Music has a connection to each human being on so many levels. It has become apparent to me through the years that my life is dictated in some areas by the music I'm listening to. A song can aid me in recalling a memory, can stab me in the heart with a wave of emotion, can brighten a rainy day, can transform my life. I'm here because I wanted to know why music has such power.
My study of this phenomenon was sparked by two events. One, my own life and the authority music has over it. And, two, my father and my aunt who have both fought cancer over the past years. My aunt, Debbie, will often turn the radio off if a song plays that reminds her of the countless drives to her chemotherapy treatments. I was in the car with her recently when a song by Tim McGraw played, she had to stop and pull over because she began to feel nauseous. This was fascinating to me. Just the tune of a song made her physically ill because of the emotion and memory it had connected to it. With my father, his attachment to songs is not as great as hers but when he hears "Thriller" by Michael Jackson he becomes uneasy because it reminds him of the first day of his radiation treatment.
All of this makes me wonder how music can effect all of us in different ways and what it does to our minds during our lifetime.
