Tag: music

5 best affordable headphone July 2021.

Are you a music lover too? Check out these five amazing budget headphones.

  1. Sony MDR-XB550AP Wired Extra Bass On-Ear Headphones.

Sony has been producing audio equipment for many years and is capable of producing high-quality portable headphones that seldom disappoint clients.
The Sony MDR-XB550AP is a small and light speaker that weighs only 190 grammes. Sharp colours were chosen by Sony to give these headphones an edgy look. When it comes to wired headphones, you won’t have to worry about audio compression or battery life.

Red, Black, and Blue are the three colours available for the headphones.
The headphones’ finer features will leave you speechless. You’ll note that the earcups have a rough surface and are somewhat marbled.
The wire on these headphones is quite durable. When you store it in your bag, it will retain its shape and will not tangle.

Key specification:

  • In-line mic for hands-free calling
  • Tangle-free flat serration cord
  • Portable and revolving folding design
  • Matte finish
  • Cord-length – 1.2 meter.
  • Sensitivity – 102dB, Frequency Response – 5Hz-22,000Hz, Impedance – 24 ohm.
  • Cushioned ear pads
  • 30mm dynamic driver unit
  • 1-year warranty.

Pros

  • The earcups are quite soft and plush and allow you to wear for a long duration sans any discomfort
  • The headphones work in conjunction with all other sounds.
  • Good Bass if you’re looking for extra bass.
  • The headphones sound quite precise, controlled, and tight thus leaving you engaged and impressed
  • You can also attend a call without any hassle
  • Offers you an incredibly great value
  • The headphones offer great durability

Cons

  • Not extremely loud.
  • Headphone foams can get soiled after a year or two (replaceable).
  • Active noise cancellation is missing

2. JBL Tune 500 Powerful Bass On-Ear Headphones

If you’re looking for a pair of headphones that won’t break the bank, the JBL Tune 500 is a good option. Also, if you enjoy listening to contemporary music, you will be completely happy with these.
The JBL Tune 500 has a foldable and lightweight design. You’ll have the choice of purchasing the headphones in one of four beautiful hues. While travelling, the strong and flat cable can efficiently maintain the cable tangle-free.
The concept for travelling, listening to music, and playing games while on the go.

Key specification

  • Quick launch access to Google Assistant and Siri
  • 12 months manufacturing warranty
  • Compatible with Android and IOS mobile, tablet, laptop, and audio player
  • It weighs 150g
  • One button remote/mic
  • Tangle-free flat cable
  • Requires a Li-ion battery

Pros

  • You will get good cushioning on the headband and it sits quite firm against ears.
  • The button lets you play/pause, skip tracks, and answer the phone calls
  • The terminations of the headphones appear to be well-insulated
  • The small yet foldable design of the on-ear cans make them quite portable
  • The frequency range of the headphones is 20-20,000 Hz

Cons

  • May not excite bass heads and audiophiles looking for studio-grade audio.
  • Overall a good mix of sound and ergonomics – not excel in any field.

The headphones allow you to enjoy clear audio for music, calls, and games. When you buy the headphones, you are assured of a trustworthy headset for daily chores that may include video calls with family members and friends.

3. Boat BassHeads 900 Wired Headphone with Mic

The headphones’ super extra bass allows you to experience a shockingly strong and dramatic bass at an inexpensive price.
The sound stage will be more grounded, and the frequency response will range from 20 to 20,000 Hz. The headphones’ sleek and small form makes them extremely portable.
Furthermore, the on-ear headphones with rotating ear cups offer a flexible fit and a pleasant fit for all users.

Key specifications

  • Designed for all 3.5mm supported device
  • On the ear
  • 12 months warranty
  • In-line microphone
  • Tangled-resistant cable
  • 40mm Neodymium drivers
  • Weighs 150 g

Pros

  • Offers flexible wearing and comfortable fit for all users
  • The headphones are available in sleek, compact, and lightweight design.
  • The travel-friendly headphones are easy to store.
  • The price is quite affordable.
  • The padding in the device helps in blocking external noise.

Cons

Average comfort and they don’t sound very natural and miss on lows and highs.

4. Sony MDR-ZX110AP Wired On-Ear Headphones

The Sony MDR-ZX110 wired headphones have 30 mm dynamic drivers for incredible sound. The cushioned earpads provide a lengthy period of pleasant use.
Almost all soundtracks feel sharp and rhythmic through the headphones. These headphones have a well-balanced sound with no excessive bass or treble.

These also have a wide frequency range of 12Hz to 22KHz, allowing for a more immersive listening experience. On some of the most basic TWS headsets, you can hear the small beats that you might miss.
The enfolding shape prevents you from being distracted when listening to music or making phone calls.

Key specification:

  • 30 mm dynamic driver unit
  • On-ear headband
  • Cushioned Earpads
  • In-line microphone and controls
  • Tangle-free cord
  • Portable and Swivel folding design
  • Weight – 120 grams
  • Frequency Response – 12 Hz-22 kHz
  • Impedance – 24 ohm
  • 3.5 mm jack

Pros

  • Good sound clarity 
  • Soft and comfortable cushions
  • Handy and lightweight
  • Durable

Cons

  • Missing active noise cancellation
  • Cable is fragile.

5. Sony MDR- XB 450AP (Bass King)

The headphones were created with electronic dance music fans in mind. Deep bass notes are made possible with Extra Bass technology.
Furthermore, it has the ability to efficiently enhance low-end frequencies, providing you with a memorable experience. The swivel design in the housing allows you to store your headphones flat, making them ideal for travel.

Key specifications

  • Weighs 165 g
  • Wired extra bass headphones
  • Tangle-free wire
  • Frequency response 5 -22000 Hz
  • Available in 3 colors
  • 30 mm powerful bass
  • Wired 3.5 mm single pin  

Pros

  • The headphones are equipped with cushioned earpads for maximum comfort
  • Strong sensitivity for clear and loud sound
  • The headphones offer an in-line remote and mic for hands-free calls
  • Neodymium dynamic driver help in providing top-quality sound

Cons

  • Sound Stage is not as wide as on Sennheiser.

