The Benefits of Heavy Metal Music Since it was introduced to the public in the 1970s, heavy metal music has been associated with immoral activity. These controversies center on people's ethics, religion, political position, and other social factors. It is notorious that in the winter of 1985, after consuming large quantities of cannabis and alcohol, two clinically depressed teenagers attempted suicide while listening to Judas Priest's album, Stained Class. One died instantly, the other, James Vance, spent two years in the hospital before dying of complications from his suicide attempt. Shortly before his death, Vance wrote to his friend's parents, claiming that the music "had hypnotized them into believing that the answer to life was death." (VH1 2001) » Despite toxicology reports showing the teens were heavily intoxicated at the time of the suicide attempts, the group was still sued by Vance's family for $6.2 million for the deaths of the two boys , in 1989. However, since the Families and lawyers knew that free speech is protected by the First Amendment, they have dissected the music in search of subliminal messages, that is, hidden commands in music that would induce immoral behavior. The charges were eventually dropped, but one thing remains unanswered: Are incidents like these the fault of heavy metal? The short answer is no. Despite its counter-culture outward appearance, people who perceive metal as negative (other musicians, politicians) should stop associating the music with childishness, ignorance and violent behavior through editorials and public criticism against metal musicians. Heavy metal music should be enjoyed to engage and apply knowledge to other subjects associated with higher education, to inspire musicians to become virtuosos, and to have a direct and positive impact on the mental well-being of humans. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay To prove that heavy metal is beneficial, the term needs to be defined. According to Merriam-Webster, heavy metal music is defined as "energetic, highly amplified electronic rock music with a hard beat." This definition is a general statement that only minimizes the impact of gender on society. Heavy metal cannot be defined in one sentence, because there are so many different genres that fall under this definition that would not be considered heavy metal; dubstep and rockabilly music would fall under this definition. To have a solid foundation on what heavy metal is, it must be explained in depth from its roots. The creation of heavy metal began with a genre called "hard rock" in the mid-1960s, near the end of the "Flower Power Era." This brief period was a time of extreme social expression that coincided with the Vietnam War and the eventual end of segregation. Many people, especially the youth of the time, supported the ideas of peace, love, equality and an end to social injustice. Hard rock bands like The Who, Janis Joplin, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones created music that reflected the fight against inequality, encouraging young people and other progressive individuals to take a stand against environmental injustices. This wasn't the first time people used music to reflect their feelings about the lack of fairness in the world around them. However, theHard rock has received much more attention due to "technological advances that have enabled new heights of sonic disruption to be reached" (Pearlin 2014). The music was louder, bolder and more powerful. Armed with lyrics that reflected "brutally brutal social commentary" (Pearlin 2014) and the power of sonic disruption, hard rock musicians inspired and appealed to less privileged people around the world, especially aspiring musicians. Some musicians chose to recreate the sound and become hard rock and psychedelic rock artists, themselves. Others have chosen to build on what they have been given; notably in 1968 in the West Midlands, in Birmingham, where the pioneering heavy metal band, Black Sabbath, made a name for themselves. By “recalling the clamor of the steel mills that dominated their hometown landscape” (Pearlin 2014), Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Bill Ward and Geezer Butler created a genre (aptly called heavy metal) that intensified the sound of groups before them. . These sounds included heavily distorted guitar riffs, throbbing basslines, rapid drumming, and lyrics that reflected morbid themes. The topic also took a detour from the injustices that affect the world to the injustices that affect specific individuals. Topics included: death, drugs, the effects of war on a person, and alienation. These topics sparked the interest of those who could relate directly to the lyrical content. Whether it was drug addicts, socially excluded teenagers, or those seeking a break from popular music on the radio, this audience allowed heavy metal to flourish as a popular music genre. After Black Sabbath made their impact on the music world, several other inspired English musicians decided to build on their music to create a similar sound. Bands like Judas Priest, Diamondhead, Iron Maiden, Angel Witch and Motörhead took the dynamism created by Black Sabbath, but made the guitar riffs and basslines faster, more melodic and more complex. Drums were faster due to the growing popularity of having two bass drums (commonly called a double bass) and a double bass pedal, allowing drummers to make the music catchier. Their lyrics, while touching on the same subject, also included topics such as fantasy, horror and mythology. The result was an explosion of heavy metal music in Europe, North America and South America. This event, known as the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM), was the main catalyst for the number of heavy metal bands that formed in the United States in the 1970s and 1980s. Bands like Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax, Slayer, Annihilator and Metal Church merged the original metal sound created