The Uniting Power of Music<\/p>\n
Whether it is to form emotional connections, punctuate daily activities, inspire change, motivate, and\/or provide an alternative to mainstream societies, few activities that we engage in as humans have the power to help individuals transcend differences and come together than music.\u00a0 Further, music can be enjoyed across differing stimulus levels: 1) auditory \u2013 listening to the instruments, rhythm, lyrics, and how that combination makes the listener feel, 2) the visual or stylistic component \u2013 the appearance of the artists and the way the music is presented, and\/or 3) kinesthetic \u2013 moving to the music as one is creating it or as one is listening to it.\u00a0 <\/strong>Additionally, music has the power to bring people together, whether through individuals with common interests as well as people who might not interact with each other if it weren\u2019t for a particular song, artist, or genre.\u00a0 Thus, music has the ability to touch the emotions of people allowing them to connect in surprising and meaningful manners.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n BACKGROUND<\/p>\n Jill Suttie of the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkley opens her article \u201cFour Ways Music Promotes Social Bonds\u201d with the question: \u201cWhy would human evolution have given us music?\u201d \u00a0Drawing on research, Suttie organizes findings into four reasons which explain why and how music promotes social bonds: 1) music increases contact, coordination, and cooperation with others through positive social feelings and the trust created through cooperation, 2) music boosts oxytocin, the \u201cfeel good\u201d hormone released when individuals experience something enjoyable, 3) music strengthens a person\u2019s ability to relate to what others are thinking\/feeling, and 4) music helps convey a sense of belonging.<\/p>\n The manner in which music fosters social bonding and relationships is something that has been acknowledged by scholars, ethnomusicians, anthropologists, and evolutionary theorists (Boer and Abubaker 1). \u00a0Additionally, researchers have noted participating in music through creating and moving to it not only makes people happy by providing an enjoyable experience, but also creates a powerful cohesive effect on an individual\u2019s psychological well-being as well as increasing tolerance to physical stress and pain thresholds (Boer and Abubaker 1; Tarr, Launay, and Dunbar 4; Koelsch 207). \u00a0Stephan Koelsch, a German professor of biological psychology and music psychology who, in his article \u201cFrom Social Contact to Social Cohesion \u2013 The 7 Cs,\u201d begins by sharing the anecdote of Ernest Shackleton and his Artic exploration of 1914.\u00a0 Their ship Endurance<\/em> became frozen in the water forcing the crew to abandon it and walk on foot pulling only those items necessary for survival: food, cooking and eating utensils, clothes, tents, and a banjo. \u00a0According to Shackleton\u2019s account, \u201cmaking music (singing and playing) made them stick together and not give up\u201d and \u201cdid much to keep the men cheerful\u201d (Koelsch 204); this account suggests that the positive effects of playing the banjo and singing on Shackleton\u2019s crew may have motivated them enough to continue their trek and ultimately may have saved their lives.<\/p>\n What is it about music that can facilitate relationships? \u00a0According to Tarr, Launay, and Dunbar the answer lies in the manner in which people make music and move to music. \u00a0Music has been an important social activity throughout human history and across cultures because of how people synchronize movements and rhythms. \u00a0Therefore, it is through synchronization that \u201cpeople can become increasingly socially close to one another through making similar movements\u201d such as making music or moving to music (Tarr, Launay, and Dunbar 1). \u00a0The authors explain that through the simultaneous movements with others that is matched to a rhythmic beat a \u201cpositive feedback loop [is created] in which people can become increasingly socially close to one another and [then become] more inclined to continue making similar movements once social closeness is established [producing] a pronounced effect of social bonding\u201d (Tarr, Launay, and Dunbar, 2). \u00a0These simultaneous movements can refer to the making of music and\/or moving to music.