Enjoying music provides a richer, healthier life
She Says
I listen to music all the time. I’ve always been around music. I love just about any kind except for hard rock.
It really lifts my spirits when I listen to music, and I’m particularly interested in keeping my brain engaged as I get older. Music has been and continues to be a key part of my life in so many ways.
Recently, I read an article about how music can be good for your health, even helping to reduce anxiety and blood pressure and improving sleep quality, mental alertness and memory.
Music helps keep me moving and puts me in a better mood. Starting the day with a song can help with waking up more naturally and feeling less groggy.
While attending Russellville High School, I played the clarinet and was a majorette. At the University of North Alabama, I was in the symphonic band, where I also played the clarinet, in addition to being head majorette for about four years. These are memories I happily recall, and I wouldn’t be who I am today without them.
Being part of a choir group is a great way to connect with fellow music lovers.
I was in the chorus at RHS and UNA. I’ve been a member of the choir at the First Baptist Church in Russellville for umpteen years. Singing in the choir is my ministry. That’s the way I praise the Lord. In the past, I have also been a soloist in the church choir.
NorthShore Endeavor Health Research has stated that music therapy can help relax an agitated patient, improve mood and open communication.
It also reported music can provide a strong competing stimulus to the pain signals in the brain and thus help with pain management by reducing the perceived intensity of pain, especially in geriatric care, intensive care or palliative medicine.
Playing soft music in the background and dimming the lights during a meal can help encourage people to eat slower and consume less food at once.
Some of my favorite types of music include Golden Oldies, gospel, instrumental music, Elvis, the Beatles and Christmas music. I also enjoy Broadway musicals, especially “My Fair Lady,” “The Lion King,” “The Sound of Music,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “Sister Act” — just about any of the classic musicals.
In college at UNA, I earned a minor in dramatic arts/speech and was involved in a lot of productions, including “The Cactus Flower” and “Cyrano de Bergerac.” Music comes into play in so many aspects of life and really enriches the quality of our experiences.
When I sing, I feel nervous, but when it’s over with, I feel so relieved and blessed that I was able to sing to the Lord. I’m not a person who gets out here and can witness to people, but through my music, that’s how I praise God.
Susie Hovater Malone, a retired Russellville High School teacher, is the president of the Franklin County Arts and Humanities Council, the group that oversees the Historic Roxy Theatre in downtown Russellville. She also has a longtime involvement with the Miss RHS pageant at Russellville High School.
