Why do you like your favorite songs? | Scarlet Keys | TEDxPortsmouth

TEDx Talks

3 Dec 202319:34

Summary

TLDRThe speaker, a songwriter and professor at Berkeley College of Music, explores the profound impact of songs on our lives, from marking milestones to evoking memories. They delve into the mechanics of songwriting, discussing how melody, tone, chords, and repetition influence emotions. Using examples like Adele's 'Someone Like You,' they illustrate how these elements can alter a song's emotional resonance. The talk also touches on the therapeutic power of music, as the speaker shares personal experiences of using songwriting to process emotions, including a battle with breast cancer, highlighting music's role in emotional healing and connection.

Takeaways

🎶 Songs serve as a soundtrack to our lives, marking significant moments and evoking emotions.
🚗 Music can transport us back to specific memories, as illustrated by the example of hearing a song from a past love while in traffic.
🎵 The power of a song lies in its ability to encode emotions and memories, impacting us deeply in just a few minutes.
📝 As a songwriter and professor, the speaker emphasizes the tools used in songwriting to affect emotions, such as tone.
🗣️ Tone of voice, like in a doctor's greeting, can significantly affect how a message is received, either calming or alarming.
🎼 Melody is likened to the song's tone of voice, with Western listeners having expectations for how it should feel and progress.
🔄 The use of unstable and stable notes in melody can build empathy with the audience, as demonstrated with Adele's 'Someone Like You'.
🎹 Chords contribute to defining the mood of a song, with the speaker using the example of eating a Snickers bar to explain emotional impact.
🔄 Repetition in songwriting helps listeners remember and engage with the song, but too much can lead to disinterest or cliché.
💡 Music aids in processing emotions, with dopamine released when listening to loved songs and cortisol when subjected to disliked music.
💖 The speaker's personal experiences with aging and breast cancer demonstrate how writing and listening to music can be therapeutic and provide emotional support.

Q & A

What is the significance of songs in our lives according to the speaker?
-Songs are described as the soundtrack of our lives, enhancing moments and seasons, evoking emotions, and serving as a time capsule and time machine to remember past experiences.
How does the speaker describe the power of a song to transport us back to a specific memory?
-The speaker illustrates that a song encoded in our brain can instantly transport us back to a specific time and place, like a vivid memory of a past love, due to its emotional connection.
What is the role of tone in songwriting according to the speaker?
-Tone in songwriting is compared to the tone of voice in conversation, affecting the listener's emotional response, with the speaker using the example of a doctor's tone to explain its impact.
What is the importance of melody in conveying the emotion of a song?
-Melody is considered the song's 'tone of voice', with the arrangement of notes impacting the listener's emotional response, and the speaker demonstrates this with an example involving Adele's song 'Someone Like You'.
How does the speaker explain the concept of stable and unstable notes in a melody?
-Stable notes are described as feeling resolved, while unstable notes create a sense of tension or longing for resolution, which songwriters can use to build empathy with the audience.
What is the role of chords in defining the mood of a song?
-Chords, consisting of three to four notes played simultaneously, contribute significantly to the emotional feel of the lyrics and the overall mood of the song.
Why is repetition used in songwriting and what are its potential pitfalls?
-Repetition helps listeners remember the song and engage with it, but too much repetition can lead to habituation, causing the listener to zone out or perceive the song as cliché.
How does the speaker use the example of eating a Snickers bar to explain the choice of chords in songwriting?
-The speaker contrasts two scenarios of eating a Snickers bar—one feeling amazing and the other despondent—to demonstrate how different chords can reflect and enhance the emotional context of the lyrics.
What is the impact of music on our brain's release of hormones like dopamine and cortisol?
-Listening to loved songs releases dopamine, a feel-good hormone, while disliking or hating music can cause the release of cortisol, a stress hormone.
How did the speaker use songwriting as a form of therapy during her battle with breast cancer?
-The speaker turned to songwriting as a means to process her emotions and experiences during cancer treatment, using music to release dopamine and maintain optimism.
What is the significance of the song 'It's About Damn Time' in the speaker's personal journey?
-The song 'It's About Damn Time' served as the speaker's fight song, embodying her optimism and resilience during her cancer treatment, and helping her to metabolize difficult emotions.

Outlines

00:00

🎶 The Emotional Power of Songs

This paragraph discusses the profound impact songs have on our lives, from marking significant life events to evoking powerful emotions. The speaker, a songwriter and professor, introduces the concept of how songs can transport us back in time and explores the components of a song that contribute to its emotional resonance. The importance of tone is highlighted, using the analogy of a doctor's tone of voice in a hospital setting, to illustrate how melody, akin to a song's tone, influences our emotional response. The speaker also touches on the expectations Western listeners have towards melody and how songwriters can manipulate these expectations to elicit specific feelings.

05:03

🎵 The Art of Songwriting: Melody, Emotion, and Empathy

In this paragraph, the speaker delves deeper into the mechanics of songwriting, focusing on melody and its emotional implications. The concept of stable and unstable musical notes is introduced, demonstrating how they can be used to build empathy with the audience. The example of Adele's 'Someone Like You' is used to illustrate how changing the melody can alter the emotional message of a song. The paragraph also discusses the use of chords to convey different moods and the importance of repetition in making a song memorable, while cautioning against over-repetition that can lead to listener disengagement.