by Black Sabbath with NWOBHM. The result was thrash metal, whose musicians lived by three principles: “harder, faster, louder” (Pearlin 2014). While their predecessors focused on melody, thrash musicians were more concerned with rhythm. The guitar riffs were completely distorted, heavy (due to the use of down picking) and were played at breakneck speed. The lyrics were highly critical of the masses and questioned their socially accepted values; waging war to create peace, the concept of uniformity, etc. This impressed musicians, listeners and critics who were amazed by the abilities of these musicians as well as the messages and stories their lyrics conveyed. However, this sensation was short-lived, as the general public found the music too extreme to listen to. ForBecause of this, the metal genre has experienced a split, leading even notable thrash metal bands to "experiment with a simplified, commercially acceptable direction" (Pearlin 2014). Others embraced their new underground status and were content with a “cult” of fans. Thanks to small groups of people who wanted to stay true to the fast, hard, and loud metal sound they were exposed to in the 1980s, extreme metal was born. MIT's Jeffrey Pearlin describes it as a genre that "represents the traditional conventions of metal taken to every imaginable extreme: severely out-of-tune guitars, guttural vocals, insanely fast tempos, and radically taboo lyrical content." Topics became explicitly linked to hard drugs, murder, rape, suicide, crime, and other topics considered deplorable by American society. This is the music that most people in society think of when they hear the words “heavy metal”. They instantly think of death, lack of control, ignorance and childishness to such a degree that heavy metal has been considered to have a set of attitudes that exceed the social norm; heavy metal has been called a counterculture. Heavy metal controversies are “social reactions to perceived deviance, usually triggered by boundary-challenging events” (Hjelm et al 2012). If a group sings something that directly contradicts their morals, they worry and do whatever is necessary to preserve their values, as if they were directly affected by the counterculture. This is called the moral panic theory. Because of this, religious organizations have protested at heavy metal concerts and groups of people have banded together to destroy artists' albums and paraphernalia. An infamous example is the actions of former second lady and social advocate Tipper Gore. She founded an organization known as the Parents Music Resource Center in 1985. With the help of other PMRC members, she compiled a list of songs that conflicted with her moral beliefs (drugs and profanity are bad, violence is bad, children must be raised). in environments free from any influence that might contradict those values, etc.) They ensured that all of the songs on this list (called the Filthy Fifteen) would forever be vilified for having lyrical topics relating to sex, violence , drug use and sado. -masochism. Nearly half of the songs on this list came from metal bands such as Black Sabbath, Venom, WASP and Judas Priest. This moral panic does not imply that America's youth will be corrupted. In fact, heavy metal music has done more good than many people think. Heavy metal music is often a great source of inspiration for aspiring musicians. Due to the number of virtuoso musicians who have made names for themselves through heavy metal, many musicians who used to sit alone in their rooms jamming along to their favorite albums are now considered some of the greatest technical musicians of today's generation. But how do we define virtuoso here? Merriam-Webster defines the term as “a person who does something very skillfully.” Although this definition addresses the general basis of what it takes to become an exemplary artist, it is quite broad and could be more specific to this situation. To have a solid foundation on what a virtuoso is, the following definition will be used to refer to a virtuoso: A musician whose playing style is unlike that of any other performer. However, when looking for examples of virtuoso musicians, theMost lists are primarily composed of classical musicians. This may be an example of how metal musicians are nicknamed as part of the counterculture. They are not held in the same kind of respect for their contributions to the world of music, because of certain lyrics, their sound, and the certain implications that their sound conveys. However, this should not be a reason to overshadow the impact of metal musicians on the music world. Yngwie Malmsteen is a great example of this. By merging neo-classical music and heavy metal, Malmsteen succeeded in industrializing common but fundamental metal standards. His fast, sweeping style of playing (sliding the pick across the strings while playing) inspires many musicians to learn and practice guitar, hoping to gain enough technical ability to play quickly. Another important element of his playing is his iconic tone. Like most metal musicians, Yngwie Malmsteen strives to produce a heavy but clear sound in order to play notes quickly and so that the notes he plays are recognizable. This contrasts with beginning guitarists who have not yet established their sound. Thus, an amateur's tone is often very “cloudy”. Additionally, Malmsteen inspires people to become their best selves through teaching. He became known to today's generation of musicians through his popular free lesson videos on YouTube. Often, viewers try to imitate his virtuoso abilities. His contributions to making the genre of metal sound so distinct that it solidified Malmsteen's virtuoso status in music history. Another example of a musician becoming a virtuoso is the case of Metallica lead guitarist Kirk Hammett. Any discerning fan knows that Hammett's ability to play guitar began with his attempt to imitate Yngwie Malmsteen's fast guitar playing on records. However, unlike Malmsteen, Hammett