Chapter 1

EFFECTS OF HEAVY METAL MUSIC TO THE SOCIETY

A Research Paper Presented to

The Faculty of English Research Center

School of Multimedia Arts

Asia Pacific College

Magallanes, Makati

In Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Course

ERESWRT – Research Writing

Luigy C. Trinidad

April 2014

Chapter 1

Introduction

A.     Background of the Study

Heavy Metal came from the evolution of fast rock music. Numerous genres had evolved from being one to another. A lot of people have been producing lots and lots of genres depending on their style and taste but metal music has been one of the most influential above all of them. The unique characteristics of metal music are composed of fast pacing rhythms, heavy distortions, loud and vague vocals and heart pumping beats.

Due to this, some people see heavy metal as senseless and aggressive.  To some people, who are not used to listening to loud songs, metal is nothing but noise. The noisy vocal heavy metal has makes the words senseless to them because you can never understand them clearly. Also, the words tend to be rebellion and a lot of them consist of curse words.

As a result, most people think that heavy metal is bad for the society. Most metal heads are also considered as delinquents. A lot of people see these addicts to be sinister and rebels due to their appearances. Metal heads are always seen to be wearing black or any other neutral colors, long haired with large earrings or tunnels. Also, some of them have distinctive tattoos and piercings.

Heavy metal is also associated with drugs, alcohol and vandalism. Frequently, cases against metal individuals have been filed. Many of these cases include something related to riot-like characteristics. For instance, some bands have been sued against violence like “Black Sabbath”. These characteristics have been said to be effects of addiction to alcohol and drugs.

There is a perception to other people wherein they say that the enjoyment of heavy metal has nothing to do with them. However, to metal heads, there is a satisfying feeling heavy metal music gives but that doesn’t mean that these satisfactions will lead to bad manners and rebellion. Thus, having background information about heavy metal will clarify the misconceptions people have about heavy metal and the people listening to it.

Instead of dealing with unique characteristics heavy metal has, this paper will focus on explaining the effects of heavy metal to the society.

B.     Statement of the problem

This study aims to answer the question:

1.      What are the effects of heavy metal music to the society?

C.     Significance of the study

Students of Psychology and Music related courses. This paper would be able to help psychology students who are studying about different aggressive characteristics. Some of them usually see Heavy metal music as a part of being aggressive of a certain individual, in this study, clarifications regarding the misconceptions of delinquency related to metal heads. While for some Music related courses student, this paper will be helping them in terms of musical understanding. This paper will include the characteristics of heavy metal music that gives a certain effect on a person.

Future researchers. Knowledge about the effects of heavy metal is somehow popular in our current generation and a lot of researchers see music genres as an interesting topic. This paper will not be discussing about other genres but this will be useful especially to those who are also in metal music. There might be an improvement on how people see metal heads as an epitome of rebellion.

D.     Scope and limitations

This study focuses on the psychological effects heavy metal gives in our society. Mental behaviors and physical appearances will also be discussed in the paper.

Due to some circumstances, this paper will not be discussing about other genres anymore such as pop, techno and ballad. This paper will give emphasis to heavy metal music because some people see it differently than other genres. Moreover, the researcher believes that heavy metal is a unique genre that gives off a different aura to other people who are not familiar with it.

E.     Definition of terms

Heavy Metal. A genre of music that came from the evolution of fast pacing rock music and vague vocals. This genre has been popular since the 1980’s.

Music Genre. Classification of music characterized depending on their form, style and content.

Metal heads. A term used for heavy metal fans and enthusiasts.

Blgspot 7: Psychology of blues music

We often hear praises, chants, spirituals, and narrative ballad songs. We find this songs boring because this kind of music is somehow old fashioned. Now I think we can only hear blues songs when we listen to radio on Sunday and by going to church but what does blues really mean? 

Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of the United States around 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads. The blues genre is based on the blues form but possesses other characteristics such as specific lyrics, bass lines, and instruments.