10:03

🎶 Music and Emotional Processing

The speaker explains how music helps us process emotions, with the brain releasing dopamine when we listen to songs we love and cortisol when subjected to music we dislike. The paragraph suggests using music to start the day positively and to ease social situations. It emphasizes the role of songwriting in expressing and processing complex emotions, using personal experiences of aging and a breast cancer diagnosis as examples. The speaker shares how writing songs about these experiences helped in coping with the emotions associated with them, turning them into sources of optimism and support.

15:04

🎵 The Healing Power of Music in Adversity

This paragraph concludes the script with a personal story of how music was used as a therapeutic tool during the speaker's battle with breast cancer. The speaker describes the process of writing a song as a way to process the complex emotions of fear, sadness, and hope. The choice of writing the song in a major key with a minor twist reflects the blend of darkness and light experienced during this period. The paragraph ends with a dedication of the song to anyone facing hardships, highlighting the communal power of music to provide strength and solace in times of need.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Songs

Songs are the central theme of the video, described as a soundtrack to life's events. They are portrayed as emotional catalysts that enhance moments and evoke a wide range of feelings, from joy to heartbreak. The script illustrates this with examples such as a birthday party, first love, and even funerals, emphasizing the power of songs to transport us back to significant memories.

💡Emotion

Emotion is a key concept in the script, highlighting how songs can be tools to express and process feelings. The speaker discusses the emotional impact of song elements like melody, tone, and lyrics, and how they can resonate with listeners, creating empathy and connection. The video uses the song 'Someone Like You' by Adele to demonstrate how emotional expression can change the listener's perception of the lyrics.

💡Melody

Melody is defined as the sequence of notes that make up a song's tune. It is described as the 'tone of voice' of a song and is crucial in shaping the listener's emotional response. The script explains how certain notes can feel stable or unstable, and this can be used by songwriters to create tension or resolution, as exemplified by the modified version of Adele's song.

💡Tone

Tone, in the context of the script, refers to the attitude or mood conveyed by the voice or musical elements. It is likened to the tone of voice used in communication, where the pitch can influence the listener's emotional state, such as feeling calm or anxious. The script uses the example of a doctor's tone to illustrate how it can affect a patient's feelings.

💡Chords

Chords are combinations of three or four notes played simultaneously and are discussed as a significant component in conveying the mood of a song. The script suggests that the choice of chords can reflect the songwriter's emotional state and enhance the emotional impact of the lyrics, as demonstrated with the hypothetical song about eating a Snickers bar.

💡Repetition

Repetition is highlighted as a tool in songwriting that helps listeners remember and engage with a song. However, the script also warns against overuse, as too much repetition can lead to listener disengagement. The 'rule of three' is introduced, indicating that repetition should be varied by the third instance to maintain interest.

💡Dopamine

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter associated with feelings of pleasure and reward. The script explains that listening to loved songs can trigger the release of dopamine, contributing to a positive emotional state. This concept is used to suggest that music can be a tool for setting a positive tone for the day or easing social situations.

💡Cortisol

Cortisol is a hormone linked to stress responses in the body. The script contrasts the effects of dopamine by explaining that 'bad' or disliked music can cause the release of cortisol, leading to negative emotions. This is used to emphasize the power of music in influencing our emotional state.

💡Songwriting

Songwriting is the process of creating the lyrics and musical composition for a song. The script delves into the techniques and tools songwriters use, such as melody, chords, and repetition, to evoke emotions and create memorable songs. The speaker's personal experience as a songwriter provides insight into the craft and its impact on emotional expression.

💡Empathy

Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. In the context of the script, empathy is created when songwriters pair lyrics with musical elements that reflect the emotions they wish to convey. The example of Adele's 'Someone Like You' demonstrates how specific musical choices can build empathy with the audience.

💡Therapy

Therapy, in the script, is used metaphorically to describe the healing power of music. The speaker shares a personal story of using songwriting as a form of emotional processing and therapy during a challenging time, such as dealing with a cancer diagnosis. The song 'Lizo' is presented as an example of how music can be a form of emotional expression and support.

Highlights

Songs serve as a soundtrack to life's milestones, from birthdays to weddings and funerals.

Songs enhance moments and evoke emotions such as making us dance, cry, or even tolerate traffic better.

The power of a song can transport us back to significant memories, as illustrated by the example of a summer love.

Songwriters use specific tools to affect emotions, such as tone, melody, and chords.

Tone of voice in a song can significantly impact the listener's emotional response, similar to a doctor's bedside manner.

Melody is the song's 'tone of voice' and is crucial in conveying the intended emotion.

Western listeners have expectations tied to melody, which songwriters must consider.

The stability or instability of musical notes can influence the listener's emotional journey.

Adele's 'Someone Like You' uses melody to convey emotional complexity and create empathy with the audience.

Chords can define the mood of a song and are integral to emotional expression in music.

Repetition in songwriting helps listeners remember and engage with the song, but too much can lead to disinterest.

The 'rule of three' in songwriting suggests variation is necessary to maintain listener engagement.

Songs can process emotions and provide insights into our feelings, as demonstrated by the presenter's personal experiences.

Listening to or writing songs can help metabolize difficult emotions, as supported by psychological concepts.

The presenter's personal battle with breast cancer was aided by writing a song, turning it into a form of therapy.

The song 'Lizo (About Damn Time)' became a symbol of optimism and a source of dopamine during the presenter's recovery.

The support from friends and community can be as uplifting as the music itself, as experienced during the presenter's chemotherapy.

The songwriting process can help individuals name and tame difficult emotions, leading to emotional healing.

The final song dedicated to overcoming adversity emphasizes the power of love and support in tough times.