Music is good for the soul.

Music is good and healthy for the "soul." In fact, music is the language of the soul. Music is the universal language that every human being can speak to each other with and feel regardless of nationality and differences. It's the ultimate form of communication. It breaks down barriers and brings people together. It captures emotions like even the most precious words cannot. Music makes you feel; music is a healthy way of conveying every form of emotion from sadness to happiness, from anger to peace, from depression to elation. There is not a better to way in the world to capture and express your feelings than through music. As the common anonymous saying goes, "music is what feelings sound like". People who understand and appreciate music live the most satisfying, fulfilling lives. - Statistics show that people with experience in music performance/appreciation outperform those without it on the SAT. [1] - Studies show that older people who involve themselves with music show reduced levels of anxiety. - Studies show that younger people who involve themselves with music are less likely to use drugs and get into trouble. [2] - Throughout history, music has been used to heal sickness. [3] - Music has the ability to ease the perception of chronic pain. In fact, according to a paper in the Journal of Advanced Nursing, music can reduce chronic pain by up to 21% [12] (excuse the source number for being out of order...) - Early musical training helps develop brain areas involved in language and reasoning. [13] (and this one...) - Religion, often thought of as the epitome of spirituality and soulfulness, often uses music as a way to evoke "the soul." [4] - Conversely, the Taliban, often thought of as soulless, banned music in Afghanistan during their rule. [5] - "Take a music bath once or twice a week for a few seasons, and you will find that it is to the soul what the water-bath is to the body." - Oliver Wendell Holmes[6] - "Music and rhythm find their way into the secret places of the soul." - Plato [7] - "My heart, which is so full to overflowing, has often been solaced and refreshed by music when sick and weary." - Martin Luther King Jr. [8] - "Without music life would be a mistake." - Friedrich Nietzsche [9] - "Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without." - Confucius [10] - "Music is the voice that tells us that the human race is greater than it knows." - Napoleon Bonaparte [11] The problem with your examples is that the same can be said of nearly anything. I can pick any profession I want to and give you examples of how it caused depression, induced suicide, etc. Those specific cases do not undermine the general benefits of the subject in question. It is not reasonable to look at the suicide of Vincent Van Gogh and conclude that art isn't healthy, or even that its "cons" outweigh its "pros." In addition to the fact that this example would be far too near sighted to draw any actual conclusions about the subject of art, like Cobain, it is not even certain that art was the leading influence of the suicide in his personal case alone. For instance, Van Gogh's art made him feel worthless because during his lifetime he was an unknown artist and he only sold one painting during his lifetime. While this might have added to his depression, it is clear looking back now that there were other factors. Like my opponent stated, Cobain had a troubled adolescence and exhibited signs of depression before Nirvana ever became popular. He was a sickly for most of his childhood. His parents divorced at 7 and by his own accounts he never felt loved afterward. This led to him becoming withdrawn and anti-social, and it began to take its toll on him long before music or his band's popularity were ever factors. [14] [15] The same goes for Elvis. One person's story does nothing to disprove music's goodness, and even if it could, it is not even clear that music was the cause of his downfall. Importantly, let it be noted that popularity resulting from involvement with the music industry is very different from "music" itself. On the subject of suicidal composes - the same argument applies. Though I am unfamiliar with most of the musicians you listed... Jeremiah Clarke committed suicide - because in love with a woman of higher class them himself. Jean-Baptiste Krumpholz committed suicide - after his wife left him for his student. And like Elvis and more so like Kurt, in addition to the fact that how much the music portion of his life was influential in his actual depression/death is extremely debatable, because you can name specific examples does nothing to discredit the goodness of music. White male physicians have a high suicide rate. [16] Due to the fact that physicians are generally not as famous as artists I cannot name famous examples, but there are more documented suicides from physicians than there are for musicians. One cannot say that this threatens the goodness/benefits of being a physician, and regardless, one cannot say so for musicians because it hasn't been proven that they have a higher suicide rate, and the only reason you can name specific examples is because musicians are more known than people of other professions. It can still be said that "music" is overall "good" and has clear benefits for the human being. [1] http://www.x8drums.com... [2] http://www.amc-music.com... [3] http://entrepreneur.pro... [4] http://en.wikipedia.org... [5] http://www.dawn.com... [6] http://www.famous-quotes-and-quotations.com... [7] http://www.quotelucy.com... [8] http://www.brainyquote.com... [9] http://www.quotationspage.com... [10] http://216.74.34.10/quotes/show/38395 [11] http://www.bestwisewords.com... [12] http://www.askmen.com... [13] http://www.saiedmusic.com... [14] http://www.biography.com... [15] http://www.burntout.com... [16] http://www.apa.org...