Music – Unarticulated yet a Beautiful Language

Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

Every living creature living in this universe is divided into different fragments of communities and societies. These societies are present in different countries and parts where we are all unique by the language and culture which we follow which represents our originality.

One thing which we all are united with each other is “Music”. It is one simple form of Art that makes all of us as one human being Community. The beautiful thing about Music is that it doesn’t need any language to be understood neither one tries to understand, rather music is a language of the heart. It is a feeling that everyone connects when they hear music.

Music in Diversity

A language, country, and Culture have always made a bridge among people and created consequences and war between them, but the only thing which unities all humans and breaks these boundaries are the presence of Music.

 In Today’s era, we are all Living in Multicultural communities where we have different types of music tastes and our preferences are unique just like us,  We have people around us who listen to different types of music which don’t match with ours, yet we are all united by music.

Music always creates a sense of belongingness among each other, even though we are unaware of each other’s religion, language and country but through music, it keeps us closer to each other.

We all have some kind of music that connects to our hearts and feelings, we get more connected because the magic a musician uses connects with our own life.

Music is a medium through which our soul remains blissful and we feel stressed from our bustling lives.

For decades, Music is one of those art forms which have revolutionized in many versions but have always gained popularity due to the sense of connectedness between the audiences and the Musicians.

Dated back then, when people used to watch operas which were one of the common elite forms of entertainments, which not only portrayed music but traveled through many stories through the tune of every string played through the music Instruments.

Music took a major role in plays and dramas, which is still Engraved in our magnificent history. It has also contributed a massive hand in legends of  Literature. There were many prominent writers like Jane Austen and Pablo Neruda who claimed music as one of the key factors of human harmony.

Music always renovates as the decades passed by, presently music comes under the Category of Pop Music or Pop culture where many bands are popularizing music by making people aware of how music is important and how it plays a vital role to connect and how even in today’s generation music is helping society to know about the moral attitudes which we all need as human beings.

There are several forms of Music, taking one of the examples is K Pop Music which is gaining worldwide recognition with a high amount of social awareness. We can never forget some great bands like “The Beatles”, who are still considered one of the best Classical bands to date.

“BTS“, one of the famously known Boy Bands who are on the top-notch with the extraordinary songs and contribution they are providing to the music industry. There is a fandom for BTS all over the world that shows us that people don’t need any language to get connect rather it’s a heart-to-heart language to understand and feel the music.

Music was never meant to be always vocal, sometimes just a tune is all you need to connect, as rightly some artists like Mozart, Chopin’s explained us through their beautiful music.

Music Is a language that not only connects with a mind and body but also with a soul. No matter whatever the occasion is we humans were bound with music and music has different versions for different situations. The world of Music accepts a very living being that has a soul to connect with.

“We all just need a music to connect, rest the music will ultimately unite us with its alluring tune which strings with our heart forever”.

Top 10 Musical Countries In The World

When we explore the musical industry every country in the world is about different culture, articulation, creation and meaning of music which make it stand out from others and make more fun, starting with this list of most musical countries of world, the first is:

1.THE UNITED KINGDOM:

The country has been a great producer and source of musical creation, with its artistic base from history of the United Kingdom, from church music, western culture with ancient and traditional folk music.

In 20th century, musicians from the UK became dominant in musical culture, which led to explosion of POP and ROCK music acts. Hence, the UK has become one of the world’s largest music industries today, with many British artists influencing the modern music.

Each country as mentioned above has different form of folk music:

English Folk Music

Northern Irish Music

Scottish Folk Music

Welsh Folk Music

Popular form of music from the UK includes: English Folk, Jazz, Rapping, Hip-Hop, Pop, Rock, British Folk Rock, Drum and Bass, Heavy Metal.

With that the UK has given us the most famous Music Artist we have at present and we’ve been listening to them from very beginning: The Beatles, Queen, The Who, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, David Brownie and so many more.

2. THE UNITED STATES:

Music here reflects the country’s multi-ethnic population through a diverse array of styles. It is influenced by music mixture from that of West African, Irish and Scottish.

The United States’ music is heard by people all over the world and they love it. In 17th Century, after Native American played their first music, immigrants from different countries of the UK, Ireland, Germany bought their own musical instruments and African slaves bought in their own musical tradition.

The US also had documented folk music and recorded popular music in ethnic styles of Ukrainian, Irish, Scottish and Jewish among other communities.

Popular music genres of the US includes: Blues and Gospel, Jazz, R&B, Rock, Metal, Punk, Techno and Latin American Music.

Popular Artists: Eminem, Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Madonna, Beyonce, Bob Dylan and so many more.

3. GERMANY:

Germany comes up as a largest music market in Europe and third in the list of world music industry.

German classical is most performed in world, including Pop Rock, Punk, Disco and Indie. German Electronic music gained global influence along with Electro and Techno scene being internationally popular.

Germany hosts large rock musical festivals annually. One of them is: Rock am Ring Festival, the largest in world. Since 1990, Berlin has developed a diverse music and entertainment industry.

Coming to Classical Music, Germany is the largest in its development. They host the largest Classical Summer Music Festival: Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival.

Classical Music of Germany includes:

Chorale (Vibrant and Energetic)

Opera

Baroque Period

Classical Era

Romantic Era

Apart from this included the Folk and English Popular music from Germany which are great hit among the people of world.

4. IRELAND:

Irish music has been created in various genres in Ireland. The indigenous music is known as Irish Traditional Music which has been vibrant for ages despite globalizing cultural forces. Even after influencing from all the music from Britain, The US and other cultures, Irish music has kept its influence and has impact on modern rock music.

