Kennedi Santomenna - HUM 1020 - CRN 14242
- krsantomenna8176
- Feb 13
- 3 min read
Chapter 6: Music
"The sirens in Greek mythology were long-haired, beautiful women who lured sailors to their deaths with glorious sounds; but, apparently, the sirens in Plato's heavens had no such destructive motives (6.1)."
The reason I decided to pick this quote is because I enjoy the idea of the mythology and fantasy behind sirens. I remember when I was a kid, I watched Peter Pan for the first time and I adored the sirens. That was before I found out the true story of sirens. There are so many different stories of Peter Pan now that I think about it. In one of the stories, the sirens sang a beautiful tune and led Wendy and her brothers to the island where they were brought to safety. Then, there was the destructive story of Peter Pan where the sirens are as described in the quote above. I find the destructive story way more interesting in my opinion now that I am older. I think it adds a lot of twists and more "reality" to Peter Pan's story in general. The "reality" is that Peter Pan's motive for luring kids to an island without their parents is kidnapping. The sirens add a darker aspect to the story to provide the scary and dangerous part of following a random boy to an island without parents.
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"Religions of the world have long claimed that through music one achieves union with the divine (6.1)."
I can say confidently that music is the one thing in my life that has brought me to people. Music is one of my favorite topics to talk about when meeting new people. I enjoy talking about genres, artists, and favorite songs. I can use music and their tastes to better know the person I am talking to without really talking to them. If someone I am meeting has the same tastes as me, I already know we are going to get along either out of respect or being best friends. People who listen to other artists unlike mine will probably not get along with me or will have different beliefs than me. I say this out of personal experience. My taste in music is very diverse, I enjoy some country, some jazz, some classic, some rap, some hip-hop, etc. I don't have a distinct taste which I believe makes me more of an open person than those who only listen to one genre. I also enjoy it when people introduce me to new music and show me what their tastes are so my taste is not limited.
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"But for many of us, the more familiar experience of listening comes beyond the walls of a concert hall, through our smartphones or tablets, from our favorite movies, or at outdoor festivals and events (6.3)."
As I am currently writing this, I am listening to my favorite songs as we speak. I am playing my music on my tablet with my headphones in and writing about music. It is pretty ironic if I do say so myself. So many years of listening to rhythm, beats, and lyrics, and every time I get so happy or sad from it. Every time I have the chance to put my earbuds in and click the play button on my device, I feel the utmost amount of happiness. It is hard to describe how music has shaped me as a person, but music is beyond important. As previously stated, music has brought me to people, its made me calm in situations that needed it most, and has brought me therapy for rough times. I remember going to my first concert, which was a Big Time Rush concert, for my 10th birthday. It strengthened my love for music and looking back on it now has shaped me. I recently listened to an old playlist I made when I was 9 and thought to myself how innocent I was then and how much I matured. It is crazy to believe that I can tell how naive I was based on the music I listened to in the past. It further strengthens my idea that music represents the person you will become or who you were in the past.
References
Richard Paul Janaro & Thelma C. Altshuler, 2017, The Art of Being Human, 11th Edition
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