According to an article that I've read entitled "Bach to the blues, our emotions match music to colors" by Yasmin Anwar of newscenter.berkerly.edu that tells people in both the United States and Mexico linked the same pieces of blues music with the same colors. This suggests that humans share a common emotional palette (when it comes to music and color) that appears to be intuitive and can cross cultural barriers. She also stated that "Using a 37-color palette, found that people tend to pair faster-paced music in a major key with lighter, more vivid, yellow colors, whereas slower-paced music in a minor key is more likely to be teamed up with darker, grayer, bluer colors. Surprisingly, we can predict with 95 percent accuracy how happy or sad the colors people pick will be based on how happy or sad the music is that they are listening to, who will present these and related findings at the International Association of Colour conference at the University of Newcastle in the U.K. on July 8.  At the conference, a color light show will accompany a performance by the Northern Sinfonia orchestra to demonstrate the patterns aroused by music and color converging on the neural circuits that register emotion."

I think this is true. Most of us when we listen to fast tempos we want bright colors and when we are in parties when there is fast tempos then lights went lighter and when it slow tempo the lights went darker and it is pleasant for our feelings. In other way the blues music also have negative effect and causes trauma.

According to another article that I've read entitled "Kohut Memorial Lecture and Musical Performance: Blues and Emotional Trauma; A Musical Tribute to Kohut's Observations on the Psychological Functions of Music" by Robert Stolorow, Ph.D. and Ben Stolorow of psychologyofheself.com that tells blues are rooted in African American music, but have universal, cross-cultural, and cross-generational appeal. There is something in the music that all people relate to. The blues put us in touch with the universally traumatizing aspects of the human condition. This presentation described how the unity of its lyrical features and its musical qualities give us a visceral-linguistic conversation in which trauma can be communally-held and borne. They also stated that "focusing on the lyrics of blues music. I explored how the lyrics can provide a "relational home" or a context of human understanding, in which traumatic experience or emotional pain can be expressed and worked-through. The lyrics in the blues reflect themes of irony, the absurdity of existence, and hopelessness. Structurally, lyrics are comprised of the person's (or community's) traumatic, painful, or dreaded plight alongside the acceptance and resignation to the situation. Through this linguistic expression of pain and acceptance, comes a resilience and hope that pain can be communally held and lived through. The building of tension and subsequent release can be melodic, harmonic, or rhythmic. One way that tension is created musically is called "pitch-bending". Pitch-bending is a powerful way to communicate a visceral emotional experience because it creates ambiguity between major and minor keys (major keys invoke "happy" feelings and minor keys invoke "sad" feelings). The musician or singer uses tones that are "in between" and then bends them up or down until the target harmonious note is reached."

By the articles that I read. Blues music have effect in a group not in a single person but it differs from the tempos they used and the major and minor keys that they used. I don't really listen to blues music but I think when they use major keys i dont think that it would cause trauma. 

Blogspot 6: Psychology of groove/dance music

Some people are not good in dance and some don't even know how to dance, but sometimes we listen to the music genre called "groove". For the people who don't know how to dance they just tap something using their hands moving their head just like headbanging but sometimes we can't control ourselves and we dance even it is awkward. What does groove music mean and how this is possible that when we listen to groove music we feel like I want to dance?

Groove is the sense "feel" or sense of "swing" created by the interaction of the music played by a band's rhythm section usually played by drums, electric bass or double bass, guitar, or keyboards. The word is often used to describe the aspect of certain music that makes one want to move, dance, or "groove".

I've read an article entitled "Music that moves you" by Dr. Victoria Williamson of musicpsychology.co.uk that tells the thing we tap along to in a great track(music pulse) is not something that necessarily needs to be physically present.  Musicians do not need to emphasise the pulse of music constantly or even include a note on every ‘beat’ within music. it is something we hear out of the sound. Groove music is present across a range of genres including funk, soul, hiphop, drum’n bass, reggae, jazz and world music.She also stated that "Groove is primarily shaped by percussion instruments, or those that produce lower frequencies, and involves setting up a predictable patterns of beats as well as subtle micro-variations to maintain a level of interest in the listener. Most groove music has a peak tempo of around 120bpm; a time scale that matches our preferred body movements such as tapping or dance.We have known for some time that listening to music is associated with activity in the brain’s motor system, even when the listener is completely still. But no-one until now has looked at whether the motor response activity of the brain can be used as a marker for the presence of more or less groove."

Groove music is something that is high upbeat and having high basses. I think this is the thing that make us dance. When I go to parties and listen to this I have the feeling in my chest feeling like bumping even I am not a fan of groove music. Groove music also differs from the loudness on how it is played.

