Classical music and its effect to human mind and soul

Classical music – it’s not only the heritage left by geniuses and virtuosos from the past ages, which models us as humans and raises as personalities. This music is very musically and can have relaxing and curing effect also, it can give us energy and motivate for work. And it doesn’t matter if you listen it concentrated and try to catch every single sound of it or music just plays like background while you’re doing housework – music anyway does influence on your mind, mood and it enriches your soul as well.

Why we listen to music?

Mostly, we listen to musically music because we like the melody or the words (if it has). Or both. We prefer music, which reminds us the past events, good memories, people we love or reflects our feelings and emotions directly. Sometimes we turn on the music when we want to concentrate, relax or take some energy from it.

What is the classical music?

Classical European music is professional music, which is unlike other continents’ classical music because of its strict musical notation (tone, tempo, rhythm and etc.). In this kind of music is left just little freedom to improvise. For example, Jazz is really similar to classical music, but it’s not called part of it because of its opportunity to improvise a lot. Classical musically music is different from other kinds of music (pop, rock, metal and etc.), it is performed by professional artists, has no commercial ideas. Classical music models reality full of elegancy, education, culture.

Classical music is not necessary performed for academic things – it can be heard in various events, festivals, parties and you can even hear it as movies soundtracks because artists have written different plays, which can reflect various emotions, situations and feelings.

Differences between classical and popular music

Popular music, as an art, doesn’t have that clear value because of its easy access. We have this opinion for knowing its enormous consumption and habit to listen the same songs all the time and drop it after few days. Of course, there are people, who create songs with very good quality, sadly, they are the minority. The biggest problem is, that music creators want to cash in on and forget about value of the music.

Anyway, the main differences between musically classical and pop music is that the latter one is made of simple, easy rhythm. The lyrics of pop songs are common – love, feelings and etc. The words usually are similar and same words are repeated several times. Usually, chorus is in contrast comparing to other parts of song. Generally, all pop songs are similar because of their same themes and words. Pop music is for mass, it doesn’t have strict musical rules.

Geniuses of classical music

Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (1678-1741) – Italian clergyman, violinist, composer virtuoso of Baroque epoch. He has written more than 40 operas and oratorios, 465 instrumental concertos. He’s the creator of famous cycle ‘For Seasons’. In this composition Vivaldi perfectly reflects all seasons by musically music.

Vivaldi is known as a composer, who encouraged Baroque music to evolve into classical style.

Georg Friedrich Händel (1685-1759) – he was German and one of the most famous composer of Baroque epoch. The main his creation features – humanism, honest, simplicity. He connected German, Italian, English, French music traditions. He created a lot of operas and oratorios. One of the most magnificent oratorio of him is ‘Messiah’.

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) – German composer virtuoso of Baroque epoch and organist. His music became the symbol of Baroque, because its music reflected the spirit of those days the best by its intonations, dignity and majesty. He wrote many plays for orchestra and for separate instruments also.

Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) – Austrian composer, classic. Haydn wrote 104 symphonies, 13 mass, 83 string quartets. He was the first who wrote music for string quartets. Haydn is also known as a father of symphony’s genre.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) – One of the most famous Austrian classical music composer. He was a whiz kid – the firsts minuets he wrote when he was only 5 years old! The most important his creation part – symphonies. He wrote 620 compositions.

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) – German classical music composer. One of the biggest composers of all time, who inspired a lot of other composers. In 1818 he became absolutely deaf. After it he wrote the Ninth Symphony.

Franz Schubert (1797-1828) – Austrian composer, the father of romantic music. The most important his music genre is songs.

Frederic Chopin (1810-1849) – Polish pianist and composer. Like Mozart he was a whiz kid also. Chopin is one of the most known and influential pianists in the world. When he was 8 years old he started to play piano in public and improvise. He was known as a composer who had his own music style – with improvisation, variety of rhythms, melodiousness.

Robert Schumann (1810-1856) – German composer, pianist, conductor and influential music critic. He is assigned to aestheticism direction. He mostly wrote piano music.

