Written By: Susan Ganahl
Psychology 409a, 1998, Generation 10
Table Of Contents
Instructions
For This Report
Summary Of G7 Conversation on How Music Affects Drivers
My Personal History Of Relationship With Music In Cars
What Does The Future Hold For Me and Music In Cars
My Search On DEJANEWS
My Search On The WEB
Browsing Thru The Generations
My Journal Database Search
Conclusion
Summary Of G7 Conversation on How Music Affects Drivers
The first sections of the "Instructions For This Report", includes email commentary from G7 students on how music affects drivers. Following the conversation we are asked to summarize what the students are talking about in the exchange. The following questions were taken from the instructions.
1. How many separate issues are mentioned and what is said under each?
Issue #1, Speeding
and listening to music in the car.
Mr. Sasabe was caught speeding twice while listening to music.
He states: ..."When my favorite music comes out, I just lose myself!"
Mr. Miyoshi states that listening to rock music gets our adrenaline going
and makes our hearts beat faster. Miyoshi feels that rock music could
lead to more aggressive driving. Mr. Lee states that fast music and
loud music makes you drive faster. When Mr. Shintani wants to drive
fast he listens to the "Top Gun" sound track. All these writers seem
to agree that the type of music one listens to could affect driving speed.
Issue #2, Driving
with the music off.
Mr. Sasabe found that he was calm and relaxed when the music was off
while he was driving. He found himself in a mind state that was "almost
like meditating". Mr. Miyoshi agreed with Sasabe, stating that he
found himself "almost in a meditative state when the radio is off.."
He is more calm, and able to control his feelings more. Chris Burleem
finds a solution to feelings of frustration while driving by turning off
the music in the car. He is then able to relax when he is feeling
"uptight". Turning off the radio helps him to "concentrate on the
road and what is going on". It also lessens his sense of feeling
irritated.
So drivers, when you are feeling uptight, turn off the music and meditate.
Driving meditation is one of the easiest ways to meditate because the motion
of the car and its vibrations are very soothing. It is like rocking
a baby to sleep. In addition to this, driving is a metaphor for changing
mindstates by taking us to a different place in the physical realm.
I am talking about the kind of driving that does not involve traffic.
For traffic we will need something more to keep us calm, due in part to
the decrease in motion of the car and the increased frustration of being
stuck in a jam. This leads us to issue #3.
Issue #3, The Solution
of Classical music.
Wilfred Lee stated that "maybe classical music is our solution."
I think this is a good point. I once heard that listening to Beethoven
can actually make you smarter. Perhaps this could lead to better
driving behavior as well. Mr. Shintani stated that some music is
more conducive to good driving behavior. Classical music, Shintani
states, reduces violent behavior. So, as Mr. Lee says, perhaps the
solution is to "listen to classical music", which "relaxes you and makes
you more mellow".
To The Top
My Personal History Of Relationship With Music In Cars
As a child my mother always listened to Hawaiian music in the car.
As a teenager I began to drive and I listened to rock and roll and occasionally
country and bluegrass with gospel. The rock and roll caused me to
be more of a wild and reckless driver, I think. Rock and roll is
also good driving music, however. Especially for long trips or rides
on the freeway. I found that while I was doing my newsgroups search
on music and driving there was a thread on the best road music to drive
to. The people who posted all stated rock and roll songs, such as
songs by The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, and a song called Ina Goda Davida,
were their favorite driving tunes.
I have mellowed significantly with age. Now I like to listen
to Hawaiian music, Reggae, Blues, Gospel, Rhythm and Blues, and Rock and
Roll. I find that Rock and Roll can still keep me going on the freeway.
What Does The Future Hold For Me And Music In Cars?
First of all I hope that what the future holds for me is a new car.
This car will have a new stereo as well. Presently my stereo in my
car barely works at all. I am limited to a few radio stations for
my listening pleasure. With my new vehicle I hope to have a CD player
so that I can listen to a wide range of CD's while driving. It would
be nice to be a member of some sort of music exchange group for drivers
so that I don't have to purchase to many CD's. I think that I would
like to try the Ghandharva Veda music that Mary Ford mentions in the instructions
for this report (email section).
Back To The Top
My Search on DEJANEWS
The following postings were taken from my search on Dejanews using
the key words "music and driving'.
Selection # 1
Author: HUMMER1954
Email: hummer1954@aol.com
Date: 1998/11/09
Forums: alt.rock-n-roll.stones
View thread
>These are all tunes that make me step on the gas when I hear 'em in
the
>> car... The Stones make great driving music.....
I have to agree - I always have the Stones on while driving -
I only hope that
when I get stopped - that the officer is a Stones fan - and understands.
