The title of this article is probably a question many people think, but are too embarrassed to ask. There’s no need to hide anymore. You can air out your doubts, questions and natural skepticism for this type of music. Nobody’s going to think you’re low class, or going to suspect you of having bad taste in music if you ask this question. It’s perfectly natural for people to ask this question because it seems that there is some sort of Emperor’s New Clothes effect when it comes to certain types of music.
It seems that some forms of music have such cachet as far as class, sophistication, elegance and quality are concerned that when people try to ask very basic and seemingly obvious questions, they’re too embarrassed. It’s kind of like saying that a famous artist in your town sucks. Can you imagine people’s reactions to you when it seems like everybody is suffering from some sort of collective hypnosis as far as that particular artist or person’s a body of work?
The same phenomena can apply to certain genres of music. Whether we’re talking about reggae, classical music, sub-genres of the heavy metal, it doesn’t matter. Oftentimes, people are simply cowed into silent, uneasy and uncomfortable acceptance because they don’t want to speak up. So, let’s just get that out of the way.
What’s so great about harp music? First of all, there’s the relaxation factor. It doesn’t really matter what’s going on in your life, or your normal music preference is, if you are exposed to harp music at the right volume and at the right time, you can’t help but take a step back, draw a deep breath, and just relax. There’s just something really relaxing about the notes produced by a harp.
It’s as if these notes pierce through your flesh and start vibrating your spinal column until it leads to your mind. In your mind, it then starts massaging you. It’s like a great big spiritual back room. Regardless of the turbulence you feel, whether you prefer harp music or not, you can’t deny that there’s some sort of relaxing, or at least, transcendent effect.
The next factor to consider is that harp music is often played in certain contexts. It’s very rare to hear harp music in a public execution, for example, or in a situation where there are a lot of trauma and conflict. Instead, you hear harp music to celebrate the birth of a child, or commemorate the eternal bond between a new husband and wife. In other words, harp music, along with our spiritual, mental and emotional reception of it is greatly influenced and shaped by the event it graces.
In effect, the event highlights certain emotional states, and the harp music in turn, highlights the emotional immediacy of the event. This self-reinforcing call and response dynamic creates a sense of transcendence that makes what would seem to be a small initial effect all that memorable. It’s kind of like a harp music already brings embers of transcendence, but the conditions and situation surrounding the event where harp music is being played add gasoline to the embers of the music. You then end up getting a fairly intense experience.
Most people don’t mind because it in the kind of world we live in where it seems that everything is disconcerting and chaotic, people could use a little bit of relaxation, or some sort of escape at least temporarily. Harp music has a long track record of delivering such experiences.