Listening to Kpop and YOUR emotions

Hi everyone! If you have come across this post, I'd like to thank you for stopping to read :3
I have an music psychology essay coming up, and I'm rather stuck on content, so if you guys don't mind sharing some of your experiences, I believe it would be really helpful to me >///

We all know that being in a fandom brings us an array of emotions. We share joy and pain, laughter and tears not only with so many of our fellow fans, but also with the artists we look up to. However, have you ever stopped to think about how the music itself affected your emotions? Beyond the artist behind the song, how does the melody, arrangement, background sounds - everything basically - impacts your mood and feelings?

If you don't mind, I would like to invite you to share your experiences whilst listening to music. I, for one, have always regarded music with great importance and significance, and listening to music when I'm down can lift up my spirits greatly. Drop your thoughts and opinions down below, and thanks for taking time to do so! 3
NariMato
6 years ago
damn 'enter to send messages' box... anyway. not sure if my response will be of any use but here goes.

I firmly stand by the quote 'Where words fail, Music speaks.' Music of any kind, and in any language or genre, has the ability to make even the most emotionally detached person 'feel'. It can make you smile when you're ready to cry, laugh when you want to scream, or even scream when you're angry or upset. The melody can sooth frayed nerves like a balm, the rhythm can get the heart pumping or can act as stitches on an open wound. (wow okay i'm getting stupidly poetic. this doesn't work for me lol)
But what i mean to say is, that music truly speaks to us. it can be a classical piece by Mozart, or something by BTS or Big Bang. Music has always been what lifts my spirits when i'm down, fires me up and gets my adrenaline pumping for workouts, gets me laughing and dancing when i'm ready to just emotionally shut down, and even what lulls me to sleep every night. I think music can truly heal anything. (and idk if it's true, but i've also heard that music can be just as addictive to the brain as any drug... and if thats true, i'm an addict haha)
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fooooooooood
6 years ago
@serelynn Oooh medicine! That's so cool :)
Ah I understand what you mean by that. I often stop listening to songs once I listen to them too many times (I'm so sorry BTS) As a choral singer and someone who has performed in musicals, singing the same song over and over again can be a pain and become incredibly tedious, especially if you do not exactly enjoy the song. With musicals, you must sing some songs with extreme enthusiasm because the theater is such a big space so the words become really slurred and disappear if you don't put extra effort into it. I can tell you that gets super tiring really quickly. In terms of just performing, when the audience gives you positive feedback, it makes all the practicing worth it. In order to make it less tedious, I usually try to make a personal connection to the song, like an overall emotion, or an imagery, or a memory once I finish fixing the practical parts of the song, (for example, I think about beautiful and ethereal sunrises when I sing Eric Whitacre's Lux Aurumque, I totally recommend it if you like crunch chords). Once it's personal, it becomes meaningful, therefore it becomes valuable.
KissTheDream
6 years ago
@serelynn I'm glad you like Hero, I was (and still am tbh) hooked on it like crazy.

Lol why are you giving ME respect, you study medicine right? That sounds WAY harder than my subject tbh. And ah, I actually like reading journal articles? :'D I do admit I skip a lot of parts though. And the articles I want to read are never the ones that I need to read for my assignments... but oh well x'D

Ah that sound like one of those topics that are potentially interesting but are too broad to actually be practical to write on time lmao. It's an interesting idea to ask on AFF though. I always found kpop fans kind of interesting, even though I'm one of them. I was actually considering doing a little study with kpop fans at concerts, but there wasn't enough time to prepare. Guess there's always next time.

Haha don't worry about long responses, as you see I'm not exactly concise either x'DD
[deactivated] 6 years ago
huge*
[deactivated] 6 years ago
I once read this quote somewhere (I don't remember how exactly was it phrased) that "everything that's unspoken but cannot be avoided/omitted, is expressed through music" and I think it's true for music of all sorts (not just kpop). Melody to a musician is what a painting is to a painter or a story to a writer. They're all the same thing, however expressed differently. You have different tools (instruments, microphone, canvas, brush, paper, pen, typing machine) but all are centered around three basic things: story, image and emotion. For example, I cannot paint or draw for the life of me. However I can write stories and song lyrics. So I can "paint" my painting through words. So I kind of see music like this. It paints a story and conveys emotion through text and melody. It not only helps you identify and express emotions but also open up to them. Music sneaks in through the back door where a normal conversation or reasoning can't. So if you have trouble expressing yourself otherwise (like me), music opens this vast world of freedom for communication and conversation. Sometimes I have trouble naming some specific emotions I have, I just know that I'm feeling "something". So I try to pinpoint an abstract situation that is the closest in conveying the same emotion that I'm feeling. And so music brings me: understanding, relief, comfort, expression. I think music also magnifies the mood. So if you're energetic, hyper music will make you pumped up. If you're down, you're gonna search for some very depressing ballads and end up curling up into a ball under your blanket and stuff xD lol. You can put your headphones on and immerse yourself into this completely different world where everything is so easily expressed, where there are no barriers really because it's like your conversation with yourself and no one can really come in the way of that.

