Music & the Body: O Mio Babbino Caro
They say that music is a universal language, heard, recognized and understood by everyone. It’s common for people to turn to music and listen to it, or even produce it with instruments whenever they feel sad. Have you ever wondered why that is? Music has always provided me with a peace and calm, helping me to remain focused and not let all of my responsibilities as a mom, wife and lawyer become overwhelming. When I listen to music or sing, its as if a weight has been lifted and I am able to give a clear and focused approach to whatever I'm working on.
"O mio babbino caro" ("Oh my dear daddy") is a soprano aria from the opera Gianni Schicchi (1918) by Giacomo Puccini to a libretto by Giovacchino Forzano.
English Translation:
Oh my dear father,
I like him, he is very handsome.
I want to go to Porta Rossa
to buy the ring!
Yes, yes, I want to go there!
And if my love were in vain,
I would go to Ponte Vecchio
and throw myself in the Arno!
I am pining and I am tormented,
Oh God! I would want to die!
Daddy, have mercy, have mercy!
Daddy, have mercy, have mercy!
Science tells us that music can help lighten up your mood and improve blood circulation. Here are some of the ways listening to music or playing music on an instrument is good for you:
It boosts your immunity and helps you fight infections!
That’s right. This gives you an excuse for listening to music all day when you’re sick. If your mom asks you to turn it down or stop listening to music while you’re sick, feel free to tell her that it’s actually helping your body overcome the disease. Of course, there is no substitution for medicines but music does help in making their effects come about quicker and more effectively.
It helps to reduce anxiety and stress levels.
In fact, it may even work better than anti-anxiety medicines! A study was done which showed that listening to music had a better effect in treating anxiety than an oral dosage of certain prescription medicines that reduce anxiety.
Music helps you relax and sleep.
Listening to relaxing music calms your brain and helps you sleep better. Be sure to select relaxing music that soothes your mind instead of heavier rock music. Music has been known to help patients with insomnia and it also significantly improves the quality of your sleep. Better sleep quality greatly enhances your health and mood as sleep reboots your system and makes your body and mind healthy.
Music can reduce your levels of physical pain.
Studies have shown that music can decrease the amount of physical pain you experience. Patients with painful diseases were studied and asked to listen to music on a regular basis. It was found that listening to music greatly reduced the level of physical pain they experienced.
Listening to music or playing music is good for your heart specifically and your cardiovascular system generally.
Music stabilizes your blood pressure and is especially useful for people who have a high blood pressure, as it helps to reduce it. Not only this, but it also strengthens the heart and improves blood circulation in the whole body. A greater blood circulation means your body tissues get more oxygen and nutrients.
Playing music on an instrument boosts your self-esteem.
Being able to play good music on any instrument can give you a sense of accomplishment like nothing else. This sense of accomplishment is healthy for you and helps in building up your self-esteem. Other people listening to your music will also compliment you, giving your self-esteem a further boost.
Music helps alleviate the dark side of pregnancy.
Due to a surge of hormones that occur during pregnancy, you can often feel depressed or low. Music can greatly help alleviate these feelings and make you feel happy and satisfied.
Playing music on an instrument greatly improves your memory.
Not only playing but listening to music also has the same effect. A better memory, in turn, can help you in other aspects of life!
· When you learn how to play an instrument, you need to put in a lot of time and effort. It’s definitely not something you learn overnight. It requires a lot of patience. Therefore, learning how to play an instrument teaches you how to be patient and wait for the good. This is a very strong trait that can greatly alter the way you see things in life. It also alters the way you deal with people, in a good way, of course. This is coming from someone who has learned how to play the guitar, so trust me, it’s legit.
· Your coordination skills improve. Every instrument requires unique rapid and accurate coordination skills to let you produce a specific and nice music pattern. This improves your coordination skills and you’ll be able to produce tasks that require more coordination, better.
· To play on an instrument, you also have to be able to concentrate on your work very carefully. Learning the cords and notes is a very difficult task and requires you to just sit and concentrate for a lot of time. This can help increase your concentration skills and the next time you need to concentrate on something, you’ll be able to do it with much more ease.
Therefore, it can be said that playing music or even listening to music heals the mind, the body, and the soul. It’s good for your whole body, especially your two major organs, your heart and your brain. So, what are you waiting for? Download the type of music that soothes your ears, put on your headphones and experience it yourself!
