The Power of Music

by Krista Vroegh

I do a lot of driving so while I am driving my go to is listening to music. You probably have seen the meme: Yes, I sing in the car. Yes, I know you can see me. No, I don't care. 

   Well sometimes, I do a whole concert while I am driving. You know windows up, music blaring loudly and belting out my favourite song or playlist of the day. 

   And chances are if you’re driving with me, I will serenade you, whether you want me to or not. My kids used to groan when they heard the Meatloaf song Paradise by the Dashboard Light intro because you know it; I was singing the whole thing… word for word. They used to call it the “Eight Minutes of Misery.” 

   Have you ever stopped to consider the power of music? Have you ever had an experience where you hear a song on the radio and then you find yourself remembering things from your life or even feel emotions from when you first heard the song? 

   Have you ever noticed, something incredible happens when we sing? You can feel it…you can feel it when you sing alone…BUT even more when you sing as part of a community, a choir or a group of friends. Something wakes your heart and connects you to others.

   Music always changes my grumpy mood into a happy one when I find the right song. When I Googled the power of music, Google tells me that when I listen to music my brain releases dopamine and that produces feelings of happiness. That’s the power of music.

   Even as a kid, when I was trying to remember things for tests or exams, I would make up a song or rhyme to help me remember information for the tests. That’s the power of music.

   I listen to all sorts of music. I have a playlist that has everything from AC/DC’s Thunderstruck to Chumbawamba’s I Get Knocked Down to Glen Campbell’s Try a Little Kindness. I love it all and will sing parts of every song off that playlist. Even as I am writing this, the song Eye of the Tiger comes on to help me get to the finish line. That’s the power of music.