According to another article that I've read entitled "The Instant Effects of Electronic Dance Music: Floating in Unity" by Stefan M. Oertl of re-compose.com that tells the importance of clear frequency separation (bass, middle, high range) of instruments and voices for a song. Why do bass lines or a simple kick drum rhythm have such a strong impact easily triggering a euphoric feeling? Above a certain volume, music is absorbed not only through our ears but through the entire musculosceletal system. In electronic dance music, especially bass and kick drum sounds in the low frequency range get carried over to the audience at particularly high energy levels of sound pressure. He also stated that "Empirically supported hypotheses suggest that high-intensity music (above 90 dB sound pressure level and between 100 and 300 Hz sound frequency, roughly covering the range from G2 to D4, the latter already fairly high for a bass note) stimulates the vestibular system in the middle ear through acoustic and nonacoustic vibration (note: The vestibular system controls our sense of balance).In combination with the trance-inducing effects triggered by repeated loop patterns in rhythmic sync with dance moves, the result is a self-amplifying feeling of excitement, sometimes accompanied by pleasant sensations of thrills and shivers.We experience similar sensations in a rocking chair, when we are swaying our bodies, or on a swing. The effect is even more pronounced on roller coasters."

Groove and dance music is different than other genres even if you are not a fan of this kind of music the effects are the same. Than in other genre it only affects the fans. This genre has weak lyrical pattern but it have a great effects on our movements.

Blogspot 5: Psychology of country music

Most of the Filipinos didn't listen to country music. Because this music is a folk american music. The Filipinos that usually listen to this are the "Fil-Am" or the "Philippine-American people". For me this music is a slow music that uses slang words that are not well-known among us and most instruments that I heard that the're using is an acoustic guitar. But what does country music mean?

Country music is a genre of American popular music that originated in the rural regions of the USA in the 1920s. It originated from Folk American Music. Country music often consists of ballads and dance tunes mostly used by string instruments such as banjos, electric and acoustic guitars, fiddles, and harmonicas.

According to an article that I've read entitled "Country Music Can Lead to Suicide" by bhypes of spydersden.wordpress.com that tells country music can lead to suicide the the lyrical and musical themes used in this genre can bring a suicidal mood to the person who already at risk of suicide it is associated with high suicidal rate. he also stated that "Country music has an audience that is disproportionately white. Since whites have a suicide rate double that of any other racial group, and since they tend to internalize aggression, this becomes a factor in the country music/suicide rate phenomena. A study by Herbert Blumer in 1969 also found that country music fans have an audience receptiveness to suicidogenic problems such as alcohol abuse and marital discord. In a content analysis of 1400 hit country songs, researchers found that three fourths had the travails of disharmony between the sexes, particularly marital strife and dissolution as a common, prevalent theme. Given a known link between marital breakdown and suicide, this theme alone might nurture action in a preexisting suicidal mood. Country music may nurture suicide through its theme of alcohol abuse, as well. Lyrics often portray drinking as a normal and necessary method of dealing with life’s problems. Field research on drinking behavior has linked exposure to country music to increased levels of consumption of alcohol. Alcohol consumption, in turn, has been associated with increased suicide risk."

This only affects the people that are stressed, having emotional problems and that person that is feeling down. But I think this didn't affect the people that don't understand the music that they listen many people are like that. But this kind of music also affects relationship with other people and can also predicts sexual attraction.

According to another article that I've read entitled "Can Bad Taste in Music Ruin a Relationship?: Scientific Study Finds Music Predicts Sexual Attraction" by Kristina Benson of laweekly.com that that tells country music have factors that affects us example at some point in adolescence, music becomes a symbol of identity to help you belong, this symbol of identity allows you to negotiate the tension between belonging and originality, you get into music that reflects your values, it can predicts sexual attraction and and men are more caring than women. She also stated that "a woman's devotion to country music diminishes her attractiveness to a potential (male) mate; so too does a man's interest in country music make him less attractive to women. But (!) devotion to classical music and to heavy metal rock has a different effect depending on if you're a (heterosexual) man or a (heterosexual) woman. The study says, "Fascination with heavy metal rock greatly enhanced the appeal of men, but it proved detrimental to that of women." And the reverse is true of classical music: guys dig girls who are into classical music, but not the reverse."

I think just like other music genres, country music only affect is you are a fan of it and if you really love it. I think this usually came from the lyrics of the song and by feeling it not just listening to tempos, because  I think country music is more in lyrical pattern than instrumental pattern.

