I frequently use music as a means of motivation for many things on a daily basis, one of those being exercise. I have found music to be an extremely useful means of motivation when doing physical activities such as biking, running, swimming, weight lifting, or any other physical task. With the absence of music, especially rhythm/often steady tempo, it is very difficult for me to move and push forward. Although it is possible to exercise with the absence of music, it is much easier for me to have the presence of music, particularly that of a medium of faster tempo, with a rather simplified melody, with both simple and complex rhythms/subdivisions to keep my toes. The musical elements: dynamics, form, harmony, melody, tempo, rhythm, timbre give me all of the tools I need to achieve motivation through exercise. A steady rhythm/beat in a song is also extremely helpful when exercising. The rhythm is the drive that keeps me pushing forward, and can be translated to my exercise (such as hearing the steady beat of a song and translating that to lifting weights in time to a beat, or running with my feet in time.) Without the presence of music, I could very greatly loose my sense of rhythm and momentum, and not perform as well as I could with the presence of music. The melody and bass line also keeps me more sane, and give me something to focus on in addition to the rhythm (such as singing along while doing an exercise or hearing the shouting/intense moments of a song to push me harder.
A time that I can recall when I have used (and still use) music as a motivation is when I am freelance running. Since I am on my own/not surrounded by others who can influence the speed/rhythm of my running, I solely rely on music to motivate me to run. It is quite frankly a make or break situation whether I have my iPod/headphones or not. The music gives me something to blow off steam to, and is a backing track to my life, giving me something to play/live off of. It is extremely important to me in many ways, whether debriefing to a more somber song, or getting pumped up to a faster/uplifting song, which I do in the case of exercise.
I’ve chosen two musical examples. The first is a contemporary song titled “Animal I Have Become” by Alternative Rock/Metal band Three Days Grace.This song talks about a transformative person or “Animal” through a powerful, shouty, and driven upbeat tempo. The shouty timbre and catch melody helps me to motivate myself and push along, through its intense message and drive. The second is the well known orchestral work Beethoven “Fifth Symphony.” This work always gives me excitement through its faster tempo, uncertain beginning, where the first eight notes (G-G-G-E flat; F-F-F-D) aren’t certain to the listener where to resolve to, leaving me in anticipation, and wanting more. The G’s and E flat could either resolve to a B flat, creating a major E flat (2nd inversion) triad/chord or resolve to a C, creating a C minor triad/chord. This motif plays out through the work, and keeps me on my feet, giving me the drive to want more, both in the music and in my exercise. Both of these musical works are extremely powerful, and give me the drive to push forward and motivate.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqds0B_meys - Three Days Grace - “Animal I Have Become”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4IRMYuE1hI - Beethoven “Fifth Symphony”
