Music is an important part of my life

By Klaus Döring

Music is an important part of our life, as it is a way of expressing our feelings as well as emotions. No matter where you are living on this globe, some people consider music a way to escape from the pain of life. It gives you relief and allows you to reduce stress. … Music plays a more important role in our life than just being a source of entertainment.

Music affects our emotions. When we listen to sad songs, we tend to feel a decline in mood. When we listen to happy songs, we feel happier. Upbeat songs with energetic riffs and fast-paced rhythms (such as those we hear at sporting events) tend to make us excited and pumped up.

Music means the world to me. It makes me think about how it relates to life, and I love the beats. Music is a way to express yourself, keep you company while you’re alone and always give you something to do. Music is a way of expressing me and being able to relate to other people.

It won’t be a surprise to most that music can affect the human brain emotionally. … Happy, upbeat music causes our brains to produce chemicals like dopamine and serotonin, which evoke feelings of joy, whereas calming music relaxes the mind and the body.

Music is a form of art; an expression of emotions through harmonic frequencies. … Most music includes people singing with their voices or playing musical instruments, such as the piano, guitar, drums or violin. The word music comes from the Greek word (mousike), which means “(art) of the Muses.”

Music is love. David Crosby sang this wonderful song already in 1971. “Everybody’s sayin’ music is love.”

Music tells stories. Well, composers and musicians use music to tell stories from all over the world. Music can be used to depict characters, places, actions and even emotions. Music is often used to heighten a mood or to express a thought or feeling when mere words are not enough.

“[Music] can propel narrative swiftly forward, or slow it down. It often lifts mere dialogue into the realm of poetry. It is the communicating link between the screen and the audience, reaching out and enveloping all into one single experience.” The best stories engage all of the senses.

One of the great things about music in general, and in particular concert music, is that playing it opens up a whole new world of experience that further enhances the mind, physical coordination and expression. Music lovers, who are also amateur performers, may choose to play in community ensembles (orchestra, band, choir), take lessons, perform with others, compose and nearly anything else a professional musician may do, while maintaining their regular lives. All of this involves intense physical coordination in performing an instrument alone or with others, while reading musical notation and adding delicate or strong nuanced changes to the music that only a performer can bring. In general, to an amateur musician, music can provide an escape from everyday life or an alternative means of expressing one’s own capabilities. It is an important part of their lives and fills a need or an urge to create music.

I have been a music lover since my fourth birthday. Meanwhile, living as a German expat in the Philippines, I found out that Filipinos and Germans are music lovers. Among indigenous Filipinos, one important function of music is to celebrate or commemorate important events in the human life cycle. Fortunately, until today, these rich indigenous musical traditions live on. They serve as a reminder of the Filipinos’ long history of musical talent and ingenuity.

Such is the case of Philippine music, which today is regarded as a unique blending of two great musical traditions — the East and the West. … The majority of Philippine music revolves around cultural influences from the West, due primarily to Spanish and American rule for more than three centuries.

Becoming a German expatriate in the Philippines in 1999, I have attended many music events. I fell in love with Filipino classical music. So what does music really mean to Filipinos? It simply tells them where they’ve been and where they could go. It tells a story that everyone can appreciate and relate to, which is why it’s a big part of every Filipino culture.

Music of the Philippines (Filipino: Himig ng Pilipinas) includes musical performance arts in the Philippines or by Filipinos composed in various genres and styles. The compositions are often a mixture of different Asian, Spanish, Latin American, American and indigenous influences.

Notable folk song composers include the National Artist for Music Lucio San Pedro, who composed the famous “Sa Ugoy ng Duyan” that recalls the loving touch of a mother to her child. Another composer, the National Artist for Music Antonino Buenaventura, is notable for notating folk songs and dances. Buenaventura composed the music for “Pandanggo sa Ilaw.”