Lucas Verville Malcolm Campbell English 1102 4/15/14

Just Songs or Something More? Ever notice how some songs have the potential to put you in a trance, almost as if it takes you to a special meaningful part of your life where the song grabs you where you are most vulnerable? Or how one can get a sudden bolt of energy when cranking up a song that pumps them up in the gym? Throughout human history, people have been enchanted by the sounds of music. From the moment we wake up till we go back to bed, we will come across and process music at some point throughout our daily lives. (Hells Bells: Documentary) Whether it is driving to work, studying for an exam, exercising or dancing at a nightclub, music is almost always around us and based on the harmonic resonance of notes that can sound pleasant to individuals, it can have the effect of striking different emotional chords. Most can agree that music is a very powerful instrument that can alter our emotions based on the type of music that we listen to. However, what is more debatable is the extent of its influence, particularly of that on the teen population. With most of the pop culture that teens expose their ears to embracing hedonistic behaviors and the celebrities that they look up to engaging in those acts, one has to wonder, to what extent does the music teenagers listen to shape their ideals? So are the songs that teens like to hear just songs and lyrics or something more?

One of the first forms of musical influence can be traced back to the African culture of tribal dancing. (Hells Bells Documentary) In this type of shamanistic dancing, shamans would beat on their drums with a rhythm releasing a certain number of wave cycles per second, (the amount of noise emitted by an instrument per second and the distance it traveled) which altered the metabolic rate or energy that tribe members exerted as they danced together to the sounds from the drum. (Hells Bells Documentary) This ritualistic dancing was seen by the very eyes of Mickey Hart, drummer for the famous band The Grateful Dead, who became a musicologist in his later years studying the effects on music. He spent some time focusing on the West African culture and music and noted that when the African drums were played people would transform. It was as if the drums were calling up something from the cosmopolitan African bodies that had been asleep. (Hells Bells Documentary) Fast-forward to todays world and one can see a modern day example that is eerily similar. Dance clubs and rave events expose people in a similar fashion as the music has certain beats to it whether it be techno, dub step remixes or pop rock hits. (Hells Bells Documentary) Plus with the settings of bright lights and bursting sounds of music playing, it alters the metabolic rate/ state of consciousness to the point of altering the experience. Think of it like easing the state of mind in order to bring out potential energy stored within. This explains how a single DJ can control an entire dance floor. (Hells Bells Documentary) Famous guitarist Jimi Hendrix compared rock music and his concerts to electrical church

and that when he was playing his music it was as if he was channeling energy from within himself.

Music does not have to be recognizable, the power just within the sound releases specific chemicals in the brain and body once heard in order to alter the state of consciousness. (Hells Bells Documentary) Musicologist Dr. Richard Pellegrino stated: Also the music that is recognized by our auditory cortex can produce an endorphin high that thus triggers a flood of emotions and images that have the ability to instantaneously produce very powerful changes in our emotional state depending on the music. People can be hypnotized in a way, by music into their natural subconscious state where they are most vulnerable and the music and lyrics can hit them and have an impact. This is how songs can become especially meaningful and personal to individuals who can take the songs and lyrics to heart and people often turn to music in order to feel certain emotions such as anger, sadness and happiness. (Hells Bells Documentary) According to Professor Brad Reddick from Harvard University, depending on ones own musical preference and the frequency that they listen to it, there is a possibility of influencing the way one interacts and forms relationships with others. The next question we must ask is to what degree does music influence the teenage population and in what ways?

(Hells Bells Documentary) One Rolling Stone article wrote: A song or album has the ability to change your life; a great concert can go as far as changing it right on the spot. It isnt hard to see that the themes of rebellion, sexuality and violence dominate the music culture with heavy metal and rock bands encouraging rebellion against the norms of society and rap embracing the gangster life. With teens being exposed to music at such a large rate (Rense) (the average teen listens up to 40 hours of music in a single week), one has to wonder how much the music they listen to has in shaping their personal interest and characteristics especially since at this age range we begin to see avid listeners of rap wearing the baggy pants, rockers tatted up and country fans with camo and tobacco, though that always isnt the case.

(Hells Bells Documentary) Writers dont produce songs they create chaos, says Goth-artist Marilyn Manson, whose words can hold some truth unfortunately. With the ever-increasing obsession with violence people can be impacted by musics power. (Elkouby) One Juvenile study done in Minnesota showed that most of the young juvenile delinquents had an admiration for rapsters such as Tupac, 50 Cent and other artists who encouraged the gangster life. How did their music become a possible factor of influence over the delinquent youth? In some low income families with little economic opportunity, most of these teens do not have an important male model or father figure in their life. In this case they look up to their favorite rap artist and most tend to do the things that they do or embrace in their songs. This can also go outside the realm of music as well as they can act the way the artist does

which in most cases does not exactly have positive results as some actions can involve drug use, having multiple sexual partners, getting into fights, using guns etc. (Elkouby) It was also reported that about half of incarcerated youth in the US said that slow and bass heavy instruments inspire them to do negative things saying something in the beat has an effect on them.

