{"id":3270,"date":"2024-05-12T06:00:21","date_gmt":"2024-05-12T06:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sofarsounds.com\/blog\/?p=3270"},"modified":"2024-05-11T23:53:37","modified_gmt":"2024-05-11T23:53:37","slug":"music-and-mindfulness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sofarsounds.com\/blog\/articles\/music-and-mindfulness","title":{"rendered":"Music and Mindfulness"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">May is Mental Health Awareness Month in the U.S., and this year\u2019s theme is \u201cWhere to Start\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mhanational.org\/mental-health-month\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mental Health America<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the founding organization behind the initiative, describes this year\u2019s theme as such: “For anyone struggling with the pressure of today’s world, feeling alone, or wondering if they can feel better, this is Where to Start.”<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Sofar, we believe live music is a great place to start when looking to improve your present-mindedness and overall mental well-being. Data shows that music <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.psychiatry.org\/news-room\/apa-blogs\/power-of-music-in-mental-well-being\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">can reduce stress, anxiety, and blood pressure, and improve mood, mental alertness, and memory<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Music can also be used <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/10\/30\/well\/mind\/therapy-music-anxiety-mental-health.html#:~:text=Scientific%20research%20has%20begun%20to,reduce%20stress%2C%20anxiety%20and%20depression.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">as therapy, healing trauma and helping people with anxiety and depression<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sofar shows offer a moment of respite from our busy lives, where we can sit in the present, feel the power of music, and make connections with people around us. Here\u2019s how:<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hearing new music for the first time keeps us in the present moment.\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When you\u2019re at a Sofar show, you\u2019re usually hearing music that you\u2019ve never heard before. So when the artists perform at the show, you\u2019re experiencing every note and every lyric for the first time \u2013\u00a0living fully in the moment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only that, but you\u2019re also likely experiencing the venue for the first time. Sofars happen in unique spaces all over the world, from backyards to museums, meaning you\u2019ll always have something new to take in. No two Sofars are alike, so you\u2019ll always be in the present when you\u2019re at a show.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Witnessing powerful performances is cathartic.\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We\u2019ve all listened to a song that just hits us square in the chest: a lyric about moving on from a past relationship, or an uplifting self-love power anthem. That\u2019s the feeling of catharsis from the artist: they\u2019re getting emotion out through their music. As an audience, we respond to that catharsis with empathy; we feel the emotion too, and we connect with those same feelings of pain, or comfort, or revelation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Musicians are storytellers, who take complex feelings and turn them into beautiful melodies with messages that stand the test of time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That\u2019s why music-making and song-writing are so often used in therapy, because we\u2019re getting a reward whenever we create a pleasing melody or process our emotions through song.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When we listen to music that\u2019s familiar to us, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/books\/NBK92781\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">we release dopamine as soon as we hear the first few notes<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. And when asked what parts of life bring people pleasure, music is consistently listed in the Top 5, alongside food, money, and art.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Experiencing live music fosters lasting connections with others.\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At a Sofar, you get a chance to meet new people in a new setting, and the artists do too. Maybe you\u2019re at a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sofarsounds.com\/lists\/storytellers\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">laid-back singer songwriter night<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, or maybe you\u2019re at <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sofarsounds.com\/lists\/high-key\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">one of our higher energy shows<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, moving and grooving to the music with complete strangers. When you\u2019re at a show, you\u2019re sharing the experience with those around you. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That\u2019s why it feels good singing along to your favorite artist, surrounded by fellow fans of the same artist. You\u2019re a part of a community, and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/episode\/1PxZOTI6ouPtuqrnekKQa1?si=wT1qqHmIQWCdLZhm451xRg&nd=1&dlsi=94cef11789a54b73\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">when we move together in time, it\u2019s shown to increase behaviors associated with love, community and care<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sofarsounds.com\/blog\/articles\/finding-connection-in-loneliness\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We\u2019ve covered before how Sofar shows can help tackle loneliness<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">; they can also foster a sense of connection between artists and audience members. Performers can be vulnerable, often sharing personal stories in the form of songs, and creating a space for empathy and compassion from the audience.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you want to experience some mindful music, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sofarsounds.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">check out a Sofar show near you<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">!<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>May is Mental Health Awareness Month in the U.S., and this year\u2019s theme is \u201cWhere to Start\u201d.\u00a0 Mental Health America, the founding organization behind the initiative, describes this year\u2019s theme as such: “For anyone struggling with the pressure of today’s world, feeling alone, or wondering if they can feel better, this is Where to Start.” […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":3290,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3270","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sofarsounds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3270","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sofarsounds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sofarsounds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sofarsounds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sofarsounds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3270"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sofarsounds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3270\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sofarsounds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sofarsounds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sofarsounds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sofarsounds.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}