How Music Can Portray Emotions

How Music Can Portray Emotions Torey A. Brooks   Abstract Music listeners of all ages have seen many studies questioning whether music can consistently express emotions. Far less attention has been devoted to the actual content of the musics communicative process for our emotions and the way it makes us want to move to the beat. The research will take into consideration whether music can possibly convey emotional content. Layers of various harmonies give listeners the ability to perceive more intricate emotions; though the expressions are less cross-culturally invariant and more dependent on the social context and/or the individual listener (Juslin, 2013). These emotions are expressed in ways like laughing, crying, or physical movements which as well as the music, also stimulates our brain. Keywords: music, emotion, expression, communication, movement Introduction Music affects everyone on some level. Some listen to it routinely whereas some only listen occasionally. We hear music in our cars, in elevators, at the doctors office, or while we are on hold; it is an integral part of our lives whether we think about it or not. There are many things that excite our brains reward centers, among them are our emotional responses to music and how that music makes us want to shake our bodies. While we can experience a temporary thrill from a high-speed car chase on a movie screen, a piece of music can cause varying emotions depending on its meaning for us on any given day. It is thought that the creation of music was done through rhythmic movements such as the tapping of feet. Pleasure centers of our brain are connected to our motor sensory. Watching others dance, not only affects our wanting to move, it brings about a euphoric appeal to the music because it is affecting us emotionally. Music not only brings about deep expressive experiences, it causes us to want to move to the beat and whether we can openly acknowledge it or not, uplifts our souls as is evidenced by the millions of videos of individuals who post their singing and moving adventures related to the music they listen to. Evidence In one sense, musicians are not necessarily expressing their own emotions as most music is written by other artists; they are feeling as well as expressing the musics emotions. Per Why do we like to danceAnd move to the beat? (2008), the term emotional expression typically means that listeners perceive the musics emotional meaning. Music is a way for humans to express their lifes current state of mind. While a listener could perceive any emotion in a piece of music, not all perceptions are going to be the same which is why there are numerous styles of music available. Evidence suggests that sensory experiences are also motor experiences (Why do we like to danceAnd move to the beat?, 2008). So, it is noticeable that while someone is watching another person dance, our brains movement areas are being unconsciously activated and we are predicting how a dancer will move based on how the music makes us feel. As noted by Juslin (2013) there is some minimum level of agreement among different listeners regarding the expression, presumably because there is something in the music that produces a similar impression in many listeners. When a composer writes music, he does so hoping that the listener will find an intrinsic value and enjoyment so they will continue to listen to the music. While there might be a specific reason behind the music composition, the music can mean way more to many listeners than the composer who wrote it. The term basic or discrete emotions occurs frequently in the music psychology field today, typically referring to certain emotions such as happiness, sadness, anger, and fear, but without any deeper consideration of the theoretical basis of the concept (Juslin, 2013). Music that was written with emotions beyond those Juslin noted, are written for the personal experiences that the composer has felt in his own life and appear to do well with regards to being listened to or requested for play on the radio. Music that has a catchy tune, yet does not t ouch us emotionally fade quickly into what are known as one hit wonders. Most musicians try to compose their music around life situations that have affected them in an emotional way. They hope to convey those emotions to others who can share in the same feelings or at least empathize with them. Music that touches our emotions of love, loss, healing, or whatever we look for in music, is music that will always touch our hearts. Studies regarding how music taps into our emotions rank the top ten emotion terms as happiness, sadness, anger, fear and love, tenderness, and this tendency was similar across the three data sets, despite differences in samples (musicians vs. students, various countries) and selections of emotion terms (ranging from 32 to 38 terms) (Juslin, 2013). When I began this paper, I actively kept a count of how many times I heard music throughout the day that I did not initiate; it averaged thirty-two occasions in one day. After that test, I began to look at how the music affected me on these noninitiate occasions. It was at the bank and lobby music was playing or I was waiting in line for my lunch and they had music playing in the background. Unconsciously, I caught myself humming or signing along and if the time was long enough, I caught myself moving to the hits. Standing in the bank humming brought me to a time years ago when I used to volunteer in a childrens ministry. I can remember assisting in childrens church and regardless of the childrens attitude upon arrival, the moment we all began singing and playing musical instruments, everyone could visibly see the calming changes in a room of 40, 3- and 4-year-old children; they became more peaceful, complete. They were more amiable to sit through a lesson and their parents noticed t hat they were more apt to fall asleep on their way home. While this is not a controlled experiment, the children spent 10 minutes singing and dancing and the ripple effects lasted for 6 hours. Conclusion As I felt calmed in the bank with my humming and swaying, singing with movement calmed the childrens souls and gave them an emotional outlet for the experiences in their small worlds. I do not believe they consciously understood the benefits of the music and movement, they just truly enjoyed it. Music and dance may just be particularly pleasurable activators of the sensory and motor circuits. So,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦humans like watching others in motion (and being in motion themselves), adding music to the mix may be a pinnacle of reward. (Why do we like to danceAnd move to the beat?, 2008). Therefore, it is true that music can bring about deep emotional experiences and it can cause us to want to move with the beat as it uplifts our souls. Regardless if we listen to music casually or unfailingly, it can move our souls in ways unimaginable. References: Juslin, P. N. (2013). What does music express? Basic emotions and beyond. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3764399/ Why do we like to danceAnd move to the beat? (2008, September 26). Retrieved from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/experts-dance/

