Melody fuels Life

"Life without playing music is inconceivable for me,” he declared. “I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music … I get most joy in life out of music.”

-Albert Einstein?

I cannot agree more with the lines above. MUSIC! A word we hear very often. For me, it is a part of my existence. It is a part of my childhood, growing up and still continues to be one of the essential parts of each day of my life. My love for Music, and the minimal knowledge I have, are also one of the things I have acquired from my mother. Yes, as a child I was trained in “Hindustani Classical Music”. At that very age, it was very difficult to appreciate the essence of the kind of music I was learning. Sadly, with increasing pressure for higher studies and continuous change cities for the same, I lost the practice. But I believe, music has stayed all the time in me, with me. All my emotions, happiness, anger, sadness, etc. have one common path to share, which is music. Melody, rhythm, and words combined create magic which helps to travel through places, emotions and people. I am sure, many of you reading this can relate to it equally.

Being a student pursuing research in the field of life sciences and writing about a form of art, I hope this is not surprising. I know many scientists in my close circle who are excellent musicians too. Do you think, music and science are poles apart? In science, the sound is defined in terms of vibration frequency and amplitude. These combine together in patterns to elicit emotions. There is a beautiful correlation between the way music and research work. Both stem out of inspiration, develop with ideas and experiments, and are represented as an organised piece of work.

Realising the power of these melody-coated vibrations, the medical field has incorporated music as a form of therapy. People dealing with depression and anxiety are being given music therapy to help improve in their symptoms. Listening to music can also release dopamine, which is a hormone that makes people feel good, and endorphins, which are hormones that can induce happy moods and relieve pain (Music Therapy: written by Lois Zoppi Nov. 3, 2020).

So, whatever the mood you are in right now, go and listen to your favourite music!

written by Binita Dam