Why do you like your favorite songs? | Scarlet Keys | TEDxPortsmouth
TLDRThe speaker, a songwriter and professor at the Berkeley College of Music, explores the profound impact of songs on our lives, serving as a soundtrack to our most significant moments. They delve into the mechanics of songwriting, highlighting the emotional power of tone, melody, and chords, and how these elements can evoke specific feelings in listeners. The talk illustrates how repetition can both engage and disengage an audience, emphasizing the importance of balance. The speaker shares personal experiences of using music to process emotions, including writing songs to cope with aging and a breast cancer diagnosis, and how music can act as a form of therapy. They conclude by emphasizing the universal power of love and support, as expressed through music, to help individuals face life's challenges.
Takeaways
- 🎶 **Songs as a Reflection of Life**: Songs accompany us through various stages of life, from celebrations to heartbreaks, acting as a soundtrack and a time capsule of memories.
- 🎤 **Power of Tone in Songwriting**: The tone of voice in a song, similar to speech, can significantly affect the listener's emotional response, making it a crucial tool for songwriters.
- 🎼 **Melody as the Song's Voice**: Melody is the song's tone of voice, with stable and unstable notes creating expectations and resolutions that evoke specific feelings in listeners.
- 😢 **Lyrics and Emotional Resonance**: The words placed on melody notes can make listeners feel certain emotions, as demonstrated by the contrast between a modified and original version of Adele's 'Someone Like You'.
- 🎵 **Chords and Mood Setting**: Chords, consisting of three to four notes played together, define the mood of a song and can greatly impact how the lyrics are perceived emotionally.
- 🔄 **Repetition for Memorability**: Repetition helps listeners remember songs, but too much can lead to habituation. Songwriters use patterns and surprises to keep the audience engaged.
- 💡 **Brain's Response to Music**: Music can influence our brain chemistry, releasing dopamine when we listen to our favorite songs and cortisol when subjected to unpleasant music.
- 📈 **Starting the Day with Music**: Choosing an uplifting song in the morning can prime the nervous system for a positive day, as opposed to getting caught in a cycle of negative thoughts.
- 🎶 **Music as Emotional Processing Tool**: Writing and listening to music can help process complex emotions, as demonstrated by the songwriter's personal experience with aging and breast cancer.
- 💌 **The Healing Power of Shared Music**: Sharing music that resonates with others can foster connections and provide emotional support during challenging times.
- ✍️ **Writing as Therapy**: The act of writing songs can be therapeutic, helping to name and tame difficult emotions, as shown by the songwriter's process of writing about her personal struggles.
Q & A
What is the significance of songs in our lives according to the speaker?
-Songs are described as the soundtrack of our lives, enhancing moments, evoking emotions, and helping us remember significant events. They act as a time capsule and a time machine, transporting us back to past experiences when we hear them.
What is the role of tone in songwriting?
-Tone in songwriting is similar to tone of voice in communication. It can affect the emotion conveyed to the listener. A higher tone can create tension, while a lower tone can induce calmness and reassurance.
How does melody relate to the feeling of stability or instability in a song?
-Melody can create a sense of stability or instability in a song. Stable notes and chords can bring a feeling of resolution and calmness, while unstable notes and chords can create tension and a desire for resolution, which can be powerful for a songwriter to evoke specific emotions.
What is the impact of changing the melody of a song like Adele's 'Someone Like You'?
-Changing the melody can significantly alter the emotional impact of a song. In the case of 'Someone Like You', if the melody is changed to use more stable notes, the listener may believe that the singer will find someone like her ex. However, the original unstable melody conveys a sense of loss and longing, making it clear that she will not find anyone like her ex.
How do chords contribute to the mood of a song?
-Chords, which are groups of three to four notes played simultaneously, can greatly influence the mood of a song. They can make a song feel happy, sad, or any number of emotions, depending on the chords chosen and how they are played.
Why is repetition used in songwriting and what are its effects?
-Repetition is used in songwriting to help listeners remember the song and to encourage them to sing along. However, too much repetition can lead to the brain habituating to the sound, causing it to zone out. There's a rule of three in songwriting, where the same melody should not be repeated exactly the same way three times in a row without some change.
How does music affect our emotional state?
-Listening to music we love can cause the brain to release dopamine, a feel-good hormone, which can uplift our mood. Conversely, listening to music we dislike can lead to the release of cortisol, a stress hormone. Music can also help us process and understand our emotions.
What is the purpose of starting a song with a clear title, concept, or emotion?
-Starting a song with a clear title, concept, or emotion helps to set the theme and direction for the song. It provides a foundation that the songwriter can build upon using concrete language, metaphor, and emotion, with all musical elements supporting this central idea.
How did the speaker use music to cope with personal challenges such as aging and a cancer diagnosis?
-The speaker used music as a form of therapy to process her emotions and challenges. She wrote songs about her experiences with aging and her cancer diagnosis, which helped her to laugh at the aging process, accept it, and maintain optimism during her treatment.