Some of the fusion artists have attained mainstream success.

Irish has produced Traditional music, popular modern music, Folk music and Classical Music.

Popular genres developed there were: Pop, Rock, Techno, Rock and Roll, Fusion music.

Famous Artists: Westlife, Van Morrison, Boyzone and the Cranberries.

5. INDIA:

Music of India stands 5th in the list of world musical countries, including all genres classical, folk, Indian rock and Indian pop. Music here began as an integral part of socio-religious life.

Indian Music has numerous genres:

Classical Music- Hindustani and Carnatic Music (Dhrupad, Dhamar, Sadra, Raga, Tala, Pallavi)

Light Classical- Thumri, Sangeet, Qawwali, Ghazal

Folk Music- Which is different from different states of India because of diverse culture

Then we have Indian Pop, Rock and Metal, Indian Rock, Raga Rock, Jazz and Blues.

6. MEXICO:

The music culture here is diverse and is a mixture of musical genres and performances styles and influence majorly by culture of indigenous people of Mexico and Europe.

They have wide classification of music starting from:

Traditional Music which is majorly divided in two forms- By musical form and styles –Corrido, Mexican Danzon, Mexican Bolero and By types of ensembles- Banda, Mariachi and Marimba.

Popular Folk Music had Grupera influenced by the styles of cumbia, norteno and reached heights of popularity in rural areas.

Popular Music had genres like Pop, Rock, Latin Alternative, Mexican Ska, Electronic.

Whereas Art Music includes Operas, Classical and Jazz which makes Mexican music culture rich of different forms and artistic editions.

7. ITALY:

Italian music is a traditional marker of Italian national culture and ethnic identity, which holds important position in society and politics. Music innovation- harmony, notation and theatre- helped in development of Opera.

Italian folk music is an important part of musical heritage of country and includes diverse arrays of styles, dance and instruments.

Characteristics of the music majorly revolved around- Society and Politics.

Classical Music included- Ballet, Sacred and Instrumental Music, Experimental Music

Folk music had deep and complex history depending on regions, songs, dance and instrumentation.

Popular music consisted of: Modern Pop, modern dance, imported styles.

Along with rich music culture, Italy hosts a lot of large music festivals – Sanremo Music festival being one of those.

8. SWEDEN:

Music of Sweden shares a touch of Nordic folk Dance with its neighboring Northern Europe Countries. The instrumental genre is the biggest in Swedish Traditional music.

Swedish music also included more modern pop and modern influences. Sweden is one of the world’s most successful exporters of popular music.

Classical music included Choral genre.

Modern music again had- Jazz, Pop, Bubblegum dance, hip-hop, rock, punk rock and heavy metal.

Progressive and Jazz-rock music along with electronic gained much popularity from the country.

9. JAPAN:

They have wide array of performers from traditional and modern music. Japan is the largest physical music market in world. Traditional music here differs a lot from the western music.

Traditional and Folk Music- Minyo – which had 4 categories- Work, Religious, Gatherings and Child songs

Okinawan Folk music- dance songs, celebratory music.

Western music consisted of traditional pop music, western classic and orchestras.

Popular music came with Jazz, Idol music, dance and disco music, rock and heavy metal along with Theme music, game music, noise music.

10. AUSTRIA:

Slavic and Hungarian forms influenced the Austrian Music culture. Yodeling, was a form of singing involving the rapid and repeated changes of registers, was called ‘juchizn’ by Austrians.

Then with upcoming technologies came the development of Rock and Pop music in Austria and they started hosting annual music festival show casing European Music Arts.

My source of inspiration 방탄소년단

“Tell me your story. I want to hear your voice, and I want to hear your conviction. No matter who you are, where you’re from, your skin color, gender identity: speak yourself.”

-BTS(UNICEF)

Bangtan Boys also known as BTS is a Korean-pop group, currently the biggest phenomenon of the music industry with a huge fandom named A.R.M.Y. It is a seven-member boyband and their names go like this, Kim Namjoon(RM), Kim Seokjin(Jin), Min Yoongi(Suga), Jung Hoseok(Jhope), Park Jimin(Jimin), Kim Taehyung(V), Jeon Jungkook. BTS debuted on 13th June 2013 under Bighit Entertainment. 

BangTan Sonyeondan

BTS, through their songs, talk about personal issues and society’s expectations, and commentary on youth. They focus on mental issues, depression, and almost everything that people usually don’t prefer to talk about. Moreover, they are inspiring and touching the hearts of millions of people every day through their lyrics. From the beginning of their career, they told stories that are very much familiar to our stories like teenage love affairs, the desire to achieve everything, society’s expectations on you, depression. So basically, it’s like a guy next door story which we all can relate. 

 “If you want to love others, I think you should love yourself first.”

-RM

“Don’t be trapped in someone else’s dream“

-V

Back in 2013, BTS was completely unknown to the world they hardly had 200 to 300 people to cheer them up. All seven of them used to live in a small dorm with very little to no luxury, they were discriminated against by the other companies as they come from a small and completely underrated company(Big Hit). They were never invited to big shows, got so much hatred and criticism from the pop community because of their looks, clothes, make-up, and were accused of false plagiarism. But despite the hardships they have faced, they’ve pushed themselves and never lost hope. They fought together, stood against the negativity, and motivated themselves to just moved on to make a better version of themselves every day. They released 22 albums till now each album sharing a different story. They have learned to love themselves for who they are and accept their flaws. Just like that, they want us to love ourselves and end self-hatred and bring peace into our lives.

BTS albums sold till now

 “In the middle of the road, at the moment you want to give up, shout out even louder: “So what?”

