Can you imagine a world without music? Can you imagine a world where the only noises would come from the natural earth, people talking and animals? No songs at baseball games. No ipods. No school dances, because there would be no music… Can you imagine? There would be MORE talking probably. Yuck. That’s not what a teenager with APD needs. Music is my “Easy” button.
You’re probably thinking… Wouldn't music be harder to understand with all the background instruments? Music is a challenge because of more sounds trying to be processed, but it’s still easier than talking. If I were to choose one person talking, verses a singer and 3 instruments going I’d choose the singer and 3 instruments. Here’s why:
1. People talk in ONE tone. Take that person and multiply that by ten. 1 X 10 = 10. TEN people talking in ONE tone! Everything I try to process in this scenario becomes overlapped, miss understood, and sometimes it’s just a big old blob. It’s kind of like bees… You can see there are ten bees buzzing around. Can you pick out which buzz belongs to each of the bees? No. BUT in music there are many different tones. The singer doesn’t sing in just ONE tone through the whole entire song. Singers use various numbers of pitches and tones. The instruments are very distinct from one another. You have a guitar, you have a piano, and you have a drum. Easy pEASY lemon squEASY! I’d be lost without music.
2. There are pauses in songs. The musical term for pauses is called breaths. The breaths allow me to process what is being sung during the pause in the song. Sometimes the pause is in the middle of a sentence. Sometimes it’s taken at the end. Either way, I have more time to process little amount of words during the breath. When we talk to each other, we can talk so fast sometimes without even thinking about the person listening. We’re kind of like an alarm clock.. We don’t know when to shut up, haha.
3. Music has a beat or a pattern. The pattern is pretty consistent through songs. When we talk, there is no pattern because it’s always changing. We-don’t talk like-this. This-is-how we talk-to one another. Did you get confused? I did, and I’m the one who wrote it, haha. For me, the repetitive pattern of sounds in music helps my brain remember and understand the words and instruments in songs.
Now there is some music I like more than others. I don’t like rap or heavy metal. I like soft rock and modern country. I prefer quieter songs than loud songs. I prefer slower songs than faster songs.
Overall music is my relief, and I enjoy every aspect of it. It's like ice cream... It's almost impossible to dislike. You just can't go wrong with it. It’s my Easy button and I'll keep pushing it for as long as I want and you cannot stop me!! =D
Thank you so much for your blog! I just found it. I have a 12-year old daughter with APD. She attends a school for bright kids who learn differently and lucky for her, they allow her to listen to music like you do...AND chew gum! Smart teachers!
ReplyDeleteAnyhow, we have about a 25-minute ride to school every day and every day the music goes on as soon as she gets in the car. Just this morning I was asking her how it is that she knows all the words to songs when words are her enemy. She didn't know why. This post really helped me to understand it. She says that she actually sees the words as she listens, kind of like when some YouTube videos have the lyrics posted along with the song.
She also has a lot of synesthesia and really gets into the colors she sees when she listens to music...another reason why music is HER "easy" button. Love your analogy there.
Thanks again for your generosity in answering parents' questions. It is so wonderful that we can all learn from each other and it is because of people like you who take the time to write!
If you're interested, my blog about my daughter's experiences is www.meredithandmerebith.blogspot.com.
I just picked up my daughter from school and was telling her about your post. She completely agrees with what you said. She said that music is her "go to" for anytime she is stressed...just like your easy button. She totally agrees about how she can catch up to the words, etc. Thanks again so much!
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