Essays --

Introduction The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has published that the tourism industry has experienced continued growth and diversification to become one of the largest and fastest growing economic sectors in the world for the past six decades. For many economies, tourism has become a key driver for socio-economic progress. It has generated an estimated gross output of US $3.5 trillion and the figure is expected to increase to US $7.0 trillion by 2011 (World Travel and Tourism Council, 2009). The future of the tourism industry is bright as the World Tourism Organization (WTO) forecasts that an estimated one billions tourists will be traveling around the world by the year 2010. The expansion and growth of tourism has contributed to the development of the developed countries as well as less developed counties. Moreover, the economic potential of tourism in less developed countries has been identified as an important contributing factor to global tourism growth (Palmer 2002; Honey 1999; Ashley & Reo 1998; Mowforth & Munt 1998). Malaysia, tourism is the second largest contributor to the economy next to the manufacturing sector. Malaysia’s efforts in developing and promoting its tourism products have produced impressive r esults. In year 2008, there were 22.05 million of tourist arrivals with total receipts of RM49.6 billion (USD13.4 billion). This amount represents an increase of 5.5% in tourist arrivals and an increase of 7.6% in revenue compared with year 2007. These increases are notable given difficulties and challenging environment with the global economic slowdown and the increase of oil prices in year 2008. The first quarter of 2009 showed a positive growth of 2.2% in tourist arrivals compared to the cor... ...budget and cost selection. 1.6.2 minor contribution A good quality of website with DSS system can use so many different field and promotion. This study don not only solve the current problems faced by the home stay Malaysia but it is can also be a generalized to other similar applications . thus it may help in overcoming the related problems faced by the other organizations in similar environment . Examples are such as in educational site, big industries, corporate office, large banking and firm stay. This study is hoped to be served as a guidance or reference for the similar field of future study. Outline of the paper Chapter two discusses the previous studies of homestay program with DSS system and its solutions. It reviews on literature which is relevant in the area of general homestay program. the discussions on similar works in multidimensional site.

