Music is what feelings sound like

Recently, I've been experimenting with music and feelings. It simply means that I try to preampt my mood and match that with music I listen to. Here are a few examples:

1. Dreading going to work

Sometimes its easy to dread going to work especially when I know its going to be a shift from hell. So on the way to work, I play the 'Happy Music' playlist on my Mp3 player and listen to it from the time I step out of my flat until I reach work. I feel better when I reach my work place because I've been listening to happy music and singing along.

2. When I know my student didn't practice and I need to 'harden' up to scream at the student

This is going to sound racist but I simply cannot stand Hindi music where the voice is very nasal and high-pitched. It reminds me of a mosquito flying around your ear in the middle of the night. So on the way to teach, I'll listen to the Bollywood/ Hindi music radio channel such that when I reach my student's house, I'm sufficiently in an irritated mood to be able to scream at the kid if I have to.

3. When I'm a little depressed/homesick and need some cheering up

I will play the 'Singapore music' playlist and sing along with all the national songs. Also on that playlist are several chinese pop songs that I grew up with.

I've also devised a good way to get my heart rate up to exercise a little bit more than I already do. I've worked out that in order to get to work by 0945, I have to catch the 0926 train. Therefore, I will leave my flat at 0920 which gives me just about enough time to run up the hill towards the train station and get onto the train. This won't do with just my legs. So i'll listen to my 'fast music' playlist so while I'm running or brisk walking up the hill, I'll be walking in time to the music (which obviously has a fast tempo). Also, fast music always tends to be happy music. So by listening to the music, I won't be thinking about whether I'm going to be late (i'm never late for work btw...) and not think about how much more I have to walk towards the train station. The same goes for when I alight the train to walk towards work. I have to climb another hill and its really effective if I can walk fast with the help of fast music! My legs feel stronger and less flabby after a month of experimenting! Yay to music! :)