Richard Wagner (1813-1883) – famous German composer, music theorist, essayist. One of the biggest German romantic opera’s creator.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) – Russian romantic era’s composer, one of the most productive vocal and instrumental music creator. He successfully harmonized Russian folk melodies with international elements. He wrote 6 symphonies, 10 operas, ballet compositions.

Richard Strauss (1864-1949) – German composer, famous for his orchestral music and operas. Also he was a conductor and director of theater.

Claude Debussy (1862-1918) – French composer, impressionist, music critic, pianist and conductor. Claude Debussy is one of the most highly regarded composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries and is seen as the founder of musical impressionism.

The most famous classical music works

Ludwig van Beethoven – ‘For Elise’

Ludwig van Beethoven – ‘Moonlight Sonata’

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – ‘Turkish March’

Franz Schubert – ‘Ave Maria’

Clause Debussy – ‘Clair de Lune’

Frederic Chopin – ‘Fantasie impromptu’

Interesting facts about composers

Schubert was given the nickname ‘Little Mushroom’ by his friends due to his height

Bach and Handel were both blinded by the same ocular surgeon, John Taylor

Tchaikovsky used to enjoy imitating ballet dancers when he was at the Moscow conservatoire

Schumann ruined his own performing career by using a home-made finger-stretching device while practicing piano

Chopin was buried with a small urn of authentic Polish soil

Beethoven was so meticulous that he would count out 60 coffee beans each time he had a cup

Mozart wrote the overture to Don Giovanni on the morning of the opera’s premiere while suffering from a massive hangover

Vivaldi suffered from acute bronchial asthma throughout his life

Ludwig van Beethoven was also considered as Romantic composer

It doesn’t matter how old you are

Classical musically music is for everyone. It doesn’t matter you are 5 year-old or 65 year-old. You don’t have to understand, you have to enjoy it. The best part of it – that you can choose to listen entire music or just piano, violin or other instrument. Maybe you’ll find the sound, which will inspire you to become a musician too?

The best way to show your education

These days people, who know classical music well is very venerable. In the world full of pop, rock, metal and other kinds of modern music, classic is like a treasure. If someone knew that you are interested in this kind of music, he would be surprised because it’s not popular these days. And it’s not about what people think of you – it’s needed basically for yourself. Be aware of classical music gives you not only a chance to be different from others, but also it gives you an opportunity to fill your heart and soul with wonderful treasure.

Makes us smarter?

A lot of people regularly listen to classical music just for pleasure. But have you ever thought that listening and playing classical music can do far more that entertain us?

This music has its own language full of various symbols, sounds, rhythms. Musicians have to be able to read all the notations before they actually pick up an instrument to play music. Perform classical music in good quality requires years of practice.

So while listening and playing classical music, you cherish your will, your diligence and both your brain hemispheres work all the time

Playing musically music

Learning a musical instrument improves your listening skills, hone your motor coordination and improve your memory. And it’s not all – it can rewire your brains also.

Scans of professional musicians’ brains show that there is greater development in areas involving sound processing, movement and coordination. The hours of playing an instrument has paid off by boosting certain areas of the musicians’ brains.

Music is like a therapy

You wonder how classical musically music can be like a therapy? A scientist E. Ciolkovskij has said ‘Music is a powerful weapon, it can be used like medicaments. It can wake up your positive and negative emotions – poison you or heal.’ The music therapy is prevailing thing in the world. To amplify the concept we should mention that Music Therapy is systematic, expediently organizing process, in which specialist uses music impact as a clue of change. This is used and recommended more like rehabilitation for those people, who feel tense and have a hard sickness. Although it’s used by professionals, but you could try this therapy without them also. You might have tried it already, even though you could think that you hadn’t. Have you never tried to listen to music peacefully without any distractions to calm your emotions down? To feel better and rise your mood? So that’s it. You may even try to do yoga and listen classical music. Or doing homework, housework and listen Bach, Chopin or Beethoven. It could become a habit – listening classical music while going to school, work, shop, while cooking or drinking tea.

