You Are What You Hear

Yesterday I had an interesting experience while doing my homework. I decided to listen to some music from Pandora.com while tackling my assignments in an attempt to arouse my dwindling faculties on a “Friday Eve”. The music was not inappropriate by any means, but it also wasn’t uplifting or edifying either. I found myself getting irritated while my mind seemed to connect with idle or even negative thoughts.

The old saying, “you are what you eat”, I believe, has parallel implications to that which we hear. As illustrated in this picture of a baby listening to music with sad overtones (from a study performed by BYU), one cannot deny the direct affects of the music a person chooses to hear and their soul (http://byunews.byu.edu/archive08-Oct-babymusic.aspx).

Music is much more than mindless noise. Music is physical, emotional, and mental. Music is energy—a vibration—which glides through the air until it plucks the eardrum, translating the movement into music. Good music seems to physically massage, mentally inspire, and emotionally caress. It’s as if light is infused into the spine when uplifting music is ingested.

The Lord even said, “For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me” (D&C 25:12) If one who is perfect extols good music, should not we all embrace it?

While typing this blog I performed an experiment. Initially, I had on mainstream pop music. I was easily distracted, unmotivated to finish this blog, and very slow to progress in this assignment. However, after switching to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart my experience was completely different. My mind felt quicker, deeper, more efficient, and I was at ease. I submit this dichotomy can be seen with most people.

Now, as a disclaimer, let me say that I believe there are many times that fast, clean, exciting music is merited and even helpful in life. For example, while working out, “bumping” Bach probably wouldn’t get the blood pumping. As said by King Solomon, “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1).