My Reactions To Hummer Posting:
This posting relates to the idea that rock-n-roll music could cause
speeding.
Selection #2
Re: Driving ::vroom vroom::
Author:
Abesa
Email:
abesa@aol.com
Date:
1998/10/18
Forums:
alt.fan.happyman
author profile view thread
> There is one thing that does help me some. For some weird reason,
I feel
>less
>nervous, braver or something, if really loud music is blasting
out of the
>car
>stereo. Go figure.
>
>Carolyn
>
I totally agree. Maybe it's because your sole focus isn't
on the fact that
your on the highway? Your concentrating on the music too? I don't
know. My
worst fear was merging. Oh boy. That was bad. Just
breath, Nicole. It's so
much easier when your not making yourself stressed. I think of
driving like
coloring...just stay in the lines? =)
~Nicole <--The other one.
~Nicole
My reactions To Vroom Vroom:
This posting deals with the idea that loud and fast music could cause
more aggressive driving.
These writers seem to feel that music helps them to feel more confident
and helps them to overcome fears that they may have about driving.
This case shows that music can also be therapeutic and helpful while driving.
Selection #3
Re: Conquering driving - suggestions?
Author: Scott C.
Email: sccar711@borg.com
Date: 1998/11/13
Forums: alt.support.ocd
Cousin Shelley wrote:
>
> In article <19981111214007.07904.00000350@ng114.aol.com>, liawiggins@aol.com
(LiaWiggins) wrote:
> >. If you really did hit someone, you would
> >definitely know it. Your car would be inoperatable. Tell yourself
it is not
> >you, but your OCD.......Just keep in
> >perspective that this is just an obsession. Nothing more. Of course,
it is
> >right to look out for people on the street, but know it is OCD that
is eating
> >at you.
>
> I can restrain myself from driving around the block to check for
bodies, but I
> have that 'I just hit someone' obsession, too. I've tried convincing
myself I
> didn't, it's ridiculous, it's just OCD. That's what keeps me
from driving and
> checking. But the nagging, gnawing feeling will not go away.
It gets to the
> point where I remember hearing the thud. It's much like a bad
intrusive
> thought--say causing accidental harm to someone. It loops over
and over to
> the point that it feels like a memory, and that I really did it.
I KNOW I
> didn't, and I KNOW it's just OCD, but it still won't go away, or
even far
> enough back for me to forget it. It's maddening. I hope
there's another
> solution other than just telling myself it didn't happen.
>
> If this sounds discouraging to anyone, sorry. Keep in mind,
I'm not in
> treatment yet.
>
> Cousin Shelley
> netbus1@hotmail.com
>
Hi Shelley,
Your post was fine. The driving obsessions/compulsions
are tough but
we seem to see them quite often. Maybe a can relate a success
story
which might help.
I have a friend in our support group who was plagued
with identical
obsessions for years. Bumps, etc. would become potential hit
& run
victims... She started by "forcing" herslef not to turn the car
around.
Using music, trying to think of other things,
and sometimes just plain
will-power in and attempt to do the compulsion. Initially she
was only
successful one out of ten times, after a month or so it was one out
of
5. She would also try to get involved in something immediately
upon
arriving home or to her destination (cooking, reading a book, cleaning,
activities at work, etc.). It was hard but she kept telling
herself
that it was her OCD telling her these things and that she needed to
NOT
turn the car around if she was to get better. Eventually she
improved
to the point where she could "fine tune" this to avoiding the need
to
check the rear mirror, etc. after hitting a bump. The last
time we
talked about it, she had not gone back to check on a driving "victim"
in
a year or so.
Interesting that this worked for my friend without the
need to add
additional anxiety. In other words, having a therapist or someone
tell
her "yep, you probably did hit someone"...."the cops are probably
looking for you right now", etc, etc. As she improved,
she described
how logic seemed to replace the OCD...or at least she began to be able
to deal with her obsessions in a more logical way. She
hits the bump,
OCD says "you just hit a kid", she found that she could say to herself
that the road was clear, that there was no way that anyone got hit
and
was able to accept these rational, logical thoughts.
One more point, this friend is among many in our group
who found alot
fo help from Brainlock.
Take care, Scott
--
***********************************************************************
My reactions to OCD postings:
I thought that these postings were interesting because one can really see the difficulties that these people have to encounter when they are driving. Driving for them could become very difficult. The last posting states that the writers friend was able to find help for her problems through music while driving. I think that this shows that music can be therapeutic while driving and in other situations. Another interesting note was that I found that these sort of postings (support groups) were more compassionate and kind in their responses then say, those of aus.cars, for example. I think that this is because the nature of the support group is to help others, while the car group seems to be more macho.