<\/p>\n Koelsch examines the effects music making and moving to music has on a person\u2019s ability to connect with others and created seven categories, or the 7Cs: 1) Contact \u2013 \u201cBeing in contact with other individuals is a basic need of humans\u201d and \u201cit is perhaps not so surprising that, despite the availability of high-quality recordings, people indeed go to the trouble of attending concerts at all\u201d (205), \u00a02) Social Cognition \u2013 \u201clistening to music automatically engages areas dedicated to social cognition \u2026 These processes are also required when making music in a group, for example, when varying tempo and\/ or loudness, during improvisation, and so on\u201d (205-206), \u00a03) Co-Pathy \u2013 \u201crefers to social function of empathy, that interindividual empathic states become more homogeneous, thus decreasing conflicts and promoting cohesion of a group \u2026 [it] is also a means of the emotional identification of individuals with particular subcultures, lifestyles, ethnic groups and social classes\u201d (206), \u00a04) Communication \u2013 \u201cemotional expression [where] music can convey group as well as individual emotions, as in political protest songs and symbolic representation which refers to the communication of extra-musical information, such as<\/p>\n narratives in program music\u201d (206), 5) Coordination \u2013 referring to making music and dancing: \u201cindividuals [have to] synchronize to a beat and to keep a beat. The coordination of movements in a group of individuals appears to be associated with pleasure\u201d (206), 6) Coordination \u2013 \u201cA convincing musical performance by multiple players is only possible if it also involves cooperation between players. Cooperation involves a shared goal, and engaging in cooperative behavior is an important potential source of pleasure\u201d (207), and 7) Social Cohesion \u2013 \u201cAs an effect, music leads to increased social cohesion of a group. \u00a0A wealth of studies showed that humans have a \u2018need to belong,\u2019 and a strong motivation to form and maintain enduring interpersonal attachments\u201d (207).\u00a0 Of these seven aspects, Koelsch wrote, \u201cThe ability, and the need, to engage in these social functions is part of what makes us human, and the emotional effects of engaging in these functions include experiences of reward, fun, joy, and happiness\u201d (Koelsch 205). \u00a0Thus, given all the research findings stating how and why music is a powerful tool for creating foundations for relationships, it is hardly surprising that individuals who have found themselves on the margins of society have created their own type of music as an important part of their identity.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n MARGINALIZED TO MAINSTREAM<\/p>\n In creating their identity, marginalized individuals do not passively accept and allow themselves to be directed in a particular way, these individuals actively revolt against the mainstream way of thinking, behaving, and appearing. \u00a0Hebdige\u2019s discussion of Genet making choices \u201cHe \u2018chooses\u2019 his crimes, his sexuality, the repugnance and outrage he arouses in the streets\u201d (Hebdige 138) is a prime example of the role choice plays when it comes to subcultures and countercultures. \u00a0For these nonmainstream cultures, choice is what makes them different: if someone joins that group, he\/she doesn\u2019t have to subscribe to the majority way of thinking but a minority way of thinking, behaving, and appearing; something that demonstrates an open rejection of what is perceived to be forced on them (e.g. ways of thinking, behaving, and\/or appearing) by the consumer culture.<\/p>\n Style \u2013 in reference to one\u2019s appearance \u2013 plays into the hands of the snap judgements first impressions offer: What category or group does this person fit into? \u00a0By choosing what to include and exclude, at least in terms of clothing, these individuals are silently exclaiming \u201cI am not a blind follower! I am not controlled by anyone!\u201d \u00a0As a result of these intentional choices, these individuals are looked down on because of their deviance from mainstream society, the majority of people who seem to receive their guidance about what is appropriate from the entertainment industry. \u00a0Bricolage, as explored by Hebdige, offers a grounded explanation about why and how the fashion choice of punk illustrates a deliberate choice to overtly defy the mainstream attitudes and appearance.