Put your emotions to music

Do you in ordinary life feel the difference between “listen” and “hear”? When listening to a song or a piece of music, do you happen to notice the nuances of orchestration – here the violins lead the melody, the guitar emphasizes the phrase, the oboe creates the second voice, and the double bass accentuates the rhythm?

To be honest, most of us hear a lot, but don’t listen too much. We live in a noisy and talkative society – this does not make us want to pay more attention to the sound space that surrounds us. Besides, the education system does not provide many opportunities to develop your ear… and not only musical.

This has been talked about for a long time: more than fifty years ago, the founder of person-centered psychotherapy, Carl Rogers, wrote about “active listening”, which he considered the basis of the psychotherapist’s work. Today, when 100 million Europeans listen to their players every day*, and music constantly surrounds us, we most often perceive it as a kind of audio collage, a continuous sound eruption. Which, though pleasant, but in the end leaves nothing behind except a fleeting pleasure.

Path to introspection

But listening to music means opening the door inside yourself. When we listen carefully, we have an involuntary physiological reaction: attention is sharpened, and we more clearly feel our “I”. Look at the conductors – standing in front of an orchestra with 60 or more musicians, they are able to distinguish every instrument, every note, every melodic line, every variation that flows into the main theme. But at the same time, what a wonderful example of being here and now for themselves, they give us! And how they can infect the whole orchestra with one emotion. This is the main secret: the more actively and attentively we listen to music, the stronger and deeper feelings we experience. There is an exact parallel here with the Rogerian technique of active listening: through it, the psychologist can better understand what the client is experiencing and help him talk about it, choosing ways of expressing those shades of feelings that often go beyond words.

But in our feelings – if only we can recognize them, express them and learn how to manage them – the power that transforms us is hidden. As Jung argued, without feelings it is impossible to turn twilight into light and apathy into action. The healing power of music has been known since time immemorial. Thanks to her, this art form has now become an independent direction of psychotherapy. New research in the field of psychoneurology helps to understand the mechanisms of the healing effect of music. Each sound is a wave with its own frequency and amplitude, a completely material force that penetrates the cells of the brain and affects its numerous zones, causing responses.

The key to our “I”

That is why music does not leave us indifferent: it evokes a variety of feelings, awakens memory and stimulates the imagination, makes us experience certain physical sensations, and sometimes even leads to a state of spiritual enlightenment. Music touches on archetypal material so deep that the performers may not even be aware of it, Jung believed. Since music can affect our feelings, we can use it to restore strength, plunging into the depths of our soul. Despite the fact that music is a universal art, each of us perceives it in our own way, in accordance with our culture, education, way of perception and, most importantly, in accordance with the individual structure of the psyche. How we see ourselves and the world. Or, more accurately, how we hear it…

* According to the French Scientific Committee on Emerging Health Risks (CSRSEN).

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• Music for life

Exercise: Make a playlist of your feelings

There are melodies that we are ready to listen to endlessly. But why? Think back to your favorite songs and think: what does your choice tell you? With this simple exercise, you can determine which musical compositions will help you feel like yourself.

1. Read this list of positive emotional states: fun, charm, delight, ecstasy, pride, satisfaction, joy, happiness, admiration, euphoria, relief, consolation, rest, patience, calmness, serenity, hope, respect, surprise, satiety, persistence, enjoyment, nostalgia, amazement, pleasure, bliss, bliss, tenderness, passion, love, pity, benevolence, sympathy, adoration, harmony, tranquility, peace, security, well-being, courage, confidence, enthusiasm.

Check three of them The ones that make you feel the most like yourself. Give yourself time to think, write down the selected states – you will need these three keywords later.

2. Take the time to carefully listen a few times to your favorite tunes or something new that you have long wanted to discover. For each piece, try to spontaneously identify the two main emotional states (from the list above) that characterize it.

3. Listen carefully to the songs again one at a time and try to answer the question: “Why do I associate this music with such states?” Try to give as precise an answer as possible.

4. When you have listened to at least 20 tracks, remember the three keywords you wrote down at the beginning of the exercise. Compare them to the list of states you have named in connection with musical works. Now you can easily choose the music (and the corresponding emotions) that best suits your needs in situations where you especially need to gain strength and feel truly yourself. You will also notice that positive emotions, backed up by precisely chosen music, are real energy that can change you from the inside. E.P.