-BTS

And now, their efforts paid off. They have won 370 awards including National awards, Billboard awards, Asian artist awards, the American Music Awards, etc. 549 nominations including the Grammys. And attained 26 Guinness World records and broke the records of Michael Jackson and The Beatles. They got covered by TIME magazine as “The next generation heroes”. They are the brand ambassadors of Hyundai, FILA, Louis Vuitton, Samsung, Coca-Cola, and many more. BTS delivered a speech at the UN general assembly as a part of the “LOVE MYSELF” campaign that they have launched in 2017 and partnered with UNICEF’s “End Violence” program. BTS generates 4 trillion Korean won as economic value to their country per year and 1.42 trillion won as added value per year, according to the 2018 report( Hyundai Research Institute). BTS contributes 1.7% of total Korean consumer goods export.

“Love myself, love yourself, peace.”

-Suga

“Find your name, find your voice by speaking yourself.”

-RM

Their growth is phenomenal.

From small dorms to spacious hotel rooms.

From congested practice rooms to a multi storey building.

From 200 fans to millions of ARMYs.

From a few lightsticks to an ocean of purple lights.

From small-town boys to Global leaders.

From ordinary teenagers to legends.

 “In the dark night, don’t be lonely, Like the stars, we shine, Don’t disappear, because you’re a great existence, Let us shine”

-BTS(Mikrokosmos)

 “Purple is the last colour of the rainbow colours. So means I will trust and love you for a long time.”

― Kim Taehyung
BTS with their first award
BTS awards by 2021

They have achieved everything they wanted but always stay the same as they were a few years ago. This is a story of models, dancers, singers, philanthropists, the next generation leaders, and more importantly our well-wishers. 

Their journey is worth telling, as an ARMY I will not stop narrating this story to the world.

credits to the right owners of the pictures used.

What do we know about Music?

“Music is the language of the spirit. It opens the secret of life bringing peace, abolishing strife.”

Kahlil Gibran

“Music is the moonlight in the gloomy night of life”

John Paul Friedrich Richter

“Music is the universal language of mankind”

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Introduction

These quotes on music give us a little idea about what music is to people and how it makes them feel. Music is defined as vocal or instrumental sounds or both combined in such a way as to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion. Music is an art and so it is usually influenced by culture and it becomes an important part of all cultures. Music does not only have to be professional, even a mother singing a lullaby for her baby is music.

History of Music

The history of music is almost as old as humanity. Archaeologists have found a primitive flute made of bone and ivory which can be dated back to almost 43,000 years old. A lot of musical styles could have been oral and so there is not much evidence on that. The oldest song by man is known to be the “Hurrian Hymn No. 6” which was an ode to the goddess Nikkal composed in cuneiform by ancient Hurrians around 14th century B.C. But the earliest piece of music was found on a 4000-year-old Sumerian clay tablet which had instructions on how to play the hymn in honour of the ruler Lipit-Ishtar. The oldest musical composition to have survived is known to be from the first century A.D., a Greek tune called the “Seikilos Epitaph”. This song was found engraved on an ancient marble.

Types of Music

The world is filled with several music genres and music styles. Some of the common music genres with examples are:

  • Classical – Moonlight by Ludwig Van Beethoven
  • Country – You should be here by Cole Swindell
  • Electronic Dance Music (EDM) – Fade by NCIS
  • Hip Hop – Gangsters Paradise by Coolio
  • Indie Rock – Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now by The Smiths
  • Jazz – A Kiss to Build a Dream on by Louis Armstrong
  • K-pop – Butter by BTS
  • Metal – Diary of Jane by Breaking Benjamin
  • Pop – Shape of You by Ed Sheeran
  • Rap – These Guys by Blay Vision
  • Rhythm & Blues (R&B) – You Got it Bad by usher
  • Rock – Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin
  • Blues – Sultans of Swing by Dire Straits

Benefits of Music

  • Research shows that music helps in keeping your heart healthy. Blood flows more easily when music is played, heart rate gets reduced, blood pressure lowers, it also decreased cortisol levels which is the stress hormone and it increases serotonin and endorphin in blood.
  • Music boosts the brain’s production of dopamine which helps in relieving anxiety and depression.
  • Music triggers some biochemical stress reducers which then help in reducing stress.
  • People going through depression are recommended to listen to music and it is supposed to help.
  • Music therapy is used for people suffering from Alzheimer’s or dementia. This music therapy relaxes the patients.
  • Music therapy also helps in managing the pain, it reduces the perceived intensity of pain.
  • Music is supposed to increase the workout endurance one might have.
  • For some people, music helps in concentration and minimizes the chances of getting distracted.
  • Music helps in regulating and understanding your emotions.

Conclusion

Music has existed for a very long time and that too in many forms. Most of us listen to different kinds of music just because we feel like it, without realizing the benefits it has. So, music isn’t just some sound with some instrument, it indeed is the moonlight in the gloomy night of light.

References

Lo-Fi is the new Hi-Fi

“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.” said Plato. The music industry strives to live up to this quote, and many new music creators are coming up with new content every day. Lo-fi is the newest trend and looks like it’s here to stay. Read on to know why.

What is lo-fi?


According to its creator Eric Matthews, lo-fi is short for “low fidelity”, which is a term used to define the music that contains elements that are conventionally regarded as imperfections or flawed. This type of sound recording has technical flaws that make them sound different from the live sound that gets recorded by adding distortion, hums, background noise and low-frequency response. Music producers now make these flaws as calculated aesthetic decisions and we have a plethora of our favorite songs in this new version. And guess what? It is a hit with the youth.


The world today has started to acknowledge the fact that it is OK to be imperfect and individuals are starting to embrace their flaws with self-love and grace. This can be one of the reasons why the youth is vibing to this genre of raw music. Also, Lo-fi being passive in nature does not reach out or try to be more it can be a Calming secondary presence rather than a full-on concert you want to perform when you listen to a Bollywood number.
Some of the good Lo-fi songs today are cut, rearranged and extended to create a vintage or retro vibe. So, the same song hit different and brings a sense of nostalgia to the listener. When listening to lo-fi, what remains in our head is not a memory of the lyrics, but a lasting state of mind. As the pandemic has made us think about the good old times a lot, this genre is the current vibe.

