How is my relationship to music? We aren’t usually asked this, unless perhaps you’re in a Music Therapy session of course! We do perhaps question or reflect upon our relationship with others, with food, with exercise or with Spirituality. Relationships can be healthy, unhealthy and in between.
Why don’t we take a walk down recognising how Music plays a role in our life and how perhaps we can harness musical resources and our inner resources to feel more connected to self.
First question: What does Music mean to you? Does it help you process heavy emotions, help you to focus, self-express, release, create?
Music has the power to Match, Shift and Manipulate our mood.
If we take a moment to think about how we feel and/or how do we want to feel, we can choose music with intention, so that we can benefit from the healing powers of music. Once we experience those benefits, we begin to realise that we have a powerful tool at our fingertips that we can lean on to support emotional regulation on a daily basis.
If we can differentiate the way different music styles or genres make us feel, then we have a plethora of tools we can pull out to get more in touch with our feelings and therefore, our self.
We all have different tastes and preferences.
Our music taste may also be influenced by the music we were brought up with in the home or through our circle of friends. Your music taste is completely individual and unique and it’s great to recognise which songs feel conducive to positive emotions or if there is music that perhaps doesn’t make us feel great when we are already in a fragile or vulnerable state. If we can differentiate the way different music styles or genres make us feel, then we have a plethora of tools we can pull out to get more in touch with our feelings and therefore, our self.
For me, Spotify is probably my most frequently visited Application on my phone. It not only accompanies my days but it also accompanies my moods. It’s safe to say that I play recorded music MUCH MORE than I play my guitar.
I don't just stick to one genre because different genres offer me different things (much like friends or food- it’s healthy to have variety!)
Here are some examples of when I tune into music
When I am driving (depends on my mood, but usually songs to sing to or lyrics I want to connect with)
When I wake up (I play mostly instrumental like Low-Fi beats)
When I am in the shower (Some songs I love to sing like Taylor Swift hehe)
When I am doing Yoga or Slack-Lining (The Organica Genre or Tribal Beats)
When working on my laptop or studying (Low Fi, Progressive House Music)
At the beach (Some Brazilian music)
Cooking (Singer-songwriter music)
See… its all kinds of colours of the rainbow!!! Haha. (Ok, I have not yet found a place for Heavy Metal or Rap in my life… but maybe I am missing out?)
I am inspired by lots of different genres and I don’t usually find these songs on my own. Someone else has recommended them to me or I have experienced them while hanging out with friends/new people/at parties or events. I also LOVE how Spotify can suggest songs to you by what you are already listening to. That is how I have created some of the most epic playlists.
I’d love you to reflect with me:
Please, think about how you are currently listening to music, think back to the last time you played music (on YouTube, CD, Spotify etc).
How did it make you feel?
Did the song/s contribute to feel good emotions?
What was the intention behind listening to that song/playlist? If any…?
So, when do you listen to music? When could you perhaps include music in your day to enhance flow, positive feelings like Joy, Creativity or Playfulness or reflective feelings?
If you want some advice around creating playlists for different emotions or occasions, please check out the other blog post I have created… which is a step by step guide to breaking down Playlist Creation.
If you want to go one step further, please feel free to email me your playlists as I would be so curious to listen! I can always do with more musical Inspo! Email me Bloomandflowmt@gmail.com
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