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Music Connects Us All
Music Connects Us All
Music bridges cultural and ethnic gaps and allows for collaboration between political viewpoints and religious beliefs. “It just means we have music in common when there is nothing left for us to connect with. Music is universal to the human experience” (MusiConnects, 2021). Throughout our everyday experience with music we use it in so many forms; to relax, externalize emotions, express ourselves, and improve our mood. Music often dictates how individuals “take steps to impact society” (Peralta, 2021). When people from multiple cultures exchange music they use this experience to gain insight into a way of life that they haven't experienced yet. Music can be used in times of conflict when “ other lines of communication prove to be challenging” (Peralta, 2021).
“For example, individualistic listeners reported more negative effects elicited by music (e.g., sadness-melancholy), while collectivistic individuals were more prone to feel higher levels of nostalgia, transcendence, and happiness” (Granot et al., 2021).
Benefits of Music
Benefits of Music
When you're having a hard day, what do you turn to? Sometimes, a long drive, a walk, playing outside, going for a swim, or reading a book can help, but it is always accompanied by music. Choosing the playlist to match (or change) your mood in the car, sourcing songs from friends for a walk outside, pumping up music before a cold swim, or background instrumental while reading can all drastically affect your mood. Music can help regulate mood whether that's “venting negative emotions, maintaining positive mood, immersion in heightened emotion, energizing or relaxing” (Granot et al., 2021). Listening to music can aid in multiple ways to increase well-being overall. It can help people reach goals of “esthetic enjoyment, socializing, relieving loneliness, defining self-identity, recalling autobiographical memories, relieving boredom or unpleasant silences” (Granot et al., 2021). For example, recent studies in music psychology have found that music “can help listeners feel as though they are in the company of a comforting friend, feel understood and emotionally supported, and feel less alone” (Kiernan and Davidson, 2022). Music can cultivate a sense of belonging and self by “providing a medium for social agency and social action” (Kiernan and Davidson, 2022).
What is a "strangers playlist?"
What is a "strangers playlist?"
The concept of strangers playlist was created by the Tik Tok user Delilah (@delilah_isabel) while on a road trip with her mother. This duo curates playlists with songs entirely recommended by strangers who all answer the same question that varies by trip. on one adventure, the prompt was “what's a song that reminds you of your mom?” They ask anyone that they come across from uber drivers to waitresses, and shop owners to hostesses. They love that the songs come with stories and create meaningful interactions with people they never would have crossed paths with without this project (Morava, 2024).
For Radically Rural, we wanted to incorporate a play activity that lets us communicate in a new way with each other, through music. We chose the prompt, select a song that “makes you feel connected to a place or a person." To reflect the theme of reweaving the social fabric and building community through sharing this small piece of yourself with strangers. This will allow for a way to build a whole playlist of songs that can inspire new connections and remind you of the relationships that you built this weekend. Take the momentous energy of this conference, full of new ideas and budding connections, and use this music as a soundtrack to catalyze this passion into creating radical play in your rural area.
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