Appearance vs. Reality Essay

Reality and appearances, or if you prefer, being and acting, are important themes for both Machiavelli and Shakespeare. Why? How do their perspectives on this subject agree or differ? One of the most fundamental questions in philosophy is the appearance vs. reality. We find ourselves asking the question of what is genuinely â€Å"real,† and what is viewed merely as just an â€Å"appearance,† and not real? It becomes difficult when we assume there is a difference in the two to determine which is which. Generally, what we label as â€Å"real† is regarded as external and eternal. What we refer to as just an appearance is regarded as temporary and internal. Many early as well as modern day authors use the theme of appearance vs. reality to portray a character in a certain way. One of the most appreciated one of these authors is William Shakespeare. The theme of Appearance vs. Reality is extremely noted in Williams Shakespeare’s â€Å"Hamlet†. Also, the Italian political theorist Niccolo Machiavelli is the other one who examines the issues of reality and appearance. Similarly, William Shakespeare and Machiavelli tell us about ‘princes’. Shakespeare’s play â€Å"Hamlet† can be summarized as a young prince’s journey in life to discover the truth of his father’s death. Machiavelli’s â€Å"The Prince† is a kind of ‘training guide’ for leaders, or in other words it is a kind of description of what a leader should do in order to effectively lead his country. The common subject of these works is reality vs. appearance therefore in this paper the theme of appearance vs. reality will be explored by closely analyzing both of these texts of Machiavelli and Shakespeare. Additionally their perspectives will be compared and contrasted in order to understand that whether they have the same point of view or not. Throughout the Shakespeare’s play â€Å"Hamlet†, the deceitfulness of some main characters is portrayed. The most significant one of these is Claudius, who is Hamlet’s uncle as well as the king’s brother; he deceitfully marries the recently widowed queen, and takes the throne. Many of the characters in the story are viewed as being honest and innocent characters, but in reality  they are evil in their actions as well as in their speeches. There are really four dishonest characters that could be the perfect examples for the theme of appearance vs. reality, and they are Polonius, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and the newly crowned king Claudius. When these characters are first introduced in this story, they tend to come across as being truthful and honorable, but in reality they have many evil sides that show when they play their deceitful roles against Hamlet as well as against the people of Denmark. Their innocent appearances become difficult obstacles for Hamlet as he struggles and trying to find the truth behind his father’s death, for he is unsure of whom he can trust. This is a question that Hamlet has on his mind throughout the play. The events and characters within the play appear to be true and honest but in reality they are infested with evil. Many of the characters within the play hide behind a mask of falseness. From behind this mask they give the impression of a person, who is sincere and genuine, in reality they are plagued with lies and malice. There appearance will make it very difficult for Hamlet to uncover the truth because the characters conceal their real intentions with a mask. Polonius, the king’s royal assistant has a preoccupation with appearance; he always wants to keep up the appearance of a loving and a caring person. Polonius appears like a man who loves and cares about his son, Laertes. He really does an excellent job trying to make others believe that he is a loving father who is only interested in helping his son to grow up in the right way and become prosperous in life. His speeches can be described as sounding the way the speeches of a politician would. They are blunt, well written, and directly to the point, but are never meant to be sincere. He gives his son Laertes his blessing to go away, but he sends a spy to follow him and keep an eye on him. Although he appears to be a confident father he does not trust his son to go away on his own. Furthermore, Polonius adds to the theme of appearance versus reality by ordering Ophelia to stop seeing Hamlet. He lies to her by telling her that Hamlet does not love her, he only lusts for her. Two of Hamlet’s closest friends from his childhood Rosencrantz and Guildenstern can as well be viewed as liars who become very  deceitful to Hamlet. After being asked by the king to find out what is bothering Hamlet, the two go to Hamlet pretending to see him as a friend, but are in reality just obeying the king’s orders. When they ask what is troubling Hamlet, they become insincere, and almost sound as though they had rehearsed what it was they were going to say. Hamlet noticed that the boys were told to do this and states, â€Å"A dream itself is but a shadow† (Hamlet 73). Hamlet then realized that his own friend were not in reality any friends at all. The king again sends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to apologize for their behavior but Hamlet noticed their intentions yet again and simply insulted them. Hamlet’s supposed friends greatly add to the theme of appearance vs . reality. The last character is Claudius, the brother of the deceased king, who was crowned the new king of Denmark is viewed as an honest and honorable man. As seen in a speech given by Claudius in the presence of the council in Act One Scene Two, he demonstrates his excellent public speaking skills: â€Å"Though yet of Hamlet our dear brother’s death The memory be green, and that it us befitted To bear our hearts in grief and our whole kingdom To be contracted in one brow of woe† (Hamlet 33). Although Claudius seems sincere in his words, he cares so little about his brother’s death and only cares about himself. He is just living the life that once belonged to his brother as the king of Denmark and is extremely happy to be at the head of the thrown; something he had previously longed for. His speeches are given with respect for himself, his country and others. In Act One, you see that Hamlet directly insults Claudius, but the king continues to behave as if he is a loving and a caring uncle and step-father towards his nephew. In Machiavellian sense, all of these characters are using their appearances to their benefits, strategically they are using them to gain power or for their own benefits. In Niccolo Machiavelli’s â€Å"The Prince† he suggests, â€Å"Everyone sees what you appear to be, few dare not oppose themselves to the opinion of the many, who have the majesty of the state to defend them.† (Machiavelli, 58) In short, he says that the strongest leaders are the ones who are able to carefully balance appearance to his benefits. According to Machiavelli’s statement, Claudius starts off as an ideal Machiavellian  prince. At the beginning of the play, Claudius appears to have complete control over Elsinore, as evidenced by his imposing speech to the court; â€Å"Therefore our sometime sister, now our queen, The imperial jointress to this warlike state, Have we (as it were a defeated joy, With an auspicious and a dropping eye, With mirth in funeral and dirge in marriage, in equal scale weighing delight and dole) Taken to wife†¦(1.2: 8-14) In this scene, Claudius, who has only recently taken the throne after the death of his brother, addresses some pressing issues. Seeking to create a strong early impression, Claudius uses his words very carefully. Furthermore with the words â€Å"imperial jointress to this warlike state† he justifies the potentially controversial union by making it appear like a benefit to the entire kingdom. The phrases which are chosen by Claudius, â€Å"mirth in funeral† and â€Å"dirge in marriage† recall Machiavelli’s words, for Claudius demonstrating his ability to express whatever emotions make him look wise and just, showing that he is in command of Denmark, despite his limited experience as a king. Consequently, as the play develops, Claudius loses his immovable command and composure, largely due to his concern over the potential threat posed by his stepson, Hamlet. According to Machiavelli there are ways of becoming a prince. Claudius becomes a king by killing his own brother, in Machiavellian sense; he is â€Å"a man who becomes a prince by some criminal and nefarious method†. (Machiavelli, 28) Claudius’ method is presented in Machiavelli’s book and from his perspective it is not a wrong method. However, one can acquire â€Å"prince power by this way but not glory†. (Machiavelli, 29) Therefore, Claudius has taken the throne but he was not glorious and has not glory. Actually, he is not virtuous. At the end of the play we see the gradual fall of Claudius, although he has a confident appearance and succeeds in becoming a strong leader, it is unable to heal the deep wounds in his soul. It is impossible not to feel sorry for him as he struggles with the task of balancing his outward appearance with his interior thought. Therefore, Shakespeare shows his inner conflict and dilemmas. Machiavelli seems to be unaware of these facts, feeling of regret and repentance. Claudius above every other character in the play shows how the theme of reality versus appearance is relevant to the great play written by Williams  Shakespeare, known as â€Å"Hamlet†.

