyafter
thesemesterstarted,mygradesreflectedeverybitoftheneglect.Icouldnotbeartherevisions
ofmylifeastheybroughtmenothingbutfloodsoftearsandsadnessthatturnedmysmallstorm
intowhatseemedtobeaneverlastinghurricane.Iwaslonely,weary,andgraduallyfellintoa
deepdepression.
OnenightIwasinvitedtoapoetryslamhostedbytheUniversityProgramCouncil.I
hadntleftmyroommuchinweeks,soIdecidedtogetupandgo.WhenIarrivedtheroomwas
fullofpeopleandtherewasonlyoneseatavailable.Theroomwaspoorlylit,withthebrightest
lightintheroomfocusedonthecenterofthestage.Thepoetsbegantogoonthestageandrecite
theirpreciousworksofartonebyone.However,Icouldnotseemtofocusonthepassionate
wordsthattheybegantospeak,butratherthebackgroundmusic.Itwasnotasongwithlyrics
butratherabeat.Itwasanunfamiliarsound,butitwassopureandsoothingthatitcarriedaway
allofmymelancholyanddeliveredasenseofpeace.IthadbeensolongsinceIhadthatfeeling
andIembracedeverysecondofit.IbegantolistentoartistsuchasLaurynHill,whowasalsoa
poetalwayssangabouthowsheoncewasatalowpointinlifeandhowshenowworkstoward
selflove.ThatiswhenIdiscoveredthepowerofmusic.

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Ichosetousepersonalinterviewsfromavarietyofpeopleformydatacollection.This
varietyincludedarandomperson,amusician/artistandacounselor.Wecounselorsoften
prescribemusicasatherapybecauseithasbeenproventonotonlyaffectbutimproveaperson's
mood,saysMrs.AnneCarter.Cartergoesontoexplainthatmusictapsintousinadifferent
waybecausemusicreleasesendorphins(ahormone)thatrelievesstress.Onehundredpercentof
myintervieweesadmittedtoneverbeingabletoavoidthesoundofmusic.Myfirstinterview
questionwas,Ifyoucouldproduceamusicalbumwhatwoulditbeaboutandwhy?.Itwas
amazinghowtheiranswersreflectedeachother.Myfirstintervieweewastheartist/musician,
Dr.Dre.Hisresponsewasthathewascurrentlyinthemiddleofproducinganalbumaboutthe
lifechangesthatheiscurrentlygoingthroughtheproblemsthatpeoplecouldrelateto.Oneof
hisbiggestproblemswashislovelife.Forthatveryreasonpeopletendtolistentoalotofolder
musicfrombackinthe70s,80sand90s.Backthenithadmeaningandemotion.Nowadays,
mostmusicisnothingmorethanjustabeatoracatchyphrase.Thedifferenceisnoticedinthe
reaction.Peopleloveemotionlessmusicforthemomentandtheexcitementfromitsoondies
down.Ontheotherhandmusicthathasmeaningtendstoaffectpeopleinadifferentway
becauseitisalwayssomethingthattheywillgobacktowhentheyinneedofawayoutora
senseofease.Foralongtime,musicwasouronlywayoutasarace,saysMartinLawrence.
AfricanAmericansdidnothavemanyrightsandprivilegeswhenhewasgrowingup.They
begantosingandrapbecauseitwastheonlywaytocopewiththetimesbecausetheirvoicewas
alltheyhad.Lawrencealsosaysthatmanylistentomusicnotonlybecausetheycanrelatetoit
butalsoforcomfort.Dr.Dresayshestilllistenstootherartistbecauseit'snicetoknowthatyou
aretheonlyoneinpainorhurting.Oftenthanmost,anauthorwillnotonlysingorrapabout

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theirproblemsbutalsoexpresswhattheydidtohelptheseproblemsorwhattheywantedtodo.
Forexample,artistKeyshiaColeoncehadherheartbrokenbyherfirstlove.Shefoundoutthat
hewascheatingonher.Shethenwroteasongabouthowshewasalwaysaccusedofcheating
andshewishshewouldhavepayedattentiontothesignsthatshowedhewastheonecheating
cheatingsuchasalwaysaccusinganinnocentperson,cominginlate,andshowingverylittle
affection.Attheendotthesongshesays,Iwillnolongerweartheblindfoldoflove,meaning
shewillneveragainallowlovetomakeherlosesightofhercommonsense.
Peoplealsodependonmusicbecausetherearewordsthattheywanttosaytoexpress
theirfeelings,butdon'tnecessarilyknowhowtosaythem.Thatisanotherreasonwhymusicis
important,becauseithastheperfectdeliveranceanditspeaksforsomanypeople.Iwasableto
relatetoLaurynHillwhenshetoodidnothaveahappylife.Shesungaboutherheartacheand
howshebegantoloveherselfandfindhappinesswithin.Withherhelp,sodidI.Musicspokefor
themistreatedAfricanAmericans,musictoldthelifestoriesofmanyauthors,andlastlymusic
spokeforme.
Musicisuniqueformofartwhichmakesitundeniablyhardtoexplain.Musiccan
controlpainlevel,bloodpressure,andmemory,duetosoothingbeats,sharedemotionsand
empathy.Itisintrinsicinmostculturesandisoneofthefewactivitiesthatreleaseshappy
hormonesintothebody.Forthisveryreason,musicisheavilyreliedonformanysituations.
Musichashelpedpeopleregainmemory,tellstories,copewithracialissuesandrelievedstress
anddepression.Itissafetosaythatmusicisatherapy.Itwasandstillisforme.

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WorkCited
Carter,Anne.PersonalInterview.Date.
MartinLawrence,andDr.Dre."HowDoesMusicAffectYou."Personalinterview.7Feb.2016.