How Does Music Soothe the Soul?

Whether one is fifteen years old or fifty years old, most people listen to music every single day.  Even if you don’t realize it, music is incorporated into every single aspect of your life, from TV shows and films to elevator music to the music that plays in restaurants and bars. It’s everywhere and it’s all placed there for a reason.  According to Psychology Today, restaurant owners know there’s a correlation between music and the speed at which their customers eat and turn over tables, and according to Hyponik.com, directors can take advantage of the correlation between music and the perceived tone of each movie scene.  The psychology behind this can provide explanations for every emotion expressed through music.

Each part of the brain has different responsibilities and abilities that are all part of the human process of listening to music.  Without any one of these parts, music would not have such a profound impact on listeners.  According to the University of Central Florida, An area like the temporal lobe is responsible for hearing and interpreting stimuli, so this area is what takes the sounds that we hear and gives it meaning.  The cerebellum has a function less important in the immediate understanding of music, but vital in how we interpret music we haven’t heard in many years.  The cerebellum plays a role in memory, which is often better stored when there’s a tune to go along with it.  Muscle memory and the instinctive anticipation of the next lyric allow people with Alzeihmer’s disease and dementia to enjoy old music long after other memory functions are gone.  If you look at an area like the nucleus accumbens, there is a connection between music and a drug’s addictive quality, both releasing dopamine into the brain.  Dopamine is also released during drug use, which shows that music and drug use can provide the same effects.  The amygdala is responsible for interpreting emotions and the hippocampus operates like the cerebellum to retrieve memories. These are not the only parts of the brain; other sections also help with our interpretation and expression of music.  This scientific perspective helps doctors and musicians understand how people listen to and interpret music, as well as the type of therapies that can be achieved through music.  Doctors have found that different types of music can target these areas of the brain and make them stronger.  

These facts and understandings of music, which continue to expand everyday, can be used in a musician’s creation and process of music.  Joytunes blog, which is centered around the discussion of music, shows its readers how higher keys are often associated with a happier and more uplifting tone and how this should be taken into account when creating music.  Deeper tones are often associated with more serious matters; for example, a deep violin playing in a movie scene about a funeral elicits sadness in the listener.  Take a movie like “Star Wars,” with its famous musical compositions used to signify certain themes and characters.  Darth Vader’s commanding presence warrants a musical piece different from Luke Skywalker’s earnest and good character.  Different music evokes different emotions, so that when a director wants us to feel suspense, we feel suspense.  According to CNN, when we are supposed to feel calm, a calm song will help us.  When a director wants us to cry from sadness, he will use a song with sadder lyrics and tone.  Whether it be a director, a business owner, a composer, or a musician composing an album, music can be analyzed to evoke certain emotions in its listener.  So, whether you’re looking to wallow in your sadness, suppress your rage, lift your spirits, or recall a certain feeling, try listening to some tunes and see what it can do for you.