One Thing Almost Everyone Can Agree On: The Role of Music
For students, music is a part of their everyday lives, from listening to it in the car to discovering their identities
Music is a constant part of life at BHS, whether students are listening to music in the car, using it to focus, or performing it themselves.
Music's Role at BHS
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Daily Habits A survey of 30 students found that 76.7% listen to music every day.
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Active Musicians Most students involved in Band, Choir, or Orchestra listen to music daily.
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Positive Impact Nearly all respondents, totaling 96.7%, reported that music affects them positively.
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Diverse Uses Students use music to pass time, hype themselves up, or calm down.
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Personal Connection Beyond listening, music serves as a tool for focus, emotional expression, and community building.
“Usually, I listen to music when I’m in the car driving to and from school, ” Grant Merz ‘27 said. “Otherwise, I do take longer road trips by myself from time to time. I’ll use it then to keep my mind from wandering too much and [it] gives me something to do.”
For some students, music is also connected to school activities and friendships.
“Music is like half my social life because dance and musical theatre are two of the big reasons that I’ve made a lot of friends this year,” said NoraMae Finke 30′, ” and that’s all because of music.”
Of the 15 respondents that said they are active in Band, Choir, and/or Orchestra, 12 of them said that they listen to music every day.
“I listen to music everyday [because of] band,” Tyler Spalinger ‘30 said. “In my personal life, whenever I am doing homework or making a document, I will listen to music in the background.”
13 of the 30 respondents said that they use music in at least 5 of the 8 listed ways on the survey and 19 use it in at least four of the ways. This shows that music has many roles for students at BHS.
“I listen to music every day, “ said Dallin Jerman 30′. “It has a big impact, because it also helps you focus and it helps [lower] stress. Like if stress is a wave it depletes the water.”
Music also seems to have a positive effect on students. Nearly all respondents, 96.7%, said music has affected them positively, while only one person said it had no effect.
“I think that when I am going through something that maybe is a little harder, or I need to focus, or just let my mind reset, that it is a good tool to use,” Merz said. “I definitely use it in that way a lot.”
Students also use music for a variety of reasons. Most respondents said they listen for fun or to pass the time, while more than half use it to hype themselves up and exactly half use it to calm down.“In marching band I learned to become more expressive, and I [found] a good community through marching band,” Spalinger said. “It’s how I express my emotions. I would be so much less of a person than I am now if it wasn’t for me and music.”
With students using music to relax, focus, have fun, connect with others and express themselves, it has become more than just something playing in the background. For many BHS students, music is a regular part of their everyday lives.