And I think the most important thing is that: music can be exactly what you want it to be and what you need at the moment. If you give it meaning, it will have a meaning. If you want to listen to it or make it just for fun, it'll be just for fun. If you want to change the world with it, so you may. So it can be so many different things to so many people. A tool of expression, a mood boost, or even a way to change the world. There's no limit xD It's like sharing some most intimate part of yourself and just seeing who and how many people resonate with it. That's why people who listen to the same music genre often have so much in common, because they have similar experiences and feelings. Music is a hug bonding factor, especially in kpop :3
denouemin
6 years ago
@Createjewels Thanks love! Honestly, I'm at the point where I have no idea what to write or which perspectives I should tackle, but with all the responses I've been getting, I'm getting a clearer picture of what argument I can construct so this definitely helps <3
denouemin
6 years ago
@KissTheDream I CAN BE YOUR HERO!!!!! (Gosh Hero is such a JAM)

TTTToTTTT hi psychology student, i am here to give you my utmost respect because hoW DO YOU SURVIVE READING JOURNAL ARTICLES TAT (but with my sobbing aside)

My essay is actually about the impact of personal use of music on cognition and emotion. I got my cognition sections down while talking about music vs. white noise on productivity and impact of music training on second language learning, but I'm stuck on the emotions part because I have no idea what to discuss. A few of the things mentioned in the lecture was about music and mood regulation and significance of music in adolescents, and I'm inclined to talk about the various genres of music and how they affect one's mood, etc. but I haven't found really compelling evidence/papers that I can write about D: Also, soRRY FOR THE LONG REPLY
denouemin
6 years ago
@Createjewels hey love <3 thanks for stopping by! hopefully you like what everyone has posted here :D
KissTheDream
6 years ago
@serelynn I completely agree with the syncing-minds-to-music idea. The only reason I'm not late for my morning classes is my Monsta X playlist (although I agree, Fire, Not Today, Dope also do the job). I often find myself starting to practically power-walk to university.
What exactly is your assignment about? I'm a psychology student so I may be able to help ^^
Createjewels 6 years ago
For me personally, I organize songs into playlists so I can drench myself in the right emotions at the right time. I have a "happy virus" playlist (I.e. BAP's Feel So Good, MAMAMOO's Self Camera). I also have a more quiet and sad emotions one (I.e. AKMU's Melted, BTS Young Forever). I also have one just to enjoy the music (I'm personally inclined to enjoy rnb, indie, and jazz sounds, so that one has lots of Zion.t, MAMAMOO, Hyukoh, and more). I think by being able to identify my emotions and by categorizing them by songs, it helps me understand myself better. Again, this is genius, and hope this helps~! ☺️
Createjewels 6 years ago
Hey, this is genius ❤️
denouemin
6 years ago
@KissTheDream omg thank you so much for the extensive response (which comes with some song recs LMAO)
I guess I meant music in general, but whatever works honestly!

To be honest, I agree with most of the things you listed. I'm more of a ballad, RnB type of person, but I do take pleasure in listening to hype songs as well. Fun fact, I noticed sometimes that when I'm walking or exercising, I tend to follow the rhythm of the song that I'm listening to (which is why listening to BTS' Fire and Not Today are my top choices to get to morning classes on time) and I guess that affects our body functions as a whole, that we beat to the rhythm of the song internally and that gets our minds to sync into the synergy of the songs as well (but don't quote me on this, I'm a poor surviving med student who doesn't know how to psychology ;A;)
KissTheDream
6 years ago
Do you mean only kpop, or music in general? Because it feels quite different to me.

Regarding kpop, it really depends on the track. I listen to a lot of what I consider "hype tracks" (Got7's Hard Carry, Super Junior's Mr Simple, Monsta X's Hero, that kind of thing). Being fast-paced and having a strong baseline are a must, dumb lyrics are only a plus. When listening to them, it feels like drinking coffee - I become more awake, and more excited and happy, which helps get me to actually get out of my house and do whatever I need to do.

I don't listen to many ballads, but when I do the emotions can vary. Some of them make me feel really sad, but it's the good kind of sad when it's almost not sadness, but more like a pleasant sense of being emotional. I'm not a very emotional person - most of my day passes without me feeling much - so I guess the sad tracks bring out the emotional side in me, which makes me feel good. Slightly rough voices really effect me in this way, especially Super Junior's Yesung. It's mostly about the voice for me when listening to ballads - the melody and the arrangement of the song itself is only important in so that it showcases the singer's voice well.

Then, there are songs I think of as relaxed and "chill". Summer-like stuff, like Shinee's View, Snuper's Back Hug and BTS's Save Me, also fall under this category. I like listening to those when I'm already awake and maybe a bit agitated, so that a hype track would overwhelm me at that moment. Usually I feel happy, but a calmer kind of happy than the hype tracks would induce. Often I also make up some visuals in my mind, usually realted to things like summer and members of whatever band I'm listening to happily playing in the ocean. (That mental picture always calms me and makes me happy, so please don't judge xD). I'm not sure what kind of musical elements are the ones that get me in this type of tracks.

