Texan Mosaic

Story by Raston Copeland/COMM 2311-601

 “Music is a language,” says Donna Ham, a South Plains College professor of fine arts.

And if that’s true, then it appears most of us, at least on some level, can understand it.

Ham is a pianist who also plays several other instruments.  She says she listens to just about everything.

“Anywhere from movie music,” she says, “‘Harry Potter’, ‘Star Wars’, to Beethoven symphonies to Bach.  Really any form of music.”

How does music affect us?  There is a lot of research on the internet that says it can affect both our bodies and minds.

For instance, one Harvard Health article from 2021 called “Music and Health” explains musical sound waves can affect the brain, and it can have effects on other areas of health such as memory, mood, cardiovascular function, and athletic performance.

During the first week of the semester, students at SPC were asked to weigh in on how music affects them in the Levelland library.

Gavin Sheaffer, the SPC STEM librarian, created a giant board display in the library lobby called “Music is Life”.

Small slips of paper resembling blank cassette tapes were provided along with pens and glue so students could paste their opinions on the board.

In the display, students were asked:  What music motivates you when you need an extra boost? 

What artist or genre do you feel is underrated?  Which album would you recommend a person listen to, start to finish?

Scheaffer says the response to the display was huge.  In fact, he says the display had to be expanded to accommodate additional recommendations.  Answers were diverse.  For instance, songs included “Chariots of Fire’, “Purple Rain”, “Eye of the Tiger”, and “Amarillo by Morning.”

We created an informal anonymous survey of our own for students to voice their opinions.  Altogether 30 students several questions including:

• Do you have multiple music playlists?
• How does each playlist affect you?
• Do you remember past events just by a song you hear?

Our responses were also diverse.  But, there was one common note expressed by every person who responded.  Each person said music affects them in some way.

One student wrote they have several playlists and their favorite one is their “relaxing” playlist.   “My relaxing one helps me sleep,” the student said.

Another student wrote their favorite genres would be pop and rap music.  “Depending on my mood,” the student wrote, “I like songs I can sing to.  I like music to feel the beat of what I’m listening to.”

Yet another student said their playlists change often.  “I create my playlists based on my different moods and feelings,” the student explains.

Most students said yes, they remembered past events just by a song they hear.   At least one student said, “Yes, some memories are good and bad.”

Sheaffer says he created the library display because of how important music is to him.  “I probably spend anywhere from two to three hours a day listening to various Pandora channels,” he says, “so I’d say the listening part is still a really big part of my life.”

Music is a big part of Ham’s life too.  It’s part of the language she describes that appears to speak to us all.

Of course, lyrics are words that communicate.  “But instrumental music can communicate also,” she says.  “Even without words.”

To prove the point, she demonstrated on the piano something she says Baroque composers used in 1600 to 1700.  She said these composers believed they could write notes in a certain way to create or evoke an emotion in you.

“So, if you were singing, if they wrote a song about death it would be…,” she plays dark piano music.  “Very slow, dark, whereas if you’re singing a song about joy then you have…,” she plays bright piano music.

She describes another important point she read about a few weeks ago.  It’s something worth noting.

 “When you listen to a song,” she says, “you hear the words and the music so you’re listening to it twice.  I love that.”