Everyday activities like going to school, drinking coffee, working out, and occasionally even sleeping involve listening to music. People frequently choose music based on their feelings. When people are joyful or sad, they will listen to different types of music. People do this because music has the power to alter their moods minute by minute. Music has the ability to alter people’s emotions, whether it is a rock on the radio or an opera in the library. The fact that feelings play a crucial role in education and people’s healing processes makes it crucial to comprehend how music can alter people’s emotions.
People’s emotions are influenced by music because of the brain. Contrary to popular belief, music actually engages every portion of the brain, having an impact on practically every bodily function (Chen et al., 2022). This goes against the popular belief that music processing solely occurs on the right side of the brain. The auditory cortex is responsible for processing sound, whereas the cerebral cortex and cerebellum are responsible for processing rhythm. The entire brain contributes to the emotions that the individual experiences (Whiteford et al., 2018). Several concurrent processes influence a person’s emotions in different ways. People’s feelings become complicated as a result of the way that one emotion feeds into another. Many people in this world may benefit from learning about music and how emotions are produced.
A complex musical notation must be read and translated into sequential motor action in order to play an instrument, which is a multisensory motor experience. These and related cognitive functions are referred to as skills like these. Both making music and listening to it need the utilization of all cognitive processes. Thus, music affects mental processes like brain plasticity, memory, emotions, and speech (Chen et al., 2022). The structure and operation of the human nervous system must be the source of human cognition. The brain is one such component of the neurological system. A person learns new habits through experiences thanks to the brain’s plasticity (Whiteford et al., 2018). There has been speculation that music may have an impact on human brain development.
When artists are compared to non-musicians, functional and structural differences in brain areas important to music are found. Specifically, the size, density, and structure of the brain vary among musicians and non-musicians, and they tend to have larger regions in charge of motor control and auditory processing (Chen et al., 2022). Thus, compared to a non-musician, a person who has trained in music or equipment will have faster processing times and greater cognitive abilities. Variations in the grey matter are also included in this. When comparing musicians to non-musicians, researchers were able to detect substantial variations in the amount of grey matter in the motor, auditory, and visuospatial brain regions using the voxel-by-voxel morphometric technique.
Every area of cognitive function is affected by music, and music and emotion are closely related. This is due to the limbic system’s effect on music and emotions processed in the limbic system (Kim et al., 2019). Every person has a specific emotion they associate with music, whether it be happy, sad, or emotional. Instead of saying they enjoy or detest the music, they describe the song as happy or sad based on how it makes them feel (Whiteford et al., 2018). As a result, loud, followed-by-performance music may inspire one to feel upbeat and vivacious, while slow, soothing music may cause one to feel down or resting.
It is useful to provide some information on my own experience with music as well. For example, when I listen to soothing piano music when I am sleeping, I feel quiet and comfortable, yet any time I listen to loud, electric music, my head starts to pound. Individuals’ emotional, mental, and physical health is improved by music therapy. Music affects our respiration and heart rate in addition to improving our mental wellness. Additionally, there is proof that the release of the neurochemical “Dopamine” coincides with the tremendous pleasure felt while listening to music (Hesmondhalgh, 2013). The “chills down the spine” feeling is another emotion that people experience. It describes the emotional responses to music that are complemented by physical sensations like goosebumps and shivers.
Therefore, a person may have chills when listening to music that has special meaning to him or to which he has strong emotional connections. Every time I hear the song, I can picture her face in my head as I relate to every word. Therefore, a lovely recollection was the cause of this chilling sensation. Memory is another aspect of cognition that music affects (Hesmondhalgh, 2013). Encoding, decoding, and retrieving information are all steps in the memory process. Semantic memory and episodic memory are the two types of memory. It has an impact on both.
One significant way that musical experiences elicit emotions is through memories. Musical feelings and memories can persist long after other types of memory have vanished, as the late neurologist Oliver Sacks noted (Buchholz, 2018). The fact that music engages numerous brain regions and stimulates connections and associations may contribute to music’s long-lasting impact. People also want “escapism” to escape their problems and problems amid uncertain times. Regulating emotions is made possible by music. Music can be used to boost mood, keep concentration on a task, and lessen boredom, among other things (Small, 1998). For instance, sorrowful music helps the listener turn away from upsetting circumstances like breakups and instead concentrate on the melody of the music. Additionally, lyrics that hit home for the listener’s unique experience might give voice to emotions or experiences that the listener otherwise might not be able to express.
A strong emotional stimulus like music can alter one’s perception of time. When a person is listening to calming music, time does actually seem to fly. As a result, music is played in waiting areas to shorten the perceived length of time while waiting and in supermarkets to entice customers to stay longer and spend more money. The ability to process time appears to be distracted by listening to enjoyable music. Furthermore, the effect of peaceful music with a slow speed on concentration seems to be stronger. Not only does music affect us on an individual level but also on a social and intergroup level (Small, 1998). The emotions that the music expresses are reflected in the listener’s behavior, such as melancholy for sad music or joy for cheerful music. Similar to how it impacts the moods of eaters and shoppers.
To conclude, the reward region in the brain seems to be involved in both the appreciation of music and other pleasures like food, sexuality, and drugs. One might argue that an artistic stimulus, like music, can automatically target the brain’s dopamine circuits, which are frequently implicated in highly addictive and reinforcing behaviors. Both when it meets expectations and when it does not, music can be enjoyed. The musical experience is more unexpected the more surprising the happenings in the music are. People enjoy music that is complex and sophisticated but predictable in a pattern.
References
Buchholz, N. (2018). Seeing music? An inquiry into the place of music in deaf culture. Journal of American Sign Languages and Literatures, 1, 1-8. Web.
Chen, W. G., Iversen, J. R., Kao, M. H., Loui, P., Patel, A. D., Zatorre, R. J., & Edwards, E. (2022). Music and brain circuitry: Strategies for strengthening evidence-based research for music-based interventions. Journal of Neuroscience, 42(45), 8498-8507. Web.
Hesmondhalgh, D. (2013). Why music matters. John Wiley & Sons.
Kim, S. G., Mueller, K., Lepsien, J., Mildner, T., & Fritz, T. H. (2019). Brain networks underlying aesthetic appreciation as modulated by interaction of the spectral and temporal organizations of music. Scientific Reports, 9(19446), 1-15. Web.
Small, C. (1998). Musicking: The meanings of performing and listening. Wesleyan University Press.
Whiteford, K. L., Schloss, K. B., Helwig, N. E., & Palmer, S. E. (2018). Color, music, and emotion: Bach to the blues. i-Perception, 9(6), pp. 23-45.