did not help popularize metal's currently distinct sound, but rather popularized the genre with a new sound. Like Malmsteen, Hammett is known for his incredibly fast playing style, which inspires people to listen to Metallica's music. Due to their mainstream success, playing fast has become a notable and desired skill for learning to play guitar. He further illustrates his virtuosic abilities using melodic layering with co-guitarist James Hetfield. Creating a melody from scratch requires a lot of knowledge of how musical notes and other melodies work. Creating an additional melody line so that it is aurally pleasing is an entirely separate skill that requires knowledge of different scales (such as Ionian, Aeolian, and Phrygian) and the ability to recall notes or know what one sounds like. note before playing it. to facilitate the visualization process of building harmonies. When musicians hear these compositions, they may try to create their own guitar harmonies, as they sound pleasing to any general listener. Hammett is also known for its various effects. Using a combination of a wah pedal (a device that changes the tone of the amplifier's emulating signal) and a tremolo arm (a lever located on the bridge of a guitar used to change the height of the strings), its solos are notable for the point where anyone listening to a Metallica song knows it's Hammett playing. Thanks to it, these tools can be seen in almost any guitarist's setup. This work demonstrates not only Hammett's technical abilities, but also how he is able to inspire other musicians to reach their full potential. Moreover, the heavyMetal can benefit students who listen to or play it frequently because the music integrates knowledge about other topics they might be learning about. at school. An example that heavy metal applies is basic physics concepts. The modulation of sounds coming out of a guitarist's amplifier or the way vocals sound on a record or at a concert is no accident. Musicians and technicians work tirelessly to create a sound that truly defines the music and sets it apart from any other sound of the genre. In doing so, they need to have basic information about what changes the sound of an instrument. Since most metal musicians couldn't afford to hire sound technicians in their early days, they had to learn what the knobs on their amplifier did. Most guitar and bass amplifiers have five basic effects knobs. Gain that controls distortion, an effect that adds inharmonic and harmonic overtones to the sound emitted by the amplifier, making it heavy and grainy. Sometimes this effect is also known as "drive." Bass which controls the amount of low frequencies (in hertz) emitted by the amplifier. Middle which controls the amount of midrange frequencies (in hertz). Treble which controls the amount of high frequencies (in hertz). And reverberation (short for reverberation), which controls the persistence of a sound over time, giving it depth. By understanding these same concepts, metal musicians can progress not only to understanding basic physics, but also develop an overview of first-year engineering concepts. While most people who listen to metal don't want to become engineers, those who study engineering can apply what they learn in class to the heavy metal music they listen to. Gregory Wakefield, a professor of electrical engineering at the University of Michigan, says the faculty "is able to teach students how...resonance works, how if you push a shape in different ways it resonates differently...It has a lot of meaning to them because they can relate it to what they hear” (Daniel 2011). Because of heavy metal music and my involvement in it, I strongly considered going to college to study audio engineering. In doing so, I could pursue my own music career or work in live sound for events. I have the potential to learn in a profession, because of the music that interests me. Heavy metal not only integrates science into music, it also applies and adapts advanced music theory. The Oxford Dictionary defines music theory as “(the study) of the theoretical aspects of music and its notation.” Learning music theory allows the musician to understand how notes and rhythms are assembled. Most music theory guidelines are built around the rules of the common practice period. According to Phillip Magnuson of the University of Dayton, the Common Practice Era is the period between 1600 and 1900 during which a foundation of rules was established for music in Europe and North America, primarily. While heavy metal musicians may not have created the renowned phrasing and structure of their music, they should be respected for taking these concepts used in classical music, adapting them to their genre, and exposing these concepts to a new audience. Armed with this knowledge, musicians can either follow and apply the rules of the common practice period, or deviate from them. Metal musicians are most often the ones who tend to deviate from it. For example, in the days of common practice, fifthsParallel intervals, for example playing a G in the soprano voice and a C in the alto voice then increasing or decreasing both notes in the same interval, were completely frowned upon due to poor voice direction. Heavy metal completely ignores this rule because the basis of most of their music is based on the very concept of parallel fifths. Most metal music is based on power chords; a fundamental note, its fifth interval and sometimes the octave of the fundamental. The simplicity of this tuning is responsible for some of the dynamism and energy that gives metal its distinctive sound. In addition to adapting some techniques from previous eras, heavy metal musicians also apply the same techniques used by their predecessors in the Baroque and Classical eras. An important aspect of this is polyphony. In all music there is a melody, a series of memorable notes that adds character to the accompaniment. Although having a melody makes a composition more interesting to listen