\u00a0 Through bricolage, individuals can choose what parts of mainstream fashion they want to use to create their own different identity. \u00a0Adorno and Horkheimer also comment on how style and\/or fashion is equated with controlling the masses: \u201cIn the culture industry, the notion of genuine style is seen to be the aesthetic equivalent of domination\u201d (1115) where \u201cthe mechanical reproduction of beauty\u201d (1118) is promoted through the entertainment industry; subcultures and countercultures choose their style instead of having it dictated to them.<\/p>\n Instead of conforming and accepting, individuals on the outskirts of mainstream society question and defy the status quo; perhaps like the island of misfit toys, everyone who is different bands together to challenge mainstream society and the blind acceptance that many chose because it is easier than considering serious issues in society. \u00a0Every group that has been marginalized by the mainstream society has created its own specific social rituals, style, language, and music which make it unique and separate from not just the mainstream, dominant culture but other marginalized groups as well. \u00a0The music and\/or style of these groups was specific to that group, and it was never intended to be available to anyone outside the group, let alone mass produced. \u00a0However, as time passed and the songs made their way outside the group many music styles became popular and even influenced other mainstream musicians. \u00a0Therefore, it is not surprising that songs and dances that were originally germane to a specific group of people are frequently recognizable to members of mainstream society.<\/p>\n For the music forms discussed below \u2013 African American Spirituals, Reggae, and Hip-Hop \u2013 each started out as a survival mechanism to help these individuals who found themselves marginalized cope with difficult situations they encountered. \u00a0As cited by Boer and Abubaker; Tarr, Launay and Dunbar; Suttie; and Koelsch, through the use of music making and moving to music, these groups of people were able create strong bonds and relationships often to the dismay of the dominant culture who tried to ban the music and\/or discredit and\/or marginalize the group even further. \u00a0After the passage of time, these musical forms began to spread beyond the originating group and receive attention from those who may be sympathetic to the music makers and\/or relate in some way to the music.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n African American Spirituals<\/u><\/p>\n Music had played a prominent role in everyday activities in Africa where singing, dancing, drumming and active music making were woven into the fabric of daily routines from insignificant activities to major life events. \u00a0However, many slave masters viewed the African music and dancing to be too uncivilized and banned the music making unless the overseer deemed the song(s) appropriate (\u201cAfrican American Spirituals\u201d Library of Congress; Jones). The songs, while appearing to be mere religious songs, frequently carried hidden meanings such as the deep desire for freedom, messages about escaping via the Underground Railway, or even rallying calls for revolts (Jones). \u00a0Because the songs were spiritual on the surface and appeared to conform to the colonists\u2019 idea of proper music, some slaves were allowed to sing while working while other times the music making happened in secret. \u00a0The Authentic History Center included a quote from Frederick Douglas in a description about spirituals: \u201cThe remark in the olden time was not unfrequently made, that slaves were the most contented and happy laborers in the world, and their dancing and singing were referred to in proof of this alleged fact; but it was a great mistake to suppose them happy because they sometimes made those joyful noises. \u00a0The songs of the slaves represented their sorrows, rather than their joys. \u00a0Like tears, they were a relief to aching hearts.\u201d \u00a0From this first-hand account, it is clear that music became a coping mechanism which provided an emotional escape from the physical hardships of daily life as well as an opportunity to connect and forge relationships amongst each other.