Invasive Properties of Music

Have you ever been out having a meal where the music playing is not only of a kind you find not very appetizing but the volume is intolerable? Well, music is very hard to get away from, if it is playing in a place you happen to be. Whether it is in an elevator or a shopping mall or a restaurant, music can influence the whole of your experience.

Now, I believe music has potent atmospheric qualities. A lot of times, people think atmospheric music is slow, soft and ethereal. Well, as far as I can tell, ALL music is atmospheric. It is the KIND of atmosphere it creates that is of interest to me.

If you are trying to have a calm, relaxing meal and there is fast, loud and shrill music playing in the background, your time, most likely, will be far from relaxing--at least in the way I am thinking of it. However, some people might like to unwind from a cramped day at work to very loud, fast music. So what can be soothing to one, could be depressing to someone else. What could be fun, 'let-it-all-hang-out' music for one, could be torture for someone else. What is the solution? I used to carry ear plugs with me, and from my latest restaurant experiences, I might start doing it again!

Music is a powerful medium. It has a permeating quality that can heal, rejuvenate, make you ill or invoke your spirit. It can facilitate many kinds of activities and affect all levels of life, including in plants and animals. What a wonderful tool! The rhythm of music links up, or attaches itself, to your automatic processes that are, in themselves, working in a rhythm and at a tempo.

So, if anybody wants proof of music's powerful, invasive and atmospheric qualities, go out to eat at a place that plays VERY LOUD music when you need quiet--or better yet, if you have a headache! There are many other more pleasant ways to prove this vital point though! :-)