Music is more than what we “hear”

Music is more than sound. You can see it, you can feel it, it can change your emotions, it can transport you to a different place and time. We think of music as recognisable melodies, but really, music starts as something so much more basic than “sound” and its effects are so much broader than “something we hear”.

Before it’s a melody, music is a collection of individual notes in various rhythms. Notes make up the chords and scales, which eventually make a recognisable tune. Even further back though, before the notes, music is really a vibration of material (wood, steel, brass, leather, and even our vocal cords), creating waves that travel towards us, and are translated in our ears to a recognisable sound.

In response to the waves intertwining with the rhythm of our body, we may change our posture, we may even change the rhythm of our movement to match the pace of those waves. Our body may change its temperature in response to the rhythm of the waves. We may view our surroundings in a different light as the rhythm impacts how long our gaze stays in one place and how often we glance to our periphery (or even into our memories), affecting the overall picture of what we see. Our memories may be triggered as we notice sights, sounds and experience that happened at a similar rhythm, pop up as if to greet a familiar beat

What came first, the emotion or the sound? The physical reaction to unseen sound waves or the brains translation of the tidal vibration into identifiable melodies? We often assume that we have an emotional response to music, but its worth considering if the physical reactions we experience are solely due to how the brain interprets the pulses sent via the cochlea (that ever so tiny snail shaped bone in our inner ear). Could it be, that our body senses these sound waves, before the cochlea and the brain brand it as a specific sound or melody? Perhaps our body has a physical response to these invisible waves, like our muscles vibrating or our blood changing the rhythm of its flow, all of which results in a change in body temperature, a change in posture, or a change in movement. Could it be that these physical responses, the movement and sensations, are then translate to emotions? Could it be that these emotions, coinciding with the sound that our ears and brain identified within the vibrations, are what give music its depth of emotions?

Things affect us even when we don’t see them, things affect us even if we don’t hear them. Rhythms and vibrations are affecting our physical presence which, in turn, affects our interactions with the world and our understanding of ourselves and our emotional state. Become aware of which rhythms empower you – which rhythms make you stand tall, make you smile, make you relaxed, make you confident. Notice where these rhythms exist in your life, in sound and in movement. Invite these rhythms, sounds, melodies to become more present in your life by increasing your awareness of their presence, or by actively bringing them into your playlist of life.

Find your rhythm and enjoy the pace of your life.