<\/p>\n The transition from slaves singing spirituals to spirituals receiving positive attention from others outside the slave community was when collections of these songs started being published after the abolition of slavery in the 1860s which led to the creation of the Jubilee Singers who performed this music throughout the US and Europe (\u201cAfrican American Spirituals\u201d Library of Congress); these performances captured the hearts and minds of audiences as well as raised awareness about the experiences of slaves. \u00a0As a result of their performances, composers began creating music in this style for performances of their own select singers and artists (\u201cAfrican American Spirituals\u201d Library of Congress).<\/p>\n What began as music making to cope with their new reality, African American Spirituals became \u201cone of the largest and most significant forms of American folksong\u201d (\u201cAfrican American Spirituals\u201d Library of Congress); this transition from oftentimes forbidden singing to influencing white Christian gospel music and becoming anthems for civil rights and social justice activists occurred over a period of roughly 100 years. \u00a0In fact, one of the more well-known songs from the civil rights movements of the 1950s and 1960s \u201cWe Shall Overcome\u201d was a combination of two spirituals (Jones). \u00a0It was through this music making that the slaves were able to connect emotionally to create bonds, and, as Koelsch stated about the communicative role music plays, \u201cconvey group as well as individual emotions and symbolic representations\u201d (206).\u00a0 It is also interesting to note that these spirituals and freedom songs, including \u201cWe Shall Overcome,\u201d have made recent appearances during Black Lives Matter and LGBT protests.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Reggae<\/u><\/p>\n Reggae is another musical style with roots in African music. The role of music, and authentically black music at that, created a haven for those who felt disenfranchised, especially the teenagers and young adults of Jamaica who were struggling to form identities between their African past and the realities of newly being independent from Great Britain.\u00a0 \u201cReggae draws on quite a specific experience (the experience of black people in Jamaica and Great Britain) \u2026 \u00a0It is cast in a unique style, in a language of its own \u2013 Jamaican patois, that shadow form, \u2018stolen\u2019 from the Master and mysteriously inflected, \u2018decomposed\u2019 and reassembled in the passage from Africa to the West Indies\u201d and is \u201ca living record of a people\u2019s journey of the passage from slavery to servitude\u201d (Hebdige 30-31).<\/p>\n Before reggae became known to the world, it was described by Dick Hebdige in his work Subculutre: The Meaning of Style <\/em>as<\/p>\n \u201cperhaps more than any other institution within working-class West Indian life was the site at which blackness could be most thoroughly explored, most clearly and uncompromisingly expressed. To a community hemmed in on all sides by discrimination, hostility, suspicion, and blank incomprehension, the sound-system came to represent, particularly for the young, a precious inner sanctum, uncontaminated by alien influences, a black heart beating back to Africa on a steady pulse of dub. \u00a0And it was through music, more than any other medium, that the communication with the past with Jamaica, and hence Africa, considered vital for the maintenance of black identity, was possible. \u00a0The \u2018system\u2019 turned on sound; the sound was intimately bound up with the notion of \u2018culture; and if the system was attacked then the community itself was symbolically threatened\u201d (38-39).<\/p>\n Through the sound system, people were able to connect to each other and their past; as Koelsch wrote \u201c[be] in contact with other individuals [to fulfill] a basic [human] need,\u201d (206) and experience the \u201cfeel good hormone [that is] released when individuals experience something enjoyable\u201d (Suttie) and experience something that is uniquely theirs.<\/p>\n It was during the 1970s when the newly independent country was trying to find itself Bob Marley and other artists reacted to the turmoil by \u201cchannel[ing] their energies into culture and let it flow around the world\u201d (Chang 23). \u00a0Through films championing the rebel as a hero, The Harder They Come <\/em>and Enter the Dragon, <\/em>with soundtracks featuring homegrown music of Jamaica, reggae became \u201cquintessential rebel music\u201d (Chang 27). \u00a0With the release of the album Catch a Fire<\/em> in London in 1972, Bob Marley and the Wailers had begun the journey of making reggae the tool through which the struggles of third world culture would become mainstreamed with first world audiences (Chang 28). \u00a0As a testament to reggae\u2019s global influence, Fayetteville, Arkansas, close to the heartland of the US which is generally considered a culturally conservative part of the country, hosted a Birthday Bash for Bob Marley which promised to be \u201ca musical extravaganza that spans the breath of this legends\u2019 life and work\u201d (\u201cArkansas \u2013 Celebrating One Life, One Love\u201d).