Lo-fi for work /study

The Lo-Fi Girl (Youtube Channel)


One of the major changes that the world has experienced in the new normal is the WFH(Work From Home) culture and, college life now is just you, your laptop and the water bottle against the world. Many students find it difficult to focus on their work when there is a TV running in the next room or the family being loud at times. Sounds relatable, isn’t it? Worry not! Lo-fi is here to put you in a phase of focus when you can concentrate on the work at hand and get a lot of things ticked off on your checklist. While many music critics looked down on the Mellow and monotonous nature of this genre, scientists and audiophiles (like me) insist that blandness is the key point. Lo-fi really does put you in a productive trance. Just search ‘lo-fi beats for chill and study’ and let the YouTube algorithm wind you up in a new cocoon of focus vibe and nostalgia. But if you are one of those who would want absolute silence while working, lo-fi may not be your cup of tea. Well, You can always try new stuff, it would be a win-win anyway!

To sum it all, Lo-Fi music accompany you in the day to day question and get you through your day. It is relatable and casual, putting people at ease and making them put it on loop in return. Go ahead and try a session of lo-fi Beats to study or chill. You won’t be disappointed!

Here are some recommendations to start with. Happy Vibing!

This is a playlist for some Bollywood Lo-fi music:

This is the link for a 1-hour session of Lo-fi beats to Study/Chill

How music changes your mood?.

Music stimulates the part of the brain that produces the dopamine hormone. This hormone affects emotional behavior and mood. The influence of music is both behavioral and neural. That is, this means that music not only affects the mood but also affects what we cannot control ourselves.Music is not only able to affect your mood — listening to particularly happy or sad music can even change the way we perceive the world, according to researchers from the University of Groningen.

Music and mood are closely interrelated — listening to a sad or happy song on the radio can make you feel more sad or happy. However, such mood changes not only affect how you feel, they also change your perception. For example, people will recognize happy faces if they are feeling happy themselves.

A new study by researcher Jacob Jolij and student Maaike Meurs of the Psychology Department of the University of Groningen shows that music has an even more dramatic effect on perception: even if there is nothing to see, people sometimes still see happy faces when they are listening to happy music and sad faces when they are listening to sad music.

Research has found that when a subject listens to music that gives them the chills, it triggers a release of dopamine to the brain. And if you don’t know, dopamine is a kind of naturally occurring happy chemical we receive as part of a reward system. Now here’s the really interesting part: Dopamine is not only released during peak musical moments but also when we anticipate those moments. It’s like our brain is rewarding us for knowing a really great chorus is just about to hit!

Hearing a song from our adolescence brings back a flood of feelings and memories. By why do those songs have such a strong hold on our emotional core? Our brains develop rapidly between ages 12 and 22 (there’s a reason they call it our “formative” years), so when we make a connection to a song during that time, it’s a strong neurological connection. The massive rush of hormones associated with our pubescent years tells our brains that everything is super important, and that includes whatever music we’re listening to at the time. That’s why when we hear a true throwback to our high school days, it’s a powerful thing.

The impact of positive thinking has been a subject of focus for psychologists and self-help gurus for ages now, but what about positive listening? Is there such a thing as intentionally listening to positive-sounding music to boost your mood? We already know music that gives us the chills helps to release dopamine, but a separate study found that people who intentionally listened to upbeat music improved their moods and happiness in just two weeks. When a separate group was instructed to listen to different music that wasn’t deemed positive sounding, they didn’t experience the same mood-boosting effect. So the next time you’re blue, maybe put on a song that will make you smile.

HOW MUSIC INFLUENCES OUR LIVES

Music is a vital part of different moments of human life. It spreads happiness and joy in a person’s life. Music is the soul of life and gives immense peace to us. In the words of William Shakespeare “If music is the food of love, play on, Give me excess of it; that surfeiting, The appetite may sicken, and so die.” Thus, Music helps us in connecting with our souls or real self.

Essay on Music

What is Music?

Music is a pleasant sound which is a combination of melodies and harmony and which soothes you. Music may also refer to the art of composing such pleasant sounds with the help of the various musical instruments. A person who knows music is a Musician.

The music consists of Sargam, Ragas, Taals, etc. Music is not only what is composed of men but also which exists in nature. Have you ever heard the sound of a waterfall or a flowing river? Could you hear music there? Thus, everything in harmony has music. Here, I would like to quote a line by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, one of the greatest musicians, “The music is not in the notes, but in the silence between.”

Importance of Music:

Music has great qualities of healing a person emotionally and mentally. Music is a form of meditation. While composing or listening music ones tends to forget all his worries, sorrows and pains. But, in order to appreciate good music, we need to cultivate our musical taste. It can be cited that in the Dwapar Yug, the Gopis would get mesmerized with the music that flowed from Lord Krishna’s flute. They would surrender themselves to Him. Also, the research has proved that the plants which hear the Music grow at a faster rate in comparison to the others.

Magical Powers of Music:

It has the power to cure diseases such as anxiety, depression, insomnia, etc. The power of Music can be testified by the legends about Tansen of his bringing the rains by singing Raag Megh Malhar and lighting lamps by Raga Deepak. It also helps in improving the concentration and is thus of great help to the students.

Conclusion:

Music is the essence of life. Everything that has rhythm has music. Our breathing also has a rhythm. Thus, we can say that there is music in every human being or a living creature. Music has the ability to convey all sorts of emotions to people. Music is also a very powerful means to connect with God. We can conclude that Music is the purest form of worship of God and to connect with our soul.