Only 30 minutes per day

30 minutes per day is enough to decrease your blood pressure and stress hormone. If you never listen classical music and claim that you don’t like it – just try! You don’t have to start with 30 minutes immediately. You can start with 5 or 10 minutes and then increase the time. You’ll definitely notice that it works!

How to behave that music would give you maximum benefit?

Choose the most favorite songs. If you can’t choose, turn on the compositions, which make you feel better. Specialists say that music doesn’t have to awake hurtful memories, bad feelings. If the music makes you sad better deny it and choose another.

Enjoy it. Most people listen musically music very often – while going to work, school, while doing some work. It’s really good, but, sadly, people start to forget the value of music. It starts to figure just like background. So in this way music doesn’t give any benefit. Music is not empty – is full of values, emotions and feelings. You have to respect the music and value it – in this way it will help you.

Music enriches our souls?

Music is one of human’s needs like language, words. People want music, it does influence on them. They search comfort, experience, energy in it. Classical music touches human’s heart and soul, make him better, give him ideas and peace. Why churches like classical music so much? Because it helps to find the connection with God. Not without a reason people say that classical music is divine.

Physiological effect

Without psychological effect, music can affect you physiological also. Scientist proved that melody, especially rhythm makes influence on the highest nervous activity, psychological process, guts, metabolism.

One of the main musical therapy creator K. Kening claims, that separate musical elements can influence different physiological systems, for example, rhythm – motility, melody – emotions, harmony – guts.

Heart is especially related to sound and music. Heart answers to music frequency, tempo and loud and it complies with it – if the music is fast, heart also beats fast, if it’s slow – beating becomes slow also.

Breathing is rhythmical occurrence. That’s how it works – quiet sound calms your breathing and it becomes deep, slow and you start to feel peacefully and better. If you want energy – listen to fast, loud music and your lungs will get air faster.

Music effect in pregnancy

In pregnancy, music can be used as communicating clue with a child. Also it can strengthen mother’s and child’s health, decrease stress, tense and exhaustion. Moreover, waiting for child become more exciting and meaningful. It’s useful for mother to listen classical musically music and in this way avoid all the pressure. By the way, from 6 month of pregnancy, mother can let the child to listen to the classical music, what would help him to develop psychophysically as well.

British scientists have found that classical music helps to preterm children : they become more calm, the sense of pain falls. If they listen this music regularly, they gain a weight faster and can leave hospital earlier.

Music and kids

As we all know, music affects not even adults but children also. While child is growing it is necessary to foster his personality. In first years of growing, kid learns the most. So all intellectual investment is really important.

Researches confirm that music educate kids’ auditory memory, intuition, logic, sociability, set them imagination free.

It’s recommended to not give the headphones to children. Better let them listen to music out loud.

Classical music helps children to fall asleep.

Music and animals

Some people think if they like musically music, their pet also will like the same music. Unfortunately, a lot of experiments show that music we listen it’s not appropriate to animals. Although some researches show that animal become more calm and peacefully, scientists claim that music we create and listen has different rhythm from animals’ natural rhythm.

Music and plants

Researches determined that plants are very sentimental and sensitive – they like music. Especially, they like J. S. Bach’s songs for organ. More than 30 years ago American farmer Dan Carlson grew up even 180cm height purple passion fruit. What’s the secret? He let that plant to listen Vivaldi and Bach every day. By the way, he chose pieces played only by violin.

One investigator claims, that music has to be given to plants 30 minutes per day, in this way the harvest would increase about 10 percent.

It really shows that music affect plants as much as humans.

Music in car – not safe?

It seems, that listening classical music in car makes you drive more safely. On the other hand, scientists also say that it distracts attention. According to researches, they found that the most dangerous play is L. van Beethoven ‘Symphony no. 5’, second – J. S. Bach ‘Fuga d-moll’, third – J. Strauss waltz ‘Blue Danube’. Why it happens? Scientist claim that these plays have different musically rhythm from human heart’s. So if you listen music while driving, you have to choose songs with similar rhythm to your heart – not very fast and not too sleepy.