Then, there are "special" songs. Songs that either came with a really unique and gripping MV, or that sound exceptionally original, but it's usually both. Those can't really be categorized and the feelings they induce are hard to describe. The closes I can get to describing how I feel when listening to them is a pleasant existential crisis. Those include things like Vixx LR's Beautiful Liar, Xia Junsu's Flower, BTS's Young Forever, Monsta X's All In, Kim Jaejoong's Mine, among others. What really grabbs me is when a song is ultra dramatic, possibly with orchestra or at least a string section.
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denouemin
6 years ago
@fooooooooood Hiiiii I'm not a psych major unfortunately :( I'm a medicine student, but I took up music psych as an elective ^^ also, I agree with what you said, about how interpretation works. I wonder though, if there is a point in time where a musician just becomes so used to analysing these patterns that they sometimes forget to enjoy the music as a whole. I'm like that with songs I have replayed too many times, especially when I'm listening to figure out chord progressions and etc., and sometimes I wonder what it's like for idols who sings their songs over and over again... (I should be working on my essay but WELP)
fooooooooood
6 years ago
(I don't think what I say will help you with your essay, but I am happy to discuss this.) I always believed music is extremely unique, you don't have to understand the language to enjoy it (for example, I recently fell in love with a 1982 Japanese record, even though I do not understand the language, it brought positive emotions of nostalgia) There is also the genre ofclassical/instrumental, where you are free to interpret the composers intentions of using certain chords, sounds, etc., to express a certain emotion; or you can freely interpret the melody however you want to, (if you have watched the movie 'The Pianist', you'll know what I mean.)
fooooooooood
6 years ago
Ooooh hello fellow psych major, loving your topic :)
-hyphen-
6 years ago
@serelynn It kinda helps when you forget what you were crying about in the first place (then you either cry because you really hate your entire life, because the song is so good or because you find it so pathetic crying because of someone made a song and M/V and you don't even know him/her/other)
denouemin
6 years ago
@Armyster It's rather odd though, I find it that when people are sad, they listen to music that makes them even sadder - or is it just me :")
-hyphen-
6 years ago
Of course music effects emotions. I am a musical idiot, but I know it does effect to everyone. Or then I'm just only one who starts to cry, then listens Coup d'etat and cries even harder :'D
girafferabbit 6 years ago
When i have a swimming comp i listen to calming music to relax, and just before my event I'll listen to more upbeat music to get hyped
denouemin
6 years ago
Thank you so much for your responses guys ;A; y'all beautiful souls @lumienarc @Namlunasoo @DiseasedLife gave me some ideas on what to research and write about so thank you again <3
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damelumienarc
6 years ago
@Namlunasoo I reckon, because I got similar response from one of my readers (assuming that you focused on my Moonlight Sonata and bed scene writing) XD
[deactivated] 6 years ago
the enter key is so annoying -_-
anyways, lyrics are actually super important for me when listening to songs in foreign languages. Which is weird, because it kind of defeats the purpose of listening to foreign songs, but I guess I just have to know the meaning behind a song. If I know a song's lyrics, I can relate to it better. When I'm feeling down, for example, I won't listen to a song solely because it has a sad melody. I also choose songs based on how well the lyrics relate to my situation/emotions. Even if I don't understand the lyrics word for word, since I looked them up, I'll know the general gist of the song, and that determines whether I'll choose the song or not.

this is probably confusing >.<
[deactivated] 6 years ago
when I'm down, I listen to sad songs, and when I'm happy, I listen to the more energetic, cheerful songs. I don't find that listening to happy music when I'm down really improves my mood; in fact, it just worsens my mood because I can't relate to the happiness of the song.
[deactivated] 6 years ago
@lumienarc whoa that's a super interesting way to relate to and use music.
damelumienarc
6 years ago
I am a person who focuses on the music itself rather than lyrics, mainly because I prefer to listen to foreign songs. Mostly because I sometimes regret knowing the meaning of the lyrics (in K-Pop mostly because the titles and the lyrics sometimes don't match and apparently I expected something else) and knowing the lyrics involuntarily because I speak the languages, too. Well, but then again, I will only listen to a song more than once voluntarily if I really like as a whole.
I can't possibly live on without music and probably I consider myself living in a movie with constant background music I have in my head for every event! Ha. Songs can represent and/shape my emotions. I often relate to the compositions. I sometimes imagine a scene befitting a song I listen to or, instead, I play a song to fit a scene I am witnessing (or writing). Recently I somehow managed to write an adult scene with Moonlight Sonata as the foundation. The characters involved interacted intimately mimicking each nature of its three movements. Oh well. It's nothing new, but it was my first time relating a bed scene with a classical masterpiece. XD Now, excuse me. I will see myself to the exit. Adieu.