Blogspot 4: The psychology of hip hop music

"Gangster's music", "Usually listen to this are riot maker, hold-uppers, and snatchers", "Most of rap/hiphop fans dresses loosen shorts and shirts, with the sleeves of the their shirts reaching below the elbow, their shorts reaching their shin, and wearing big necklace (usually silver), big bracelets, and rings." That's how people describe the hip hop music and their fashion. But what does hip hop music really mean.

Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music, or hip-hop music, is a rhythmic music genre that commonly rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech delivery. It developed as part of hip hop culture, a subculture defined by four elements: rapping, scratching, break dancing, and graffiti writing. Other elements include sampling, and beatboxing.

I've read an article entitled "Does Hip Hop Affect Behavior in Kids?" by Lori A. Selke of everydaylife.globalpost.com that tells explicit content of some hip-hop song lyrics, violence, drug, and alcohol use, and detailing sexual exploits and gang adventures, can be quite disturbing to parents of teen fans in particular. The content of popular music, including but not limited to hip-hop, may have a negative impact on kids' behavior according to certain studies. But hip-hop alone will not turn your child into a juvenile delinquent. It may have some positive behavioral effects too. She also stated that "The principle that must be kept in mind whenever studies about popular music and children's behavior are discussed is the one known as "correlation does not equal causation." That is, just because you can demonstrate a statistical link between two things doesn't mean that one causes the other or vice versa. In other words, there may be a statistical link between, say, redheadedness and freckles, but being a redhead doesn't cause freckles to appear on your skin nor do freckles on your skin cause your hair to turn red. The correlation is significant, but in this case there turns out to be an underlying third cause in the form of certain genes in people's DNA. Consumption of violent media, then, has not been proven to cause kids to act violently. Sorry to say, things are more complicated than that."

Here in Philippines we often saw gangsters we differentiate them by their dress. We often saw in the news that the criminals, drug and alcohol addicts, and poor people dresses like that so there were a bad impact on every one to no t to listen to music but we doesn't know that it has a very good effect. Hip hop music also affects the language learning of people who listens to it.

I've read an article entitled "Can music influence language learning? The case of hip-hop." by Dr. Victoria Williamson of musicpsychology.co.uk. She stated that speakers acquire vocabulary language by watching films or TV, but there is not a great evidence in a study that listening to music has a similar influence. listening to more hip-hop were related to a higher comprehension of hip-hop language. She also stated that "Young adults listen to more music than previously recorded generations in America and hip-hop has now evolved into widely available mainstream music. It is also one of the most popular video media music genres and there are a number of websites devoted to documenting the slang and ‘urban language’ that is used by different hip-hop artists.The study set out to test 166 non-African American young people’s understanding of ‘African American English (AAE)’ terms, which are frequently used in hip-hop. She hypothesised that a higher level of familiarity with hip-hop would be correlated with a higher level of understanding of AAE vocabulary.The dense multiple regression linear analysis revealed that three main factors predicted knowledge of hip-hop AAE: musical preferences, weak social ties to African Americans (negatively), and knowledge of popular culture."

I think this is true. Most of us use the words we hear and learn from songs. It changes our vocabulary. Most of these song are made by foreign countries that the words they use are no familiar to use but we know how to use it because of the artist used it in the sentence that we understand.

Blogspot 3: The psychology of classical music

When I hear classical music it changes my mood, I can think of Ideas, and I feel peaceful. For me classical music have slow tempos, the music pattern is very simple and it is usually instrumental. Most of the teenagers judge classical music as "Old school", "boring", "pampatay", and "korny". But what do classical music really mean.

Classical music is art music produced or rooted in the traditions of Western music. It encompasses a broad period from roughly the 11th century to the present day. The central norms of this tradition became codified between 1550 and 1900, which is known as the common practice period.

I've read an article entitled "Psychology of Classical Music" by Jennifer Coplay of classicalmusiccity.com that tells Classical music has been found to reduce tension and enhance specific types of intelligence such as verbal ability reasoning, though it does not increase general intelligence. Also Mozart’s music has also shown some benefits for those who suffer from epilepsy. and listening to classical music decreases tension, even in those for whom classical music is not their preferred genre. Listening to classical music does not necessarily affect other feelings. The ability of music to influence feelings appears to vary depending on musical preference. She also stated that "A number of research studies have supported the fact that classical music can have a positive effect on linguistic abilities. One study found that those who listened to Vivaldi while exercising had increased scores on verbal fluency tests after their workouts compared to those who exercised without music.

