The Power of Music: Is Music a Behaviour Modifier?

Abstract

This paper assesses the literature on music and evaluates whether this artistic form of ancient times can be engaged to support behaviour changes. The paper brings the readers some insights on the benefits of music and it power to change behaviour of people, and as such can be used to change the behaviour of risk youths in poor neighbourhoods. In doing so, the literature touches on the philosophical and scientific reasons behind why music has such broad-based applications in our daily lives and details those motivations concerning why it retains its attractiveness in bringing people together as a means to attain peace and social equity. The authors have made some deliberate efforts to be exhaustive but this should not be taken as an opportunity for readers to become complacent, to believe that this documentation is a panacea to delivering all the goals of the music project in the promotion and advancement of one of God’s given pleasurable art form to man. Music is just too wide a subject to be limited to this contextual effort and as outlined in this literature review, this must be fully understood and acknowledged while reading. The crime problem in Jamaica is mostly committed and perpetrated by males’ ages 15 to 44 years. The question that is unresolved in the discourse in Jamaica is whether music can be used to curb the violence and criminality among young males as well as be an integral part of the educational system to foster behaviour change among youths, particularly young males.