What is the significance of the song 'Lizo About Damn Time' in the speaker's life?
-'Lizo About Damn Time' is significant as it served as the speaker's fight song of optimism during her battle with breast cancer. The song's chorus lyric became a source of encouragement and a symbol of resilience, helping her to face each round of chemotherapy.
How does the speaker describe the support she received from friends and the community during her cancer treatment?
-The speaker describes the support from friends and the community as a source of love and strength that helped her face each round of chemotherapy. This support, in the form of texts, cards, and visits, filled her with love and made her feel lifted, embodying the sentiment of the song 'You Are the Wind Beneath My Wings'.
What is the psychological concept of 'naming to tame it' and how does it relate to the speaker's songwriting process?
-'Naming to tame it' is a psychological concept where giving a name to an emotion or experience helps to manage and understand it better. In the speaker's songwriting process, this concept is used to transmute and metabolize difficult emotions, making her feel better after writing a song that names and addresses her feelings.
Outlines
🎵 The Power of Songs in Our Lives
The first paragraph discusses the profound impact songs have on our lives, acting as a soundtrack to our most significant moments. It emphasizes how songs can evoke memories and emotions, transporting us back to past experiences. The speaker, a songwriter and professor, introduces the concept of 'tone' in music and its parallel to our tone of voice, which can significantly affect how a message is received. The paragraph also touches on the importance of melody, how it can mirror the emotional content of lyrics, and the anticipation Western listeners have towards it.
🎶 The Emotional Language of Music
The second paragraph delves into how songwriters use chords and melody to convey emotion. It illustrates the difference between stable and unstable notes and how they can affect the listener's perception of a song's message. The speaker uses Adele's 'Someone Like You' as an example to show how the melody can build empathy with the audience. Additionally, the paragraph explores the role of chords in defining the mood of a song and the use of repetition to make a song memorable. It also discusses the 'rule of three' in songwriting, which advises against repeating a melody exactly the same way three times in a row to maintain listener engagement.
🎉 Music as a Tool for Emotional Processing
The third paragraph focuses on how music can help process emotions, referencing the release of dopamine when listening to loved songs and cortisol when subjected to disliked music. It suggests using music to start the day positively and to ease social situations. The speaker shares personal experiences of using music to cope with aging and a breast cancer diagnosis, highlighting the therapeutic power of songwriting. The paragraph also mentions the importance of sharing one's struggles and the support received from friends, which can be a source of strength and inspiration for others.
💖 The Healing Power of Love and Music
The fourth paragraph continues the theme of music as therapy, particularly in the face of adversity such as a cancer diagnosis. It describes the process of writing a song to process complex emotions, choosing a major key with a slightly altered note to reflect a blend of darkness and light. The speaker explains the psychological concept of 'naming to tame it,' suggesting that giving voice to emotions through song can help in metabolizing difficult feelings. The paragraph concludes with a dedication of the song to anyone facing hardships, emphasizing the real and powerful nature of love as a source of strength and support.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Songs
💡Emotion
💡Melody
💡Chords
💡Repetition
💡Dopamine
💡Cortisol
💡Songwriting Tools
💡Empathy
💡Therapy
💡Optimism
Highlights
Songs are the soundtrack of our lives, enhancing moments and helping us remember key events.
Songwriting tools like tone, melody, chords, and repetition can affect emotion and impact listeners.
Tone of voice in a song (melody) is crucial in conveying emotion and matching the message.
Melody sets expectations in a song, with some notes feeling stable and others unstable, creating tension and resolution.
Lyrics and melody work together to make listeners feel certain emotions, as demonstrated with the example of Adele's song.
Chords help define the mood of a song, with the choice of chords reflecting the songwriter's feelings towards the subject.
Repetition in a song helps listeners remember it, but too much repetition can cause the brain to zone out.
The rule of three in songwriting - you can't repeat the same melody exactly the same way three times in a row.
Music helps process emotions, with the brain releasing dopamine when listening to loved songs and cortisol for disliked ones.
Starting the day with a loved song can prime the nervous system for a great day.
The songwriter uses concrete language, metaphor, and emotion in her lyrics, supported by musical elements.
Writing and listening to music can help process negative emotions and even serve as therapy.
The songwriter's personal experience with aging and breast cancer was processed through writing songs.
Sharing personal struggles through music can create a supportive community and help others facing similar challenges.
The songwriter's song 'Lizo' became an anthem of optimism during her cancer treatment, providing a shot of dopamine.
The power of love and friendship can lift someone up during difficult times, as the songwriter was inspired by the support she received.
Writing a song can help transmute and metabolize difficult emotions, making the songwriter feel better.
The songwriter's song 'It's Going to Take Everything I've Got' was written as a blend of darkness and light, reflecting her complex emotions.
The song serves as a dedication to anyone facing the hardest thing, providing hope and strength.
Transcripts
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