Smells and Bells

“Musical tones mean something only in relation to one another, when they're teamed up” (205). When listening to one speak, what is heard is uniform, but the meaning of what is heard differs between individuals. This statement remains true when it applies to music. Everyone’s musical palettes differ, some may have a more diverse palette with a broader range of interests, while others invest more time into a more specific genre. There is a common saying known as “a picture paints a thousand words,” similarly, a song paints not only pictures but tells a story. Growing up learning piano taught me that music is a story in itself. The notes of each measure serve to tell a small part of the whole story.  To me, one piece that progresses to be one of the greatest stories is Ballade no. 1 in G minor, composed by Frederic Chopin. I have attached the link of this piece at the end of this post if anyone was interested in listening to it. The reason I wanted to focus on this piece specifical...

Smell, memory, and emotion are deeply connected. The Olfactory receptors (where smell is processed) are directly connected to the limbic system (center of emotions). This interaction happens before the cortex can recognize the odor itself. Emotional responses and memories linked to the scent are triggered by the primitive brain before other parts of the brain can cognitively recognize the scent separately from the individual's personal connection with it (11). Something I wonder about is if the reason aromatherapy is effective is because of the scent itself or the memories attached to it. Do we smell floral oils and the brain produces chemicals in response to that scent or does our brain take a trip back to a springtime of our younger selves when the flowers were blooming and we were calm, happy, and carefree? According to Dr. Herz, smell is not hard-wired. People will react differently to smells based on their past experiences and memories with those smells. What calms one ...

Sweets are known to be one of the most indulgent flavors humans long for. We make sure to save room in our stomachs during a meal so we can treat ourselves with having our last bite of food being dessert. An important mantra my grandmother used to share is, “Eat dessert first, life is short,” suggesting that we deserve sweets before the nutrition of our actual meal. We call it one of our comfort food and it seems to cure any wrongdoing, like how ice cream and chocolate can fix emotional turmoil. We eat sweets when we’re feeling distraught, lost, and empty and use them to fill ourselves. Sugar can be known to heal burns on your tongue after taking a sip of a hot beverage. And we especially know that sugar can mask bitter, unpleasant tastes, and so we use it to help “the medicine go down.” By this logic, sugar is good for us as it can help us get physically and mentally better.   We also use the word sweet to describe things that aren't food, like people and feelings. W...

In my last post, I talked about color and colorblindness, and how color was such a personal experience. That statement got me thinking, because, when it really comes down to it, everything we experience is a personal experience. No one ever feels the same way. We may use the same general terms to attempt to describe our experiences, but in the end only we really know how we feel. Our senses and emotions have a deep connection. Another blog I found from Tufts University states that "what we sense triggers a feeling" which becomes a conceptual association. This could be anything- the blog goes into how seeing a cup of coffee, tasting coffee, hearing a coffee maker, smelling coffee beans can make us feel energized or happy. This happens all around us, though we may not know it. The sun after a long winter, for example. I feel refreshed and excited and energized on that first beautiful morning of spring, and that conceptual association leads me into my day happy. Most of the time...

St. Johns Passion was an eruption of sound, a tremendous drama it seemed. Not being able to understand any of the words, I let the sounds wash over me, explosive in its volume and harmonies. I did not feel any particularly religious connection but I did feel the energy vibrations throughout the room increase exponentially. As the tones within the ensemble moved from full, passionate and voluminous, to calm undertones with a single voice cascading over them, I was able to feel invisible strings tugging at my emotions. I wasn't just hearing the music anymore, I was feeling the music throughout my whole body. This sensation put me in a state of feeling more connected to "something" greater than myself. This altered state of feeling includes a multitude of experiences: vibrancy, clarity, jubilance, clearance of negative feelings, being at ease and connected to everything and everyone around me. From my experience, I believe this sensation arises from being physically immer...

Christ was taken from the garden in the night like a thief and led before the people who once called him the Son of God. They heard him preach the word of His Father and then denied Him as one. They called him a liar and falsely accused Him. He was scorned, shamed, and spat upon.            As a member of the chorus, we get to represent many different parts in the story of Jesus' crucifixion. We play the mob and the general commentators. Despite feeling like we are suffering from multiple personality disorder, these choruses are amazing to sing. The opening Chorus is like a prayer asking God to help us understand the sacrifice that Jesus made so that we might be free of all our transgressions. After that we become the mob; however, when Pilot's servant strikes Jesus for the first time we become the apologetic sinners, we sing: 11. Chorale (time in video 0:28:27) Who has struck you thus, my Savior, and with torments so evilly...

Performing choral music has always triggered my emotions, but singing the St. John Passion, was more emotionally complex than anything I had sung before.  The melodies follow the words in a carefully structured pattern, bringing greater meaning to the text and evoking deep emotions.  I have always found that singing with a group brings greater joy or sadness, but I had never performed a piece a large as Bach’s contested St. John Passion.  Each section utilizes both melody and text that evokes emotion in the listener.  It is the link between the melody and words that was brought up during Monday’s panel discussion, which I believe allows a vast array of emotions to be felt and expressed.  Professor Brumberg-Kraus used the example of part 20, a tenor aria that discusses a whipped and blood-stained back is like the heavens that created a rainbow, following the great flood.  It is an allusion to the curved arc of the shapes, which another professo...