Once Again Using Blues Music Analysis

Music helps a depressed mind become active. Songs are written out of true stories or feelings the artist had, which somewhere, somehow, someone can relate to. Music can help lift the spirits of a depressed person because of the physical changes it makes, or the relation to the story. Depression is when a person is constantly sad and their brain is low on dopamine and serotonin. Already discussed is the release of these feel-good chemicals and neurotransmitters when a person listens to music. By simply raising the level of chemicals in a depressed brain, one can feel happier. These moments of happiness overtime can then open other pathways up for the person to handle their disease. On a less scientific level, music tells stories and those stories can be related to and give the depressed person a sense of comfort knowing they are not the only ones who have had tough times. As Kathleen Higgins states in her review of Joel

The purpose of blues then was to put out a common message of understanding among those who were feeling the weight of the world most heavily. To further explain the common feeling, Higgins describes blues music, “The lyrics present images of hitting rock bottom, of things going radically wrong. And yet the music buoys one up. It is cheering on a physical level. Its steady rhythm and its use of lower registers convey a sense of support” (3). The message is that no one should give up. That while things may be bad, relief is on the way. Music was, and still is, a support system for those who feel they have no support. Depressed listeners can realize, through the help of music, they are not the only ones who have ever felt depressed, or else the music they are listening to would not exist. For those suffering from depression, music is the force that pushes them through bad day and into