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Hip-Hop<\/u><\/p>\n Music as a change maker and a tool for reshaping the futures of many youth is detailed by Jeff Chang in his work Can\u2019t Stop, Won\u2019t Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation<\/em>. According to Chang, Clive Campbell, aka DJ Kool Herc, and Afrika Bambaataa almost singlehandedly revolutionized the Bronx using music as an outlet for frustration and release instead of the violence that had become such a regular part of life. \u00a0Much as dance parties were \u201cthe people\u2019s space, an autonomous zone presided over by men and women, a collective memory\u201d (Chang 22) in Jamaica, parties in the Bronx provided an outlet where \u201cpeople just enjoying themselves from like four years to forty\u201d (Chang 80). \u00a0Chang describes how DJ Kool Herc helped usher in a new era where crews would perform dance-offs at parties to showcase their moves but was able to keep the peace by \u201cskillfully working the mic\u201d and indirectly calling out potential troublemakers \u201cYo kill it, cut the bull**** out. You\u2019re my man, cut the dumb sh**. You know and they know who I\u2019m talking about. Okay? Alright\u201d (80). \u00a0Even though gangs were receeding, there were still turfs and violence, so DJs \u201cbacked themselves with area crews who kept the peace, and often, other crews out. \u00a0As big as DJ Kool Herc was, he would not play Bronx River unless Bambaataa extended an invitation\u201d (Chang 102). \u00a0Afrika Bambaataa, a leader in the Zulu Nation, had recently returned to the Bronx from a trip to Africa after winning an essay contest; a trip that changed his outlook on life.\u00a0 His new purpose was to \u201cTry to organize as many as I could to stop the violence. \u00a0So I went around difference areas, telling them to join us and stop your fighting\u201d (Chang 101). \u00a0His new approach was mostly successful and he was able to unite a variety of gangs together: \u201cif somebody didn\u2019t do right and did wrong in our area, they had to really think, because it was a large percentage of areas that was down with Zulu,\u201d and while most DJs played to particular crews, when Afrika Bambaataa hosted parties \u201cthe rawest rival crews [could] come together\u201d (Chang 102). \u00a0Ray Abrahante, a member of a Puerto Rican gang on the opposite side of the Bronx River which served as the dividing line between the Puerto Rican and African American gangs, remembers how apprehensive he was about attending a party hosted by Bambaata thinking it was a setup even though the flyers exclaimed \u201cFree jam! Come one come all, leave your colors at home! Come in peace and unity\u201d (Chang 104).\u00a0 Walking across the bridge, he noticed many other gang members headed towards the party too; upon arriving and being frisked by the bouncers, he entered into a full room with blaring music and excitement. \u00a0He recalls how Bambaataa stopped the DJ and spoke in a sincere manner stating \u201chow happy he was that that people came out;\u201d Abrahante recalls being so impressed and inspired by this man who was \u201cTrying to open the Bronx to everybody\u201d (Chang 104-105).\u00a0 Through music and peaceful gatherings, groups who wouldn\u2019t ordinarily interact and interact in a positive manner were able to come together under strong non-violent leadership.<\/p>\n What started as something unique to block parties in the inner Bronx during the early 70s burst into the mainstream music arena during the summer of 1979 with \u201cRapper\u2019s Delight\u201d \u2013 it \u201ccrossed over from New York\u2019s insular hip-hop scene to Black radio, then charged up the American Top 40, and swept around the globe. \u00a0Imitations popped up from Brazil to Jamaica\u201d (Chang 131). \u00a0Through making music and moving to music, people were able to channel their energy into positive and creative outlets. \u00a0Young people of the Bronx experienced the positive effects of synchrony through dancing with a crew and moving rhythmically to music which then fostered social bonding and relationships (Tarr, Launay, and Dunbar).