What Is Dementia And Alzheimer s Disease - 1311 Words

What is dementia and Alzheimer’s disease? Dementia is a disease that affects mental capabilities in which memory loss is one of the key features of this disease. Memory loss creates difficulty in completing every day tasks. Most people who suffer from the disease need assistance with their activities of daily living. Alzheimer’s disease accounts for 60% to 70% of cases of dementia. It is a long lasting neurodegenerative (progressive damage of the neurological nerve cells) disease that usually starts gradually and gets worse over time. What are the symptoms of Alzheimer’s? The most common early symptom is with trouble remembering recent events (short-term memory loss). As the disease progresses, symptoms can include: problems with†¦show more content†¦They are often severe enough to interrupt the daily life of an individual with dementia. What are the stages of Alzheimer’s? There are a few different opinions as to how many stages of Alzheimer’s there are, but in general, they can broken down into seven stages: 1. No symptoms: In this stage, memory and cognitive abilities are normal. 2. Pre-clinical: The pre-clinical stage of Alzheimer’s is a relatively new description for the initial biological changes that are underway before any clinical symptoms are experienced. This stage may begin years, or even decades before symptoms such as memory loss and confusion occur. With the help of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or positron emission tomography (PET), and proteins in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), researchers are able to identify the accumulation of amyloid beta proteins. This occurrence is thought to be connected to structural and functional brain changes similar to those in patients with Alzheimer’s. 3. Mild Cognitive Impairment