Music is the universal language of mankind

I used to love to dance to house and trance music. When I am old I'm still going to dance to it. Okay, in my dreams. Imagine a seventy plus year old woman dancing to house and trance music. I promise you I will be dancing, even if it's just inside my mind.

Music stirs the senses. It makes you sad, happy, reflective, relaxed, excited, but you cannot fail to be moved on some level by it. Years ago dancing to trance and house music  took me away from my day to day life when I was going through some tough times. I would go out a couple of times a week with friends and dance the whole night.....literally. Neil has told me I was known for not being interested in anything but being on the dance floor, where I would close my eyes and lose myself in the atmosphere of sound. It really did touch my senses, and I honestly didn't care what I looked like as I flew across the dance floor, I was just in my element. Luckily my friends were the same, and we all loved the same sort of music. Forget the golden oldies, sixties and pop, I just wanted to be energised and excited by music, and dance until I was exhausted. Lots of people felt the same, and still do. Music crosses all borders and speaks to all. 

Different aspects of music are processed by different parts of the brain, but all of the brain is used. There is actually some physiological response within the body when music is played, which shows that the music is having an effect. It releases endorphins, evokes memories and resonates with everyone. The hairs on the back of the neck can raise, the spine can tingle and the body can hum with vibrations. It tells a story. To each person that story may not be the same but the tale is still there, whatever the melody. It can rouse you to anger, to feel powerful, to be melancholy, to smile, to escape in your mind.

Think of film scores. Think of the ones everyone recognises whatever language they speak....Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Arc, Terminator, Superman, Gladiator, to name but a few. Even if you are not watching the film you know the music and your mind is taken away with the melody. Music enhances a film. It tells the story. It takes you on a ride. There are very few films without any music. Even a lot of the old silent films had music played along with them. 

What about classical music? No one can fail to be roused listening to Gustav Holst 'Mars, the Bringer of War' from 'The Planets'. What about the famous 'Carmina Burana, O Fortuna' by Carl Orff? Stirring stuff indeed. Or how about 'Clair De Lune' by Debussy or my favourite 'Moonlight Sonata' by Beethoven. The last is very dear to me because my mother often played it. Sadly she can't play the piano any more because her hands are stiff and rheumatic, and to my eternal regret I never got a recording of her. But every single time I hear those notes being played it transports me back to when I was a teenager, curled up on the sofa in the sitting room quietly listening to my mother playing the piano in the dining room. That's what music does to you. It transports you to another world.

Music is even good for you. It's good for your mental health which may be why both Neil and I listen to it so much. I've had anxiety and Neil has stress related problems. Mind you it does depend on what music you listen to. I have been made mightily jump after being lulled in to a haze of calm, when a loud serious of notes has suddenly been played!  

Did you know there is even something called music therapy? 

It is relatively new, but it has also been met with positivity, and had good results. During sessions, people work with a wide range of accessible instruments, along with their voices, to create a musical language that reflects their emotional and physical feelings and conditions.This can help to build connections with both themselves, and those around them. The music therapists are there to help support communications using instrumental music and voice that is either sung or spoken, and sessions can either be undertaken in a one on one or group environment. One to try maybe?

https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-greatest-film-scores-of-all-time

http://themindunleashed.com/2015/02/music-indeed-universal-language-study-concludes.html

https://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-house-and-vs-trance/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-DaXxORO2E (Club Classics 90's)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCP5vyomTeE (Creamfields 1999)