to, a second accompanying melody adds even more appeal to the music. This simultaneous but different arrangement is known as harmony, and when used correctly (not sounding out of place, having the correct notes in the phrase), it makes the sound of the melody more enriched and even more friendly. Classical musicians aren't the only ones capable of applying harmonies to their music. However, because polyphony is so rare in modern music, when talking about it, the first thing that comes to mind is Vivaldi's Four Seasons. However, you don't have to go back hundreds of years to find a concrete example. Take for example Scott Gorham of Thin Lizzy; During the band's existence, he and co-guitarist Brian Robertson made extensive use of harmonies in their music. A notable example of their work is the song "The Boys Are Back in Town" (Jailbreak 1976) which features a solo that ends the song. This section applies the use of major third, perfect fourth, and perfect fifth intervals to make this solo more interesting. Another technique used is the toccata, a piece that demonstrates all the abilities of a musician. This is very common in the compositions of most musicians of the Common Practice era, notably Johann Sebastian Bach. Heavy metal “uses this technique through guitar solos” (Snapplejack2005 2016). Some songs may have a short solo in the middle of a long composition like in Megadeth's Holy Wars...The Punishment Due, or the song may be entirely solo-based like in Van Halen's Eruption. Using and adapting the techniques of their predecessors, heavy metal musicians continue to apply the era's theory of common practice to their music. Not only does this create a more interesting sound, but it also offers the potential to help music theory students who are looking for modern examples of classical applications. By listening to these techniques, they progress in their development to learn to become a better musician. These important educational aspects that heavy metal incorporates are tangible evidence that the music can benefit its listeners. Heavy metal is not only an educational resource, it is also a tool that directly affects the well-being of its fans and listeners, performers and participants by acting as an outlet for negative energy to escape. During their daily lives, people may encounter experiences that may provoke anger or any other type of unpleasant emotion. This anger can be eliminated by listening to music thatcorresponds to his current state of being. Since heavy metal is known for its intensity, it can be used in this case. In an interview with Mr. Forrest A. Hainline, director of the School of Rock in Silver Spring, MD, I found that most fans believe that listening to heavy metal makes listeners "excited, full of excitement." energy and release stress. This popular belief was recently confirmed in the summer of 2015. A study conducted by the University of Queensland found that listening to heavy metal music can cause positive emotions. Author Leah Sharman conducted a study of 39 people from around the world, aged 18 to 34. She discovered that “music regulated sadness and reinforced positive emotions. When feeling angry, extreme music fans liked to listen to music that could match their anger... Music helped them explore the full range of emotions they were feeling... Results showed that levels of anger hostility, irritability and stress decreased after the introduction of music. In addition to this, heavy metals act as a stress reducer by inducing moshing; a style of dance where metal fans run and push each other during a concert. When you participate in a moshing, the adrenaline rushes, you get rid of excess pent-up energy and unwanted stress. The satisfaction gained from this act is like punching your worst enemy in the face. Mr. Hainline says people "need to scream their heads off, and we need to physically involve other people... as people literally throw themselves at each other." » In a less physical sense, heavy metal also benefits the well-being of its musicians. participants by creating a feeling of unity among them. People who listen to bands like Lamb of God, Cannibal Corpse, Whitechapel, and Slipknot don't make up a very large percentage of music fans. Due to these fans' extreme devotion to their musical preference, they often feel left out. They feel alienated from the society around them and no one wants to be. Psychologist Roy Baumeister states that “the need to belong is a fundamental human need to form and maintain at least a minimum of lasting, positive, and meaningful interpersonal relationships. Satisfying this need requires frequent, positive interactions with the same individuals, and engaging in these interactions within a framework of stable, long-term care and concern” (Ben-Zeév 2014). A well-known example is Billie Joe Armstrong's experience when she discovered a mosh pit. The Green Day frontman said he “…felt like I was invisible and like I didn’t exist. There, I felt invisible and I didn't exist, but I did it with a group of other people who felt the same way” (VH1 2010). The important thing is to understand that people who enjoy heavy metal music have a special bond with others who enjoy heavy metal music. These fans, nicknamed metalheads, have effectively created a transcontinental family. Like a family, they stick together when things go wrong. On September 13, 2015, a series of terrorist attacks took place in Paris, France, killing 130 people. Most of the reported victims were at the Bataclan, where the band Eagles of Death Metal was playing. As soon as the event was reported, the metal community reached out to the band and offered their deepest condolences to the band members and concertgoers. Artists from popular bands like Anthrax, Slipknot, Killswitch Engage, August Burns Red, Cradle of Filth, Pantera, Avenged Sevenfold, Drowning Pool and Bullet for My Valentine, as well as countless fans, joined in this immense storm of support for the group. Halestorm singer Lzzy.