Indian Indie

This article is my appreciation for the Indian Indie artist and their music which has healing powers like no other. Great lyrics are the main asset in these songs, these lyrics have a deeper meaning and so you have to listen to them carefully to get the most surreal experience. The music might only contain a guitar or a ukulele or a piano at a time instead of the whole group of musicians but once you hear the songs you would surely listen to them on loop because it soothes your soul and calms your mind.

As these artists work independently, they are free to be as creative with their art as they want and so their art reflects their creativity which sometimes can get suppressed in Bollywood music

Here are a few songs I’d want everybody to listen. (There are many other great songs of the same caliber that I could not mention in this list.)

  • Yahaan Koi Nahi (Punit Singh):  If you’re an introvert you should give this song a listen. This song has a major feel-good vibe but you must listen to the lyrics carefully because that’s where the essence of the song is. After listening to this song you would be assured that you are not the only one who feels lonely.
  • Khud Se (Osho Jain): This song will pluck the strings of your heart one by one. This song will make you realize that maybe it’s you who does not love yourself enough and that is why you think that others do not love you.
  • Waqt ki Baatein (Dream Note): Dream Note has done marvelous work to get you through the hard phase of your life, it gives you hope that everything will get better if you give it time, time heals every wound.
  • Musafir (Arjit Anand): Musafir is a song that asks you to take a pause and enjoy the present moment and the little joys of life. The voice and the music are soulful and soothing.                                                                  
  • Shaayad (Taba Chake): This song will lift your mood instantly. His voice and the music work their ways through your heart and for 3 minutes you will believe that no setback can stop you from achieving your goals.
  • Tum Jab Paas (Prateek Kuhad): There are many beautiful songs by Kuhad but this one transfers you into Utopia with your loved one. Imagine camping, bonfire, fairy lights, this is where you’ll be mentally while listening to this song.
  • Dil Mere (The Local Train): This Hindi Rock Band has released great songs and this is one of them. Dil Mere has great music and vocals and one could instantly fall in love with this song.

Indian Indie artists and their music should get much more appreciation than it gets now because these artists have the ability to connect with their audience emotionally. Listen to these songs and explore others like them, listening to these songs could have a therapeutic effect on your mind.

MAN’S GREATEST CREATION: MUSIC

“SOMETIMES A DEEP MEANINGFUL MUSIC IS ENOUGH,TO COMPLETELY CHANGE ONE’S  PERSPECTIVE TOWARDS LIFE”

 

Man’s greatest creation: music, the language of spirit opening up the secret of life by bringing peace and abolishing the strife far and wide. It is the incredible trait of music in its ability to have infinite sounds , emotions, instruments, beats, genres which greatly influences us to connect with the people on such a massive level that even the power of words fail to reach such a level.

 

It is an explosive expression of humanity which helps us to express our innermost feeling in the most powerful manner because it is something we all are touched by. It touches our soul and strikes a chord in our heart. Music is often said that when language fails the best resort is music. Believe in the power of music and you will be able to express the innermost feeling with much more clarity and effectively with lot of magnitude.

Music greatly helps in spreading happiness and joy in life of a person, gives us the soul for our life and immense peace of mind. It creates a vibrant pattern that it evokes and stirs up the feelings and emotions in the listener’s heart and creates a sense of joy. It is an organized melodious sound in succession which helps in creating a composition of music in unity, continuity and harmony. Music is an art of combining tones to form expressive and rhythmic sequence of pleasing sounds.

MAN’S GREATEST CREATION LINKED WITH NATURE

Throughout our musical history, we have sought to connect with nature on a deep and emotional level. This internal connection we seek with the nature is rooted in our human ancestry and evolution having been entirely immersed in nature. The beautiful bird’s chirping, the water running, tree leaves resting and wind blowing are all realistic rhythm of unnoticed music which is greatest blessing from the god. Moreover our primitive forms of communication, emotional expression and social connection were all through musical sounds that originally stemmed from the natural world surrounded us.

Clearly, we have strong internal connection with both the nature and music, but these two essential components to human life go hand in hand in our evolutionary history and in our human-nature as naturally we use music to express our emotion which has been both emphasized and reinforced by composers and musicians who have sought to nature through their music and strengthen our essential connection with music and in the deepest roots of nature.

MAN’S GREATEST CREATION IN UNITING THE WORLD

   The sublime power of music that breaks all the geographical boundaries and helps people to connect together regardless of their diverse social, political, geographical and cultural background. It is the inevitable force which that knows no religion and no discrimination on the basis of caste and creed. It gives equal delight to all and helps us to connect with god by transporting our soul to another world. Thus is greatly helps us in establishing peace and promoting internal brotherhood.

Plato, a great Greek philosopher once said that music should be an indispensable part of education. In his scheme of education he greatly emphasized on three forms of disciplines they are:

    1. Mathematics for the development and training of our brain.
    2. Gymnastics for the development and training of our body.
    3. last but not the least MUSIC for feeding our soul

Through musical instruments and voice it helps people to reach a sublime state such as “SUFI MUSIC“. It is such a delight for our ears to hear this form of music. We can produce music with the help of various instruments.

do check out on how music has beautifully healed people:

http://Personal Stories about Music Therapy | Personal Stories | American Music Therapy Association (AMTA)

Music gives us a permanent solution to wipe off boredom from our life. It gives us the flight to the imagination and let’s us to paint the life’s unforgettable memories in silence. Thus it is well said that “Life is like the keys of piano has both white and black keys but we must never forget that black keys too makes music.”

