By Haron Sharifi, Staff Member

Ever wonder why music makes us feel good? Well, when we are listening to a melody that brings pleasure to our ears, the brain sends signals to release dopamine. In simpler terms, this is the chemical that makes you feel pleasure. And when people are positive, they also tend to be more creative and focused. Though, a person’s focus will also depend on the type of music they are listening to. Putting on music with words will usually leave somebody less focused because of the conflicting ideas going through their head. Their brain is trying to listen to the words and focus on whatever is in front of them, and doing two things at once is harder than focusing on one task. Wordless music, like jazz and classical music, will not cause a distraction. Instead, they act as background noise that the brain registers, but will not take an effort to distract one’s focus.

My favorite type of music to listen to while writing a paper or doing school work is jazz; the music of jazz, especially the free jazz era, relies on the individuals’ creative ability to improvise and the chemistry between the people playing, which makes jazz so unique. You’ll never find any one jazz song to be the same, and its the level of creativity within every song that I listen to that it inspires me to better myself artistically. Charles Mingus’s “No Private Income Blues” is the epitome of artistic creativity. The song is themeless and entirely improvised, but it sounds like it was composed; the beauty of excellent improv does not sound or look like it is improvised. Listening to the song for the first time is an amazing experience; the quick tempo and unannounced solos are sure to keep any listener on their feet and attentively waiting for what will come up next; these characteristics inspire, but they also motivate me to work harder and faster. If music like this interests you, then I would suggest also listening to John Coltrane and Miles Davis, both of whom are legends in the genre of jazz.

I enjoy looking for music that I know can enhance my reading experience, and classical music is usually my first choice. One composer’s music that never disappoints is Claude Debussy’s piano works. His most famous work is Claire De Lune, which I am sure everyone has heard, or at least some rendition of it. What is surprising about this track is the use of silence as an instrument. The effect of it puts the audience’s mind to either into a dream-like a state, or reflect on oneself. His calming music makes my reading more relaxing, and I highly recommend giving his music a listen the next time you decide to read.

The new literary journal contains lots of amazing artwork, stories, and poems. For this issue, I stayed away from classical music because the styles just did not seem to mesh. My recommendation would be to put on Mile Davis’s “Kind of Blue” album. Trust me when I say it will not disappoint!