Thank you for your kind words, my no-longer-so-secret-and-shy admirer! Actually, *I* have been curious about *you* since you joined MB because I noticed that (1) you use people's names in your posts sometimes, which I often do, and (2) you are also a parent of a young child. I visited your profile to leave you a welcome message last week, but for some reason the visitors messages area of your profile didn't seem to be active...so it is nice to meet here on the boards. This is another reason I love music...music can help people--even strangers--relate to each other. A belated welcome to MB!

--Erica

As I'm no feeler, sometimes it's the only thing that makes some emotions alive inside of me. It just gets through you more subtly than poetry or paintings.

Well even though it's backwards, I listen to music that mimics my own feelings at the time kinda like a friend who silently nods in agreement when you talk about your issues. I say it's backwards because I think it'd be more healthy to listen to happy music when you're sad, calm when you're angry and whatnot so that you can get yourself out of a negative mood. But I just couldn't do that.

I think it should be that way, listening to music that fits your mood instead of listening to music to alter it. It just helps you get everything out, instead of like "changing the subject".

Yes that's true! If you tried to ignore your feelings by listening to something positive you would get bottled up angst and negativity and then you would snap in a large crowd of strangers. Good point! :thumb:

It can be perfect for any situation; it's like a friend that can't possibly let you down. Whether your sad, happy, excited, anxious, angry, energetic, any emotion, there's music to match. It takes away worries and cares, and sucks you into exactly where the artist wants you to be. Some is just fun to listen to, some is stupid in a good way, some provokes thought, and some is just there. It brings people together that might not otherwise meet, like Vegangelica said. And there's an endless supply available any time you want something new; I'm sure you could have music on literally every second of your life and never repeat a song and still not come close to listening to even a small portion of what's out there.

Music is the art form that I relate to the most. So many thoughts, ideas, emotions that I experience can be related to and in music.

I don't really listen to music for identification with an emotion I'm already having. To me, that isn't necessary. Having an art form validate something I'm already experiencing is not productive in my opinion. I'm already experiencing it, and unless I'm trying to perpetuate it, I won't put myself in a situation that will.
I do, however, listen to music to induce an emotionally productive response to it.
For instance, if I want to mellow out and do some photo work or write or something creative, I'll ALWAYS listen to progressive breaks or classical, as I've found it's conducive to relaxation and concentration, and well... I like it. It keeps the mind occupied while not distracting it. But depending on the mood of the project itself, I often tailor the style of music I play to be similar.

Music with vocals tends to distract me, so if I'm being creative, I need to listen to music without vocals. Vocal music only helps if I'm not doing anything at all, or driving, or being social. The style of vocal music only effects the general mood of the environment, so matching the two is usually productive in that regard.

For inspirational purposes when attempting to write my own music, I sometimes listen to a song in the same mood as what I want to create to get my emotional state in the right place. I find this makes my musical creations more focused, as I have a tendency to drift if unchecked.

I've said all that to say, I love music for its usefulness, its effectiveness, its emotional compatibility and its potential to be explored. The one thing about music is that there is always a possibility for music to be better, but I believe that the only thing a person needs is music having the possibility to satisfy. Because no matter how fancy, how complicated, how structured/unstructured something may be.. The music is only beneficial if someone enjoys it and it achieves what the listener wants it to achieve.

i'm just going to quote you rather than rewrite the same in terms of vocal music. i'm like Freebase when it comes to instrumental stuff, passive distractions for the subconscious mind to increase the focus of the conscious state.

Music is shiny and tastes like peppermint waffles