About the Project
Keya Menezes / 2021
Anxiety. One of the biggest threats to teenagers. As a teenager myself, I get anxious sometimes and I always turned to music as a coping mechanism. This seeded an idea for me to use my skills to use music to help millions of teenagers suffering from anxiety.
My goal was to create a therapeutic musical playlist consisting of independently composed instrumental songs that focus on reducing anxiety. Each song in my playlist have been structured specifically to treat 4 major symptoms; lack of concentration, increase in heart rate, breathlessness and restlessness. These 4 symptoms are the most prevalent symptoms in anxiety and with each song in the playlist combining to treat anxiety as a whole, my goal was accomplished. With this project, I hoped to help others, specifically young teenagers (ages 11-16) to be rid of anxiety with the help of music. For my final outcome, I wanted my playlist to be available on platforms like YouTube, and SoundCloud so my audience could easily discover my therapeutic playlist on well-known platforms. These platforms are also product-building sites that promote the creation of music by lowly recognized artists and by sharing my music on commonly used platforms like these, my goal was accomplished even further. My project challenged me because it pushed me to step out of my comfort zone in terms of creating and playing music. Since I am currently at the highest grade in piano, I knew the theory behind composing music, however I lacked confidence in myself to accomplish this. With help from a qualified music teacher and my supervisor, I was able to push myself and use my musical ability to create a therapeutic playlist. In addition to this, I also found that producing my final product concerning the preparation prior to the creation was also incredibly challenging. I was afraid of the quality and the final outcome of the product being nonpractical, however, I took advice from my supervisor and other mentors who guided me in making my product successful. |
To live is the rarest thing in the world. |
Global ContextIn connection with the Global Context, I felt that ‘Personal and Cultural expression’ related strongly to my goal. Following the objectives and aims of my project which involved the implication of music to help resolve mental and behavioral problems, Personal and Cultural expression supported these motives. Because the global context focuses on the principles of expressing one’s personal feelings, emotions, values and beliefs, my playlist supports this and helps emphasize the importance of surrendering your feelings to music. (MYP curriculum, n.d.)
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