Summary 《The Power of Music》

Summary

《The Power of Music》, this article mainly talks about the benefits that music bring to our human beings in a way of health and science study. The author own four general ideas.
The first point of him is the music can be used for communication of the patients who have lose their language function, which the given example by him is about a patient used computer system to compose music in case of expressing himself. Then by the following, the author introduced his second point, which is music has the power to heal, especially rhythm, though nobody can explain what the reason it is. According to one of the study researcher said, "Music helps us organize our movement", there is no doubt that music possess some kind of strange power. The third view of author is music can reduce the pain of the patients, in which he has given a series of statistics to prove this statement. The last benefit he mentioned about is music therapy also improve mental state and functioning in people, which the example is taken through the recovery of premature infants in terms of immune function. After all, the music bring to us is enormous which we should take great advantage of it.


response:

What in my mind after reading this passage is this world is full of miracles which some of them we even have not realized, like for me as a musician I have never experienced that music is so powerful and amazing, only after reading what author presented. The confusion I have is, if music really can make so much differences in one's recovery and health condition, why not put this music therapy in a practical way? As a matter of fact, I have to confess that, as my observation, there is no hospital playing music, even as their background music. Why? Are there still disadvantages that author hiding from us? Does that mean there are still exceptions like some patience will get furious and impatient when they get injury? What's more, as a student of music, the self-experience somehow did not show so much special cases as the way I grew up. As the situation is, I am merely in average range of intellectual way, and I also have the same amounts of illness and sickness as the same age of teenagers who do not touch music so often. We still have tons of questions and unknown in the music field. Anyway, as I believe, no matter what are there more it will exhibits to us in the future, the influence will always be positive, just like what the music did in last hundred and thousand years before.

Genre of music by composers in different eras

During music history, music has been changed different periods and changed the different style. I think my prefer part is Classical music and the Romantic music. There is a big contrast between Classical music and Romantic music.

Before Classical music and Romantic music,In the 17th, composers were keen to create harmony, and there is no large-scale organization. Until the late 17th century, everyone thought vocal music is more important than instrumental music.

In Classical period, the functional tonality is very simple and harmony is very clear, the composers not used more modulations in their music. For Example Mozart, in his music ,melody and harmony is very simple and clear .the classical period music make me more relax feeling.
In 19th period, musical language has become more complicated and complex; the composers used more modulations and became dramatic in their music. For example, Brahms’s music,creating an exciting emotion in his Sonata for Viola OP.120 No.2. This piece's melody is very romantic and beautful. I like this passion in romantic period music .

Between late 18th century and 19th century, the Industrial Revolution began. Many music halls were established to satisfy the middle-class listeners. Because of the Industrial Revolution, the society became more and more developed. In the 19th century, the age of orchestra came, and it gave birth to composers who created illustrious symphonies. For example, Mahler Symphony No.5. In the late 19th century, there was a debate between the absolute and poetic schools of thought.