 

 

 

 

Music: An Underrated Stress Buster!…

I was going through some tough time these days. I felt like drowning in anxiety and overthinking. I didn’t even tell anyone about it.
One day I got so much lost in anxiety that I had to tell it to my best friend. He was talking with me, trying to convince and comfort me but it didn’t help. Meanwhile, a song from the movie ” Dear Zindagi ” was playing inside my head. I waited for a while and then opened my music application and played that song. I was listening to music after a very long time. With my headphones on, I was listening to music. On one side, my friend was convincing me and on the other, I was listening to music. After some time, I was feeling a bit calm and relaxed. Music helped to burst my stress.
I used to be an active music listener. But these days, I got stuck in life issues so much which took me away from music. Stress has become a major part of life. To counter with it, I even begin to meditate. But now I feel only meditation won’t help, music also needs to be there.
We must have heard from many that meditation can help you to relieve the stress. It is absolutely true that meditation, deep breathing exercises help you to stay calm and reduce anxiety. But now after coming back again to music, I feel the music is very much underrated. Soothing music can help you heal. Music has the power to change your mood. It can bring you from a state of anxiety to the state of peace. So what measures do we need to take when we feel anxious? Firstly you need to meditate and go through a deep breathing exercise. After that, you should go through your playlist and play the songs you love for a long time. But you need to play only soothing songs as they can only calm you down. One more thing, listening to music with headphones on will create a major impact. Headphones make you stay there to listen to music. It will prevent your mind from wandering towards negative emotions. These small things can help you a lot to maintain the peace. Give it a try!…

5 Great Benefits of Listening to Music

Music is entertainment, then is also meditation. If there is a companion of sorrow, there is also the voice of self-contemplation. Life is incomplete without music. And it is music that fills happiness in your desolate world.


Do you know how important music is in your life? Music is the way through which happiness can be found in life.

So let’s tell you, the benefits of listening to music, by which many people are blessed by adopting, which is as follows…

1. Listening to music while exercising is beneficial

According to a survey in Britain, it has been found that music maintains enthusiasm, increases patience and improves mood. By listening to music, our attention does not go towards the discomfort caused during exercise. In research, the effect of music on 30 people was studied while walking on a treadmill. The performance during listening to motivational and non-motivational was better than the exercise performed while not listening to music.

2. Listening music increases memory power 

Some people have a habit of listening to music while studying. According to him, this allows him to study better. Now research also proves their point. Listening to regular music reduces the ageing process. It also has a good effect on the victims of dementia. Taking interest in music releases dopamine hormone in the body, which gives excitement and motivation. Children’s inclination towards music makes their conversation effective. The ability to think and understand has a good effect, which causes the Verbal IQ to accelerate.

3. Lack of stress and restlessness due to listening to music

Listening to slow melodies without words gives peace to the mind. Stress is reduced and increased heart rate improves. The breathing process is normal. There is immediate ease in restlessness. Whether you listen to music, sing or play it, it has a good effect in all its forms. According to experts, listening to regular music gives relief on both physical and mental levels. Sleeps well too. Fear, frustration and anger are reduced. The mind becomes happy and if you want peace, then you should listen to classical music or slow music or listen to the tune of the flute.

4. Listening to music reduces pain

Music has a good effect on the nervous system. This is the part that controls blood pressure, heart rate and brain processes. There is also an effect on the part of the brain that controls the emotion. Listening to regular music of people suffering from muscle pain reduces symptoms of depression and pain. Increased heart rate is controlled by slow rhythm music. Shoulder, stomach and back stress is reduced.

5. Listening to music keeps the body healthy

According to researchers, listening to music improves the level of antibodies useful for the body’s immune system. I am talking about those antibodies which protect our body against diseases. Also, a good effect is seen in the digestive process.

These were the advantages of listening to music – music is the miracle that used to light up the court of Jalaluddin Akbar.

It is said that when Tansen used to sing Deepak Raga and Megh Malhar, the extinguished lamps automatically lit up and it used to rain. There is power in music, which has forced a very cruel ruler to become a good person. These were the advantages of listening to music!

When music has shown such a feat, why are you still devoid of the benefits of listening to music?

Music can convey better than words

When words fail, music speaks.” For every emotion known to man, there seems to be a song that can embody the feelings that go along with that emotion. There are songs about sadness, joy, fear, anger, confusion, and love. There are even songs without words, and even these tunes can have a powerful effect on a person. What is music, exactly? Some may say it is the combination of a tune, notes, rhythms, and maybe even words. But to me, I find that music is much more than a simple melody. Music lives and breathes everywhere—in the soft whisper of a summer breeze, in the crashing and rolling of waves in an ocean, or even in the beating of a baby’s heart. Music is the rhythmic pulse of life, and it gives life to everything.

Music is more than words put to a tune; it’s the flow of goodness and life that can be found in every situation, good or bad. It’s a helping hand when someone fell down. It’s a loving embrace after not seeing each other for years. It’s a tear that falls down the cheek of a baby. That’s the thing about music—it is different for everyone. Music is there to help us when things are too overwhelming to put into words. Music is a constant that will forever embody emotions of love and life. Music is the rhythm of life.

Listening to music is one of the most relaxing ways any human being can ever imagine. Although most of us have different tastes, the availability of different kinds of music in different genres has enabled people to listen to what they want according to how they feel at the moment. We sometimes cannot tell how the musician is feeling, but the message can impact us in various ways depending on what we are going through in our lives. 

Heart broken, beaten down or feeling so low; then tears can do wonders to express this feeling. Most of us go through tough situations in life. Although we can talk about some things in life, sometimes the level of hurt or pain can be so intense in such a way that singing becomes the only option to express how we have been affected by something. Music with words provides a missing link between reason and emotion. Singing takes language and pulls the most possible feeling out of it. Yet the kind of emotion it presents is so deep precisely because it can be hard to pin down.

The ability to perceive emotion in music is said to develop early in childhood, and improve significantly throughout development.The capacity to perceive emotion in music is also subject to cultural influences, and both similarities and differences in emotion perception have been observed in cross-cultural studies.Singing is as essential for humans as it is for our fellow musical creatures. Birds, whales and humans all sing because we must, because it is of our very essence. It is easy in this age when everyone can carry their music collection around in their pocket to forget that the true power of song does not emerge if all we do is consume it. So take those buds out of your ears, forget about those MP3s, and remember that singing is a powerful thing, capable of expressing every possible human emotion.