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n FINAL THOUGHTS<\/p>\n The ability of music to bring marginalized people together is not limited to the music forms previously discussed, but it is one of the few mediums that can cross cultural borders allowing others to not just view the way those who live on the outskirts of society but experience the emotions of those people. \u00a0With the advents of various technologies, new ways of research and studying the brain, researchers are able to pinpoint what is it that makes music \u2013 whether it is creating music, listening to it, or moving to it \u2013 help people connect with those outside of their culture\/worldview.<\/p>\n In her article \u201cWhy We Love Music,\u201d Suttie explores why people enjoy it so much and why it has such powerful emotional effects. \u00a0She cites a study by Valorie Salimpoor, who with her colleagues from McGill University, studied people\u2019s reactions to music through fMRI imagining technology which allowed the scientists to see when the pleasure area of the brain was activated. \u00a0Salimpoor states, \u201cMusic affects deep emotional centers in the brain. A single sound tone is not really pleasurable in itself; but if these sounds are organized over time in some sort of arrangement, it\u2019s amazingly powerful\u201d and \u201cPleasure is a subjective phenomenon that is difficult to assess objectively. However, physiological changes occur during moments of extreme pleasure, which can be used to index pleasurable states in response to music\u201d (Salimpoor, Benovoy, Larcher, Dagher, and Zatorre). \u00a0Suttie explains that \u201cdopamine, a hormone released with biological rewards such as eating and sex is released before and during the peak emotional moments in a song.\u201d Salimpoor believes \u201cthis combination of anticipation and intense emotional release may explain why people love music so much, yet have such diverse tastes in music.\u201d<\/p>\n A recent event in Wichita, Kansas demonstrated how the feel good hormone oxytocin and the biological reward hormone dopamine can indeed facilitate social bonding between individuals who seem to be frequently on opposite sides – the city\u2019s police officers and members of the local Black Lives Matter movement. \u00a0A protest against the police had originally been planned, but leaders from both groups met and decided a cookout complete with games, music and dancing could be more productive. \u00a0Bill Chappell of NPR wrote about the First Steps Community Cookout organized by community leaders and the police department where community members were able to ask the police chief tough questions about policing in and around minority neighborhoods, how police officers are held accountable for their actions, and discuss other problems and possible solutions. \u00a0Participants and police officers also played basketball, ate, listened to music and even danced together in a peaceful event that brought together group of people who are usually on opposite sides: white cops and black citizens. Pictures and videos of police officers dancing and playing ball with the citizens went viral on the internet. \u00a0Chappell also included comments from a woman whose sons played basketball with the cops: \u201cIt was a bonding moment where the police saw them as children and my [sons] got to see them [the police] as people!\u201d \u00a0Again, a party-like atmosphere and music helped create the foundations for positive relationships between unlikely groups of people.<\/p>\n While music is not considered a \u201cuniversal language\u201d, it most certainly represents a \u201cuniversal phenomenon\u201d \u2013 one that is present in every human culture.\u00a0 Additionally, various cultures have engaged in music participation for the personal and social benefits it provides as opposed to solely focusing on the aesthetic experiences of the activity.\u00a0 For many, the therapy that music making provides is just as worthwhile as the song or dance that is created.\u00a0 Therefore, it is not surprising that throughout human existence music has played an important and sometimes critical role in helping individuals cope, survive, and enjoy a way of life.