by Graham Corrigan

Created on: August 11, 2009

If you ask anyone what their favorite music "does" to them, the response will inevitably include something about emotions, how the sounds make them feel. Music's effect on someone is tied directly to their mood, which in turn dictates their decisions, which then can lead to an action. Since we are defined by our actions, you could correctly argue that the music we listen to defines, to some extent, who we are and how we act.

But there's no reason to go that far. You can obviously get through a day without listening to music-the world doesn't fall apart without it. Any true music lover, however, can tell you that losing yourself in your favorite songs can amplify emotions and serve as an aural buffer against the real world if things aren't going well. On that personal level, music is an introverted escape, time to yourself even if you're on a crowded subway or lockstep with the rest of the world on the sidewalk.

However, this question's qualification of music's importance in OUR lives points to its function as a social device-frankly, I consider it the best social device. Without music, clubs, bars, and any party would have to rely completely on peoples' drunken social skills. Probably a disaster.

Like movies and books, music is one of those trans-generational tools that anybody can appreciate. A good song is infectious regardless of whether you're 18 or 88. So while it can be essential in having a moment to yourself, music is even more valuable as a shared experience-by its very definition, a combination of different sounds and styles.

One of my favorite things about music, however, is its relation to memory. The songs played at your wedding, the tapes your parents played in the car back in the day, they are all inextricably linked with specific moments or people. Hearing them again will bring you back to that memory, that moment made immortal by music. In fact, while that idea was just speculation for a while, scientists at UC Davis found scientific fact in music being tied to memory (http://www.livescience.com/health/090224-music-memo ry.html).

Like food, sex, or drugs, the power of music is a euphoric stimuli that probes our most subtle pleasures. No one will ever be able to truly define how music affects us every day, because each individual response is different. There is little doubt in my mind, however, that everyone partakes in the simple joys of a favorite song, that there is a sound for every emotion, and that music will last as long as there are people around to enjoy it.

Learn more about this author, Graham Corrigan.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.