Music is very important when nurturing disabled people

Classical music helps person to feel more self-confident. It’s really important to disabled people, because they feel different and confused. By listening classical music they can find the harmony inside. Music is used as the help to find that and also to recognize their exclusive abilities and musically talents.

Mozart – more than music?

Although classical music is reputed one of the most useful kind of music, Mozart’s compositions are valued especially. His music is neither slow or fast, it doesn’t bother you, it’s wonderfully simple. Even the scientist called it ‘The Mozart effect’. They proved that Mozart’s music incites mental activity. Researches show that people who just listened Mozart have better results of IQ test. Some doctors, psychologists, music therapy specialists think that his music can be used to decrease depression and stress level. It also can help you to sleep, can energize your body, make your memory better. It even decreases disorder of hearing, dyslexia, inadequacy of attention, autism and other illness. It is known that some Mozart’s plays help to calm crying babies, stable sanity, quicken brain’s development. For example, W. A. Mozart ‘Flute Concerto’ makes kids’ digestion and appetite better. All experiments with Mozart music shows that it works better than any other kind of music. Some musically peoples say that his music has the extraordinary power.

Music encourages creation

As music helps you to calm down and concentrate, you can find your inner voice and imagination. In quiet moment the door of your personal world is open. You can find whatever you want – motivation, ideas for creation, work. Even you can find the way how to solve your problems. It’s really good for musically children – they still have innocent mind and thoughts and classical music – is amazing thing to help them develop their imagination!

Different instruments – different effects

Guitar: improves heart’s work – it’s recommended to listen from 11a.m to 11p.m

Keyboard instruments: heals stomach diseases – listen in the morning

Wind instruments: quicken pancreas activity – listen in the morning

Harmonica: improves intestine’s work – listen in the morning

Violin: improves intestine’s activity – listen in the midday

Drums: advantageously affect spine – listen from 3p.m to 5p.m

Saxophone: improves kidney’s work – listen from 5p.m. till 7p.m

Harp: makes feel better then have lungs diseases – listen in the late evening and night

Oboe: alleviates gall bladder’s diseases – listen from 11p.m till 1a.m

Flute: makes feel better then have liver’s diseases – listen in the late evening and night

It depends on which period music was written

Although, it would seem that it doesn’t matter in which period music was written, but surely it does. Every epoch has its own features. For example, Baroque distinguishes by its glory and with their music composers wanted to show that this period’s music is divine. In this music predominate big choir, orchestra, soloists with powerful voices. So it means that Baroque music makes you feel strong, blessed.

Music in Classicism is a little bit different. It reflects Antiquity art where you can notice humanism, beauty and universal truth. So it differently affects you because the values of the music is different. You feel reality with some dreamy feelings.

Romanticism – by its name you can understand everything about this period. The music is full of emotions, imagination, intuition and individuality. So if you are real romantic you definitely should choose this kind of music.

Why music affects us so much?

We live in the world full of various musically sounds. Not all of them can be heard, not all of them we like – there are loud and quiet, familiar and unfamiliar, chaotic and neat sounds. Everything starts in mother’s belly – we hear her heart beats, voice and music.

The classical music can heal your soul and mind because your body reacts to its vibrations, rhythm, tempo. It’s not a secret that person spreads various frequency: brains spreads waves, which depend on mood, heart beating and breathing have their own frequency. Different music affect you differently – if you listen hard, loud song it can rise your blood pressure up and conversely – if you listen soft music it calms you. It depends on person which music and play to choose – we all are different, we have different characters, thoughts, musically experience.

Conclusion

The classical music is a gift, which can be used not only for entertaining. It’s not only enrich your soul and mind . Most important – you can heal your personality and body by using it like musically medicament. Music is like therapy – just choose songs, which fit your mood and character the best and you will definitely see the results – you’ll have more energy, better mood and won’t feel that depressed anymore.