Building Bonds Through Music Playlists

Dec 2

There are many benefits to listening to music. Not only is it fun, but it also has the ability to reduce stress, ease pain, elevate mood, encourage socialization, improve cognition, and facilitate emotional expression. Curated playlists are a great way to experience the healing power of music!

In the classroom, creating a collaborative playlist encourages socialization and emotional expression among students. Sharing favorite songs, artists, and genres helps engage everyone and offers a space to teach respect for each other’s individuality.

At home, making a playlist with your family can strengthen bonds and create lasting memories. One of my favorite memories from childhood is that every year during vacation, my dad would make a CD for our road trip. He’d ask my mom, brother, and me which songs we wanted to add and always made sure to include them. It was so much fun listening to each other’s favorite songs together! To this day, my dad still talks about the bands I listened to in high school, and expresses how much he enjoyed them. Music not only provided entertainment for the long drive, but coming from a musical family, we would also sing and harmonize along to pass the time.

I’ve put together a couple of curated playlists and included links to them in this blog. Feel free to use them as is, or as a model to create your own. These links will take you to Spotify, where I’ve also crafted additional playlists for use in music therapy sessions.

Happy listening! 😊🎧