(Yes, it's yet another thread with which I try to distract myself from myself, and from the troubles I constantly bring both to me and to all-round much better people):
How Does Music Affect You?
There's an interesting article on the NAS website about music therapy for autists. One unfortunate person who struggles to communicate his emotions has been helped by way of this therapy: thankfully, he can now use musical instruments to have a 'voice' when, ordinarily, he might be lost in silence. After reading this feature, I wondered how music affects our lives? Not only in the 'helping' sense but also in music's basic power to change or sustain our moods? It doesn't matter if your own examples are standard or unusual ones. I'll start us off ~
*Cue the obligatory and dreaded 'Simon examples', listed because he has no actual life-experiences beyond those in his mind*:
1. When watching Kate Bush's 'The Sensual World' video, I feel transported to a world of Romance. It's like a Pre-Raphaelite painting come to life. A medieval fairytale in crimson, adorned with Autumn leaves. It is breathtaking. Who needs reality?:
'And how we wished to live in the sensual world...
You don't need words -
Just one kiss, then another
Stepping out of the page
Into the sensual world'
2. I often have images in my mind when listening to music, but sometimes I get it 'wrong'. On hearing a Classical piece, I was unshakeably convinced that it soundtracked a slender ship cutting through the ocean, casting blue waves aside; later, I found out that the piece actually represented the flowering of an English country garden. Doh.
More interestingly, (I hope): How Does Music Affect *You*?