Walking through the halls of Leesville on any given day, you’ll see many students with AirPods or headphones on, and one thing is for sure, music is a big part of students’ lives.
“It helps me reconnect with my spirituality and with my friends through dancing and wholesome messages,” said Chloe Meeker, junior.
Many have the same feeling towards music as Meeker, with some even striving to be music artists themselves much like Joshua Hamre and foreign exchange student Matas Karkauskas.
Joshua Harme, better known as CAKE3K, has several releases. He has released several albums and his most recent single slime. Hamre is a verified Spotify artist, with over 2 thousand monthly listeners on spotify.
“I started when I was seven. My mom gifted me a keyboard and computer and then I started making beats like lo-fii type beats until 2020. Then I started rapping when I was 13, and I started on band Lab, then I switched to FL studio, and then I just kept writing,” said Joshua Hamre, sophomore.
Hamre’s music can be found on Spotify, Youtube, Youtube music, Apple music, Pandora, IHeartRadio, Amazon Music and Deezer.
Similar to Hamre’s rapping, foreign exchange student Matas Karkauskas, better known as Qarri, is a Lithuanian rapper. Qarri has released several singles and an EP over the years, including Kodas and SUPRATAU. Qarri’s music can be found on YouTube, YouTube Music, and Spotify.
Music not only affects those who are creating it, but all the students and their day-to-day lives.
“I listened to music daily… It affects my emotions, like if I’m feeling sad it helps me, I’ll play sad music, It helps me get my emotions out,” said Sophia Mariana, freshman.
Many students like Mariana listen to music daily, and it adds up. An astonishing 37.3% of Leesville students listen to music for 12+ hours a week. Once tallied up, Leesville’s overall top artist is Taylor Swift, with Drake close behind in second place. Some of Leesville’s other top artists include Morgan Wallen, Kendrick Lamar, Travis Scott, and SZA.
The students of Leesville are split on their music taste, but one thing is for sure, students want to listen to music in school. “If music helps them [students] focus then yes, they should be allowed [to listen to music in class],” said Mariana.
Research from the University of Maryland Global Campus shows that instrumental Music can have the best effect on students when studying. When listening to music students should be mindful of the volume of their music as higher volumes can make it hard to focus.
According to another study by Florida National University, listening to music can reduce stress by allowing them to process emotions, and reduce test-taking anxiety, while also helping to improve performance.
When asked if students should be allowed to freely listen to music during independent work time, 99.1% of students agreed that they should, one student even typing “I see no reason why we should not be allowed to listen to music during all times of the day when the teacher is not talking,” said Landon Reid, sophomore.
Whether you’re listening to Taylor Swift or Qarri, music has a big impact on the students of Leesville and their daily lives.
Leave a Reply