Music is nothing but the words that a person can’t say due to his situation.Rather than speaking it he likes to put the emotions in the lyrics of the music. Person have many phases in their life that phases he put it in the thread of music. Whether a person is heart broken or happiest person or wants to dedicate someone his feeling or just want to represent life , they all put there emotions, there unspoken words in the thread of lyrics and form a music.

Lastly, I want to say even if we don’t have words to express ourself but we have music that can reveal more than what we can’t say.

“Bulbul” movie review

I saw this Hindi movie recently and I would like to give my opinion on it. “Bulbbul” was recently released on Netflix on 24 June, 2020 by the production company ‘Clean Slate Films’. A supernatural horror produced by Anushka Sharma and directed by Anvita Dutt Guptan. It is roughly based on Rabindranath Tagore’s “The Broken Nest” which is based on his own life incidents.


The movie is set in 18th or 19th century Bengal. It doesn’t have many characters. Our main characters are Bulbbul, a child who is barely five years old when she gets married to Indranil, also known as ‘Bado thakur’. Indranil has two brothers namely Mahendra, his mentally challenged identical twin and Satya, the youngest close to Bulbbul’s age which is the reason why they become close friends which becomes a matter of concern for her husband. Bulbbul grows up to be an enigmatic woman. We see how men in her village are brutally being killed by some witch or chudail.


Basically the film takes us on a journey of Bulbbul’s growth from an innocent child bride to a strong woman who runs her own household.
The character of Bulbbul is played by Tripti Dimri. In my opinion, I don’t think anyone could have done a better job playing the role. Though not from a Bengali background she does a pretty great job in giving us those typical Bengali vibes. Rahul Bose as Indranil (as well as Mahendra) does a pretty great job too. Handling two very different roles at the same time is not easy but he did it. Avinash Tiwary acts as Satya; another great work. Paoli Dam as Mahendra’s wife, Binodini. Parambrata Chatterjee as Sudip, the village doctor. I feel the cast was great. Each one of them did a wonderful work and I cannot imagine anyone else replacing them.
The music is exceptionally good, gives you goose bumps every time you listen to it not because it scares you but it feels like there’s a story behind everything screaming to be heard. Hats off to Amit Trivedi. It gives a special essence to the movie. Another thing I loved was the cinematography. Scenes where the witch or the chudail was to be, the screen would turn red telling us to hold on to our seats for something is about to happen. It has a feminist theme. It shows how women change themselves due to past abuse. Paoli Dam’s character had this dialogue “Badi havelion me bade raaz hote hai” translates to “big havelis have big secrets”. This explains a lot about the chudail. One would understand when they see the movie.
Lesson I learnt was innocence is a pure thing taking that away from someone is sinful.
The movie is family friendly except a couple of scenes but I think it’s high time little girls need to be made aware what the real world holds.
It has a 4.3/5 audience rating. I would totally give it a 4.5/5 just because there is this one thing that it becomes predictable midway. Apart from that it is a masterpiece and a change from regular Indian thriller.

Thank you for reading. Have a nice day!

The Psychological Connection to Hobbies

Most of us have had a childhood interest or a hobby which was our favourite pastime. With not much to do all day, we would spend our time engaging in different unique and creative activities. Not only saving us from boredom, these hobbies have provided us with lot of benefits and shaped us into becoming what we are today.

Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Pexels.com

Almost everyone had a favourite pastime activity which would keep us busy in our childhood. Starting from painting, doodling to collecting stamps, pebbles, train tickets and what not. When asked about their hobbies many people were found to narrate happy tales of their childhood. In today’s busy world where it is difficult to even take a day off from work, we tend to lose touch with our creative sides. Thinking about our childhood days makes us realise how long it had been since these hobbies were a part of our lives. Sports, music, crafts have all been pushed aside in adulthood by our busy schedules and responsibilities. In the midst of all these we have not realised how important these had been in shaping us and how amazing it would be to revisit these days by going back to those hobbies.

As children we had many different ways to spend our times. Some of us were into painting and crafts, some were into musical instruments, while some had the interesting habit of collecting stuffs. All these hobbies seem simple but studies show that there is a lot more to it.

There’s a lot of factual information about the importance of art in a child’s development. Researches show that individuals who have been into art and crafts in their childhood are found to be more expressive and have better communication skills. Experimenting with art makes children open to broader ideas and help them handle unexpected situations with ease.

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Collecting is believed to be a psychological impulse. Collection is a historical practice and it ranges from stamps, books, tickets, coins to leaves and pebbles. People maintain the habit of collecting due to various reasons. Some collect due to an interest in the things that the collections represent, while others view collection as a pleasurable form of owning something. The different aspects attached with it makes the psychology behind it so interesting. It has been known that individuals who had the habit of collecting grow up to be careerist individuals in future. As the saying goes “An individual’s childhood is reflection of their life”. Collectors are also known to make better social connections and more friendships.

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Individuals engaging with music from a very young age tend to enjoy musical instruments. Engaging with music makes us happy and lifts our spirits. Studies show that music improve our brain functions and it keeps the brain active. It has also been known that music helps in retaining information and develops memory. Children who have had such hobbies grow up to be smart individuals.

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Few years back, Google had encouraged its employees to devote 20 percent of their time to side projects of their interest. It was a very innovative decision on the part of the company and it yielded amazing results. It has been known that following this, employees have performed more productively in their work and have achieved more. There are innumerable ways in which hobbies help in one’s overall growth and development. Most of us have lost touch with these but we can surely try and revive those habits. In fact, discovering childhood hobbies can make our lives better and make us happier. It feels amazing to revive those countless memories we have with an instrument or a habit. This will also help us become more productive in our work. Investing one’s time in areas of interest alongside their career can yield incredible results and, in the process, will make us better individuals with a more holistic outlook towards life.