In another study in Hong Kong of 90 boys between the ages of 6 and 15, those who learned to play music with their school’s string orchestra program scored higher on tests of verbal memory than a control group that did not receive musical training. The boys in the music group were also able to learn more new words than those in the control group."

I really don't like classical music because when I listen to it I felt like the clock is moving slow and it made me think to things that confuses me, it gives me a headache. I thinks there is a  low percentage of teenagers now who loves to listen to classical music because we are living in a time where everything is digital and fast. But many times I heard a classical music while doing something, it is the background music of I am doing. 

According to another article I read entitled "The psychology of background music" by Brian Walker of musicworksforyou.com that tells the pupils in West Park School in derby that where in detention were reduced by 60% because of playing classical music in the background and in London Underground (LU) now plays classical music through the speakers in certain Victoria Line stations. LU followed Metro operator Nexus after it became the first UK transport system to introduce the use of classical background music in an attempt to curb criminal activity in 1997.The police figures show that criminal damage was reduced by 20% on the station. He also stated that "Several studies now link the influence of music on brain activity to behavioural response. A new article recently published in NeuroImage investigates the influence of music on brain activity by trying to make sense of how we listen to music. It claims that the act of listening is actually an act of neural prediction.
In the words of the University of London scientists, ‘the ability to anticipate forthcoming events has clear evolutionary advantages, and predictive successes or failures often entail significant psychological and physiological consequences. In music perception, the confirmation and violation of expectations are critical to the communication of emotion and aesthetic effects of a composition’. "

Although classical music is boring it also gives a good ambiance and gives a good mood. But everything depends on the person who is listening the music. For me I dont find the classical music as a good music because it only bores me. I am a rock lover so i usually hate slow music. But most of the people prefer slow and classic because classical music touches most of everyone's taste so most of the people were affected when classical music is played.

Blogspot 2 : The psychology of Rock and Roll

"Masyadong Violent", "Magulo", "Out of this world and lyrics", and "Mahirap intindihin". That is how people will tell if they heard a rock music. They usually tend to judge rockers as violent, criminals, out of this world and bullies. But what do rock and roll really mean.

Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African-American genres such as blues, jump blues, jazz, and gospel music, together with Western swing and country music. Though elements of rock and roll can be heard in blues records from the 1920s and in country records of the 1930s, the genre did not acquire its name until the 1950s.

I've read an article entitled "How Rock 'N' Roll Involuntarily Triggers Our Primal Instincts and ; Brings Out the Animal in Us;" by Christine Hsu of medicaldaily.com that tells rock and roll listeners involuntarily triggers their primal instincts. The writer found a study that the distorted and unpredictable of rock are evocatively primal because the pitch and frequency that make up the music are closely related to the composition make up of the distress calls in animals.

Researchers also found that when animals are in distress, they cry out by rapidly forcing a large amount of air through their voice box, which produces a discordant effect intended to grab the attention and trigger an emotional response in other animals. He also said that ""Music that shares aural characteristics with the vocalizations of distressed animals captures human attention and is uniquely arousing," researcher Daniel Blumstein, chair of the UCLA Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, said in a statement.

Blumstein is an expert on animal distress calls, particularly when it comes to marmots.

Two years ago, Blumstein and a team of researchers published a study of the soundtracks of 102 classic movies in four genres: adventure, drama, horror and war, and found that the soundtracks for each particular genre had characteristic emotion-manipulating techniques."

When I listen to rock music sometimes feel like I unleash my true characteristics and often feel wild. I agree to the article I read because rock music have fast tempo, high in pitch, and frequency. Though sometimes it depends on the music you're listening to, and to the band you usually like. But as usual everything that is too much is bad.

According to another article that I read entitled "Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll: Problems in Neuroscience Reporting" by  Nate Kornell, Ph.D. of psychologytoday.com that our brains release dopamine when we listen to music. Dopamine is associated with reward. Dopamine is released when you listen to music is kind of like saying your hands are involved when you drive. The writer also stated that "Moreover, dopamine is a very busy neurotransmitter. Your hands help you drive but that's not all they do. Dopamine is the same way. It's released during musical experiences and in lots of other situations. And this has reporters excited."

Based on my opinion the study is quite true because sometimes when I listen to Rock music I have this feeling that I have the strength to do what I am scared of doing. I Think the music motivates me. But It also depends on the song if the song really affects you this study will surely apply.