(Kirchheimer) Another study performed by Dr. Ralph DiClemente of Emory University theorized that teens who spend more time watching music videos that depict violence and sex seen in the reels of the gangster rap music videos will be more likely to exhibit those behaviors later one. After doing a test on 552 African American girls between the age of 14-18 from lower socioeconomic classes, he concluded that when compared to those who didnt watch rap music videos for about 14 hours a week were far less likely to pick up the behaviors. These behaviors included being three times more likely to hit a teacher, more than two and a half times more likely to get arrested, twice as likely to have multiple sexual partners and 1 and a half times more likely to get a sexually transmitted disease.

(HeavyMetalAdolescents.com) The rock culture has this extreme obsession with rebellion. When one looks at the fans of this music genre, you can see that based on a study done by researchers Kevin Toot and David Weiss, these groups of people tend to have a fragile relationship with their parents and have a tendency to seek pleasure and thrills through various behaviors whether or not it may include drugs. The results also indicated that they tend to have below average school

grades, school behavior problems and as stated beforehand thrill seeking behaviors. Also they tend to have depressive and anti social feelings and thoughts. With those who have undergone trauma such as divorce, loneliness, lost of a loved one, etc. they can experience connection with these songs in knowing that they are not alone and that someone else knows their pain. (Hells Bells Documentary) David Draiman, lead vocalist for the rock band Disturbed, based many of his songs off of his own personal experiences such as abusive childhood, losing his girlfriend and even suicidal thoughts. One song called Inside the Fire, is specifically about David losing his girlfriend who committed suicide and has since struggled to cope with the lose, constantly thinking of taking his own life in order to see her again. Here is a small excerpt of the chorus part of the song: Devin lies beyond this portal take the word of one immortal Give your soul to me For eternity release your life to begin another time with her End your grief with me there's another way release your life take your place inside the fire with her

(Hells Bells Documentary) Researchers have discovered that most fans of extreme music or hardcore heavy metal branched into it after growing tired of hard rock. This can be explained that with heavy music people are disturbed at first but after a while they become numb by listening to its heavy sounds frequently, so they want something more heavy that they can feel. It is a similar comparison to a horror movie, at first people are terrified of them, but the more we watch them, the

more we pick up on the stereotypic slashers and cheap scare tactics. So with this type of music many listen to it in order to deal with their emotions of sadness, loneliness or even suicidal thoughts. But this type of mediation can actually worsen their current state. With teens that commit suicide do songs dealing with suicide coincide with their song of choice? (Pederson) Dr. Katrina McFerran, a senior professor at Melbourne University, has spent over five years studying the listening patterns of children between thirteen and eighteen. With children listening to music more than ever before due to the I-pod revolution, she concluded that teens at risk of depression that listen to large amounts of heavy metal music would probably absorb it in a negative light. Some red flags included the music not making them feel good about themselves and a noticeable downturn in the childs behavior. (Hells Bells Documentary) Also there are the most drastic situations where young killers commit horrible crimes and ultimately take their own lives such as the Columbine Shooting where Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold shot down numerous students before taking there own lives. Both were avid fans of Marilyn Manson and other heavy metal music. (Hells Bells Documentary) Another example was the case about sixteen year old Brian Basset, who murdered both of his parents and proceeded to play his favorite CD Frogstomp by Silverchair, kicking his parents bodies as the lyrics Hate is what I feel for you played in the background. The common denominator in not only both of these cases but many others involving young killers was that they turned to heavy metal music. This is not to say that the

music they listened to was the sole cause of their actions, but we have to ask ourselves to what degree did their music preference influence them.

On the other side of the coin, there are some positive contributes towards listening to heavy metal music. (Fleming) One study done by psychologist Stuart Cadwallader at the University of Warwick did research on a group of students that listened to heavy metal. These students tended to have low self-esteem and difficulty in family/friend relationships so as a result they had high levels of stress. What Cadwallader discovered was that these students often turned to heavy metal music in order to work off their frustrations and anger as it would shave away their stress. One student in the study said: It helps me with stress. Its the general thrashiness of it. You cant really jump your anger into the floor and listen to your music at the same time with other types of music. And the list does not end there, as the pros of both heavy metal and rap are probably very numerous than one might expect.

At the end of the day, one can definitely agree that music is a very powerful instrument. Its presence in our world is ever so large and teens are exposed to it everyday. The pop culture icons such as Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga, Eminem among others whom tons of crazed teenage fans listen and follow seem to have some influence on young children. The big thing we have to ask ourselves is to what

degree? While it may just be mere lyrics to a song, overall it may entirely be dependent on the person listening to the music.

Works Cited (1) American Portrait Films, Hells Bells: Power of Popular Music Documentary, 2004 (2) Rense.com. The Effects of Violent Music Content on Teens, 10 Nov. 2004. Web. 10 March 2014. (3) Elkouby, Sebastien. The Power of Hip Hop Culture, 30 Sept. 2013. Web. 9 March 2014 (4) Kirchheimer, Sid. Does Rap Put Teens at Risk? 3 March. 2003. Web. 10 March 2014 (5) HeavyMetalAdolescents.com. Behavioral Issues: Heavy Metals Influence on Adolescents, 6 Dec. 2012. Web. 9 March 2014 (6) Pedersen, Traci. Depressed Teens Listen to Heavy Metal Music in Unhealthy Way, 20 Oct. 2011. Web. 10 March 2014 (7) Fleming, Nic. Heavy Metal a comfort for the bright child, 21 Mar. 2007. Web. 11 March 2014