"Listen to WRCJ and feel your emotions, it may surprise you when you tune into music how you can benefit from it in ways you never expected."

WRCJ Ambassador, Julie Jaffee Nagel, Ph.D. invites you to TUNE IN TO YOUR EMOTIONS.

Have you ever had a song or melody pop into your head out of the blue? Have you been listening to WRCJ and heard a particular recording and it brought back memories? Have you wanted to listen to a special composition when you were in a bad, good, sad or happy mood? Have you listened to music that you thought was beautiful, jarring, poignant or ugly? As soon as you become aware of these types of reactions, you are experiencing emotion when you listen to music. Often music helps you feel emotions that words cannot express. Many people believe music is a universal language. I am suggesting that music is a very personal nonverbal language that has unique meanings for every listener. One of my patients told me of listening to a composition by the late Leonard Bernstein that calmed her after her mother’s death. Another shared his experience of feeling deeply about a special relationship that he was not able express in words after listening to some music.

When you think about it, music is our first "language." Think of the way a mother and infant "talk" with each other….the coo, ooh and ahh gurgles. The music of infancy!! In fact, some people believe sounds before birth are the infant's first music. For children and adults, sounds such as loud noises can startle and silences can be soothing. To feel startled or soothed are emotions. Silence can also be experienced as being alone or abandoned –perhaps inducing a feeling of anxiety. Whatever you feel when listening to music, you are engaged in an intense emotional experience and connecting more deeply with yourself and with others.

Listen to WRCJ and feel your emotions, it may surprise you when you tune into music how you can benefit from it in ways you never expected.