Music

[Druidus]

Why does music create such a response in the human (and non-human) psyche? Why can it alter our emotions? I thought I had answered this once, to myself, but I have not. I cannot understand why music effects us so. There is no biological reason that I can think of. Sure, one could argue that the brain enjoys looking at music mathematically, or we like it because of our advanced language abilities (pitches, tones, and tempo of the music), but that doesn't explain why our very emotions are altered and amplified by music.

 

[Crystallas]

It excersizes one of the senses. Compare it to eating foods with their tastes and seeing displays of color. They are all linked to the brain, and have diffrent effects. Where sound becomes somewhat of a prefrence as the colors you like and the foods you eat. Some foods make you feel energetic, some make you feel tired, this is how the brain reacts to the makeup of the food and what ingredients are in them. Where Sound is measured in the same unmeasurable ranges that taste is.

 

[greatcalgarian]

I think it is a matter of association. For example, thunder was scarry to human in the early day, so loud and sudden noise or music will bring up some excitement or fear. On the other hand, peaceful time, the surrounding sound may be chirping of cricket, and noise of running water. Hence when listening to soft music will bring tranquility. This line of arguement may be a bit over simplified, but I believe that is the basis of how music affect us.

 

[Master Vigil]

I teach a meditation where one molds their energy vibrations to that of music, or a singing bowl, or bell, etc... I believe since we are all energy, the energy put out by certain music can affect your mood. Energetic music makes you energetic, as does soft music make you sleepy or sad. Because it molds our energy. This is of course, my opinion.

 

[TrueQ]

Friend, its the kinda rhythym that'll soothe the soul!

Music is one way in which humankind can communicate it's emotions and soul to each other. Given this, people can't help but be swept up in the spirit or message of the beat, and if its a kind of thing they feel strongly themselves, they'll sink right into how it makes them feel.

So put on a good tune and feel the souls of all humanity flowing through you!

 

[Fluffy]

I have always wondered whether it has something to do with the rhythm more than anything else. Our bodies have a natural rhythm, afterall, driven by our heart, and every person's internal rhythm is different. This wouldn't mean that only one rhythm would appeal to you, but different kinds of rhythms would effect you in different ways.

This would also explain why people are naturally partial to certain types of music. Think about it like this, why are pop songs so popular? Because you here them everywhere so when you buy the cd, you are hearing something familiar meaning you like it more. Perhaps music which is more inline with some kind of internal rhythm would explain musical preferences as well.

 

[Zlot]

All the arts(music being the most popular) move us in a special way because it's a connection that is universal to all mankind.
Freedom of expression is what makes man A FREE THINKER. We need to express ourselves.
You can take math, science,religion and politics or anything else but not the arts.
We couldnt survive without(MUSIC) the arts.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

The energy from certain music and notes can do different things. Certain notes can heal certain chakras, while some forms of music just have ways of vibrating the very soul. A slightly relating theory I read about telekenetic powers is that the brain changes its vibration levels to match the vibration of the particular object, allowing for manipulation of the object. This is how I assume that music changes the psyche. Certain vibrations connect to parts of the body of similiar vibration.

 

[Neo-Logic]

Most of us respond to music because we've been raised up with music. From birth, we were sung jingles and other types of baby songs. We were sung the Happy Birthday Song on our birthdays. We are exposed to music everywhere and often. We associate certain feelings with certain music because we've been conditioned to do so. For example, going to someone's wedding or a party, which is a happy ocassion for the most of us, will have some type of music playing and we'll associate that type of music as a happy or uplifting type of music. Such associations between music, events, and emotions makes us feel a certain way when a certain type of music is played.

It only makes sense that having grown up with music all of our lives that we respond to it in such a primal, subconscious, and powerful way. Music opens up the heart and the lyrics open up the mind.

 

[Fluffy]

Another idea might be that the vibrations that make up sound are directly interacting with our mind and body in some other way than merely our hearing. For example, there are already studies which show that a cat's purr may have healing properties (not proven but a possibility).

 

[SoliDeoGloria]

http://www.piney-2.com/MuEndorp.html

here's just a clip:

Michael Davis, Ph.D., Yale University, reviews studies of the startle reflex suggesting that fear engages different circuitry than anxiety. Circuits involving the central nucleus of the amygdala appear to process conditioned fear responses to specific stimuli, while circuits involving a closely related area, the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, handle non-cue-specific, non-conditioned, anxiety. Both circuits, in turn, connect to the hypothalamus, brainstem, and other brain areas mediating specific signs of fear and anxiety. The central nucleus pathway may thus play a role in disorders involving specific stimuli, such as phobias.

Many responses to music are not physiological but emotional. There has been less research in relation to the neurobiology of emotion than other aspects of human functioning and in particular emotional responses relating to music.

Current thinking suggests that when we hear music or other sounds our emotional responses to them are controlled by the amygdala. This evaluates sensory input for its emotional meaning.

It receives input about sensory information directly and quickly from the thalamus, a relay station for incoming information,
........... before it has been processed by the conscious thinking part of the brain, the cortex.

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Information is received from the cortex but more slowly. This explains those immediate and sometimes embarrassing responses to music which occur automatically, for instance, responding tearfully to children singing, driving faster when very arousing music is being played on the car radio. Cortical pathways take longer to react to incoming information but provide a more complete cognitive assessment of the situation. In musical terms they invoke memories relating to the particular music being heard. These may also influence our emotional responses to music but because we are consciously aware of them our responses are more likely to be within our control.

The amygdala has close connections with the hypothalamus, the part of the brain which instigates emotional behaviour.

This ensures that we can respond quickly to incoming stimuli, particularly when such reactions are important for our survival.

One of the major neurological components of emotion is the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS). This has two divisions,
........... the sympathetic division, which prepares the body for fight or flight,
........... and the parasympathetic division which works to conserve energy.

The sympathetic division energises the body by speeding up the heart rate, stimulating the production of adrenalin and other neurotransmitters and stimulating the conversion of glycogen to create energy.

The parasympathetic division slows down the heart rate, stimulates digestion and the secretion of saliva. The evidence suggests that different types of music stimulate aspects of each division.

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Research exploring the way that music is processed by the brain suggests that there is no easy way of predicting the effects of music on an individual's behaviour. While, as a species, humans may share many automatic responses to sound, our conscious responses, which, in part, mediate the emotional responses, are unique.

They are affected by our previous experiences of music. These are partly determined by our culture, social group within it, age, gender, and whether we have received musical training.

In addition, each individual has a unique set of memories which are 'attached' to each musical experience. These will be evoked in relation to specific pieces of music. They may be related to events, persons, activities, places, emotions or other sensory experiences.

This level of individuality means that making accurate predictions of the effects of music on the behaviour of any person is extremely difficult.

While we may not be able to predict individual responses to music, research has attempted to identify overall trends in relationships between music and behaviour.

Sincerely,
SoliDeoGloria

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