At Keene State College many students agreed that music has a significant presence in their day-to-day activities.
Tracy Mallozzi, a KSC junior, said from finding the right binge study session playlist on iTunes to putting on a Pandora station that fits the mood of a Saturday night, music is not only an important component, but a constant one.
“I find myself listening to music regularly, even when I am doing stuff like homework,” she said.
She added, “I honestly think it helps me focus, especially when I’m trying to study and you get that ‘it’s too quiet’ feeling.”
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“Music is one of those things that kind of makes me feel relaxed — like even though I may not consciously be paying attention to music or listening to it, it’s always on and that’s kind of comforting I guess,” Mallozzi continued.
Mallozzi is not the only one who recognizes the effect music has on mood.
According to an article found on healthline.com titled “How Music Affects Our Moods, The Journal of Positive Psychology,” a study was conducted to test the relationship between improving moods and the style of music.
The results of the study showed that only participants who listened to happy music succeeded in improving their moods.
While music can help improve people’s moods, it can also help those who are enduring negative situations like relationship problems or a tough day, according to the article.
Another study, conducted by the Journal of Consumer Research, showed that the preference for sad music was much higher when someone was experiencing an interpersonal loss like a breakup rather than an impersonal loss, like losing a game.
In another study, participants were given frustrating situations and told to rate angry music against happy or relaxing music. Participants related more to the angry music than the alternative genres, especially when the frustrating situations affected them personally rather than impersonally.
Alexandra Lague, a KSC junior, said she can relate to listening to music that coincides with her mood and the day-to-day events that affect it.
“Whenever I’ve had a really long day, I like to listen to music by artists like John Mayer or The Lumineers,” she said.
She added, “When I’m in a really good mood because it’s finally the weekend, I like to listen to rap and artists like Miley Cyrus. When I’m in the car driving with my friends on sunny days, I turn on songs like ‘Jubel’ by Klingande.
“It’s sort of funny how music has created a soundtrack to our lives almost — like we have certain songs or certain genres to go along with what we’re going through,” Lague continued. “I also love that I can relate back to certain periods of my life to certain songs. Whenever I hear specific throwbacks, I immediately get brought back to a different period of my life. I like that, especially being in college and having a lot of things change since the era of ‘My Humps’ by the Black Eyed Peas,” Lague said.
According to the article “How Music Affects Our Moods,” even though listening to music has many beneficial qualities. Creating your own music through singing and chants is equally as therapeutic, as seen in any of Taylor Swift’s albums, the article says. Roger Weeks, KSC junior as well as singer and songwriter, said he also benefits from the positivity that comes along with singing.
“Singing and writing is something that really relaxes me and reduces my stress level completely,” he said.
“There is nothing better than coming home after a long day and working on new music or just playing guitar and singing some 90s music with my friends.”
“It really gets me out of a stressful mindset and puts me back in the moment,” Weeks said.
Amanda Lashua can be contacted at alashua@kscequinox.com
