I have been thinking about music a lot lately. We live in a very different age. 100 years ago or so, music was not something you could switch on or off whenever you wanted to. There were no radios no phonographs or record players or CD players of IPods or Ipads which could give you music when you wanted it. If you were middle class, you might own a piano or another musical instrument, but for the most part you only got music when someone else was playing it live, or you yourself were singing while working. Music was a real privilege.
Today we take music for granted as it is always at our finger tips. I think we lost something because of that. Melody and harmony has almost disappeared and beautiful soprano and tenor voices are no longer popular as deep raspy voices take their places. Or no music at all just words spoken in rhythm seem to be replacing real music.
There is an important part music plays in our ability to lose weight. Because we always have it at our finger tips we can choose to move to it. We can stretch to classical, or walk to pop or do strenuous work outs to different forms of rock. Ballads and torch songs can be used to cool down our bodies and our personal favorite musicians and vocalists can calm us down or excite us.
Since music is readily available to us we must make use of it in the healthiest ways possible. We should, however, also be cautious with the types of music we allow into our minds. I get depressed on a regular basis, listening to “Alone Again, Naturally” is not a song that will do me any good while in that state. Neither would I choose it to use as a cool down song after a workout. It’s a song about giving up. Now “Bad Day” would be a great warm-up song as it is bright and hopeful.
I do make it a point to surround myself with music that does not reflect my bad moods. Doing that feeds into them and creates a stronger hold for those feelings. I can’t count the times I have song “My Favorite Things” when I feel despair and then afterward started to actually think about what really are my favorite things. It makes the emotional load a bit easier to bear. Irving Berlin’s “Count Your Blessings” has the same effect.
Choose the music you put into your head wisely. Don’t make the mistake of listening to sad music when you are already sad and choose types of music that will bring you up and encourage you to move. In this way you can make music a healthy part and even a productive part of your life.