Selection #4
Re: Driving and Singing
Author: Grace Rose
Email: gracerose@webtv.net
Date: 1998/10/25
Forums: alt.rec
view thread
Yep I do..the strange part i would never do that at someone's house
or a
party or something like that. But in the "privacy" of my car,
I just
let the music take over.
Strange looks? hmmm....I think guys think that if you are singing
and
bopping about in your car your are flirting with them....but the
attention can be nice :-)
A girl's ego needs stroking ever so often. :-)
My Reactions To Singing And Driving:
This post shows that music and driving can be fun and recreational.
Having the music on in the car can help one to feel more confident and
aid in self-expression.
Back To The Top
I found this page on the web. It is called CAR-UK:
Theme music. It has a list of great songs to drive to and the
names of the songs performers. Some of the songs include: "Route
66" by Chuck Berry, "Drive My Car" by The Beatles, "Fun Fun Fun" (till
her daddy takes the T-bird away) by The Beach Boys, and "Drive" by The
Cars. It is easy to see from the list that music and driving are
a big part of western culture.
While I was conducting my web search on "music and driving" I found
a link to Robert
Nakagawa's report on this subject. I was surprised to see that
he was of Generation 8, PSY 459! In Mr. Nakagawa's section on Newsgroups,
he links to some postings from a Newsgroup called aus.cars. These
selections are amusing and funny, although slightly flaming.
I enjoyed Mr.
Ryan Shintani's (G8) report on music and driving. Mr. Shintani
provided the reader with links to interesting sites related to music and
driving as well as a music chatroom. He also uses humor in his writing
when describing riding in the car with Ms. Evert who likes to sing while
driving. Mr. Shintani also provides a section on the Rothe text which
I was interested in because our class did not use the Rothe text so I was
not familiar with it.
My Journal
Database Search
While conducting my journal database search in the UH Hamilton library
I was able to locate approximately seven articles which were related to
the key words "music and driving". I wanted to find an article which
I could actually read and write about. The only article which I could
find that was available at Hamilton library was titled: "Driving
Georgia" by Josh Rottenberg. It was printed in Travel & Leisure,
(Nov. 1997 issue, pages 164-170).
Rottenberg hypothesized that Georgia held a "pivotal role in rock history"
which had gone unrecognized. He set out to drive to two Georgian
cities, Athens and Macon, which had helped to form rock-n-roll history
and then record the event. Athens, Georgia is a 65 mile drive from
Atlanta. The alternative rock groups R.E.M. and the B-52's came out
of Athens. Macon (85 miles southeast of Atlanta) was the "birthplace
of rock architect Little Richard and soul giant Otis Redding, as well as
the launching pad for funk forefather James Brown and Southern- rock legends
the Allman Brothers." ( Rottenberg, 164)
It is an interesting article. Rottenberg uses his car to get
to obscure places such as the shoe store which is operated by Otis Redding's
widow and the soul-food restaurant whose owner, Mama Louise Hudson, fed
the Allman brothers when they were broke in the early sixties and then
went on to become their official tour cook. Rottenberg listens to
tapes such as R.E.M.'s "Murmur", while he is driving and this helps to
give him a feel for his work. Music helps to create or add ambiance
to any situation. Rottenberg also stops at Rose Hill Cemetery while
in Macon to "pay my respects to Allman Brothers guitarist Duane Allman
and bassist Berry Oakley . . . . their headstones bearing the mantra:
THE ROAD GOES ON FOREVER." (166)
"The road goes on forever" is a line from the Allman Brothers "Midnight
Rider". I find the Allman Brothers song "Jessica" also makes good
driving music. All of these great artists have served, among other
things, to make our driving less tedious and more enjoyable.
Some interesting ways to improve on this report might involve more research
on music and driving as well as how music therapy can positively contribute
to one's driving experience. I tried a search at the web page of
the Institute for Music Research at the
University of Texas at San Antonio, but was unable to come up with anything
on the affects of music on driving. This is an interesting site.
You can search on any music related topics here. I found it as a
result of reading the Canadian Association for Music Therapy Bulletin Board.
I was linked to the Music Therapy Bulletin Board from Mr. Shintani's (G8)
web page. Some of the reports in my generation are related
to music and driving and I am sure they will be interesting. I can't
write about them yet, as they are not entirely finished at the time of
this posting. Well, I just read two great reports from my class (G10, 409a)
by Mr. Weers and Mr. Takiue on music and driving. Also received an
email from Dr. James stating that we should check out
Cynthia
J'Anthony's report on music and driving. Ms. J'Anthony is from
G10 409b. Her report is extensive and interesting, give it a look!
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