Music Lyric’s Interactions with a Strong Positive Chord

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What influence does negative lyrics have though? How strong can those influences be? Well, music is very influential in all of these aspects in a person. Most of what a person takes in and decodes is not on a conscious level, but on a subconscious level. 90 to 95% of mental activities are not within conscious awareness. Well, one study was done where they gathered the top selling CD’s of the time. “Forty-two percent of the songs on these CD’s contained very explicit sexual content.”(Pediatrics pg 2). It was not only sexual, but songs that contained violent and vulgar meanings. Over a thousand studies have been done to show that mass media, including lyrics in music, has led to violence. Clearly, negative songs have a big negative effect. There are also songs that unintentionally impose negativities on people. There is a song called the Hungarian Suicide Song in its native Hungarian, but it is more commonly known as Gloomy Sunday when it was redone by Billie Holiday. The lyrics to the song are those of heart-breaking depression; it is understandable why many people feel strong feelings of sadness after listening the song. The amount of grief that strikes people after listening to this song has or can cause people to kill themselves. The immense amount of negative feelings being expressed influences people in a very strong way. This is not the only song that can influence people to end their lives. “Heavy metal and some rock music has been associated in some studies with an increased risk of suicide.” (Pediatrics pg 3). Negative lyrics in music can influence people to feel worse in their lives, or cause them to go out and actions to express the emotions that these negative songs have imposed on them.

Negative lyrics can be found in any genre, and there are stereotypes for songs that are only negative. However, there are exceptions to that stereotype. Rap music is one of those that is believed to be nothing but a negative influence on the listener. J. Cole is an exception to that; he writes a song about how no life is worthless, and how everyone matters. “Always gon’ be some clothes that’s fresher than the ones you rock… but you ain’t never gon’ be happy till you love yours/no such thing as a life that’s better than yours.”(Cole.) This rap artist writes an inspirational song about how everyone’s life is important. Negative songs are there and people recognize that. To counteract the effects those negative songs have, artists will write positive songs with a meaningful message. Another rapper, Childish Gambino, wrote That Power, a song about someone having the power to live their own life the way they want to, and having the ability to stand up for themselves. It is a powerful story about having the power to be brave and to not let one’s own insecurities keep them from doing what they want to do. Positivity has a larger effect on people than negative words do. Most people who feel down want to be lifted up, so they listen to songs that do that. “Lyrics [are] a reflection of [a listener’s] feelings;” when one is feeling happy their music is happy, but those positive lyrics have the strongest influence on a listener.(Pediatrics). Sadness, anger, and other negative emotions are fleeting because of the influence of good in the world. Media and music have a large impact on teens, and influence a majority of their lives. The goal of life is to live it happily. There are negative songs, but their impact on a listener is nothing compared to the effects that a positive message can have.

There is the opinion that lyrics have a stronger negative effect on teens than a positive effect, but the opposite is true; negative lyrics do not influence negative actions, music can help improve their mental health and character, and it can increase their learning abilities which all points to how music lyrics have a strong positive effect on its listeners. Music is so influential on its listeners. It can determine their character traits, the mood they have, and their social groups. Negativities in songs exist, but they are small compared to the amount of inspiration music out there. Positive songs with a positive message, or just made to brighten the day of the listener, have a larger impact than negative songs do. They enhance the learning skills of children, which cannot be bad when the whole world is concerned about the education of the young. It helps people grow, and become a better person. “Musical lyrics have an impact on attitudes towards others, emotions felt and how frequently they are experienced, and how the world is perceived;” the positive words being played all across the world makes everyone listening more positive in their own day-to-day lives. (Schinnerer). That would certainly be a bigger impact than the negatives in the world could ever hope for.

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