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Works Cited<\/p>\n Adorno, Theodor W., and Horkheimer, Max. “From Dialectic of Enlightenment.”\u00a0The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism<\/em>\u00a0(2nd Edition). Ed. Vincent B. Leitch. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2010: 1110-27. Print.<\/p>\n “African American Spirituals.”\u00a0African American Spirituals<\/em>. The Authentic History Center, 10 July 2012. Web. 28 July 2016.<\/p>\n “African American Spirituals.”\u00a0The Library of Congress<\/em>. The Library of Congress, n.d. Web. 28 July 2016.<\/p>\n “Arkansas – Celebrating One Love, One Life.”\u00a0Currentland.com – Oklahoma’s Alternative Guide to Entertainment<\/em>. Currentland.com, Feb. 2015. Web. 29 July 2016.<\/p>\n Boer, Diana, and Amina Abubakar. \u201cMusic Listening in Families and Peer Groups: Benefits for Young People\u2019s Social Cohesion and Emotional Well-Being across Four Cultures.\u201d\u00a0Frontiers in Psychology<\/em>\u00a05 (2014): 392.\u00a0PMC<\/em>. Web. 27 July 2016.<\/p>\n Boer, Diana, Richard Fischer, Micha Strack, Michael H. Bond, Eva Lo, and Jason Lam. “How Shared Preferences in Music Create Bonds Between People: Values as the Missing Link.”\u00a0Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin<\/em>\u00a037.9 (2011): 1159-171. Web. 26 July 2016.<\/p>\n Chang, Jeff.\u00a0Can\u2019t Stop, Won\u2019t Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation.<\/em>\u00a0New York: St. Martin\u2019s Press, 2005. Print.<\/p>\n Chappell, Bill. “Police And Black Lives Matter Hold A Cookout, And Praise Rolls In.”\u00a0NPR<\/em>. NPR, 19 July 2016. Web. 24 July 2016.<\/p>\n Hebdige, Dick. Subculture:<\/em>\u00a0The Meaning of Style<\/em>. London: Routledge, 1979. Print.<\/p>\n “History Official Site of Negro Spirituals, Antique Gospel Music.”Negrospirituals.com<\/em>. Spiritual Workshop, Paris, n.d. Web. 26 July 2016.<\/p>\n Jones, Arthur C. “African Foundations.”\u00a0Sweet Chariot: The Story of the Spirituals<\/em>. The Spirituals Project, 2004. Web. 29 July 2016.<\/p>\n Jones, Arthur C. “Survival and Resilience.”\u00a0Sweet Chariot: The Story of the Spirituals<\/em>. The Spirituals Project, 2004. Web. 29 July 2016.<\/p>\n Koelsch, Stephan. “From Social Contact to Social Cohesion–The 7 Cs.”\u00a0Music and Medicine<\/em>\u00a05.4 (2013): 204-09. Web. 26 July 2016.<\/p>\n Salimpoor, Valorie N., Mitchel Benovoy, Kevin Larcher, Alain Dagher, and Robert J. Zatorre. “Anatomically Distinct Dopamine Release during Anticipation and Experience of Peak Emotion to Music.”\u00a0Nature Neuroscience <\/em>14.2 (2011): 257-62. Web. 26 July 2016.<\/p>\n Suttie, Jill. “Four Ways Music Strengthens Social Bonds.”\u00a0Greater Good Science Center<\/em>. Greater Good Science Center – University of California, Berkley, 15 Jan. 2015. Web. 26 July 2016.<\/p>\n Suttie, Jill. “Why We Love Music.”\u00a0Greater Good Science Center<\/em>. Greater Good Science Center – University of California, Berkley, 12 Jan. 2015. Web. 26 July 2016.<\/p>\n Tarr, Bronwyn, Jacques Launay, and Robin I. M. Dunbar. \u201cMusic and Social Bonding: \u2018self-Other\u2019 Merging and Neurohormonal Mechanisms.\u201d\u00a0Frontiers in Psychology<\/em>\u00a05 (2014): 1096.\u00a0PMC<\/em>. Web. 27 July 2016.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Uniting Power of Music Whether it is to form emotional connections, punctuate daily activities, inspire change, motivate, and\/or provide an alternative to mainstream societies, few activities that we engage in as humans have the power to help individuals transcend<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-17","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/tetyc.rhetprof.net\/julianna\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/17","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/tetyc.rhetprof.net\/julianna\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/tetyc.rhetprof.net\/julianna\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tetyc.rhetprof.net\/julianna\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tetyc.rhetprof.net\/julianna\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/tetyc.rhetprof.net\/julianna\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/17\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18,"href":"http:\/\/tetyc.rhetprof.net\/julianna\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/17\/revisions\/18"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/tetyc.rhetprof.net\/julianna\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}