Music is one of those everyday, mundane things that appears everywhere in modern society. Wake up to music, work to music, shop to music, sleep to music etcetera etcetera. But what is it about music that makes us continue to listen to it while we do everything? Why is it that music makes us feel the way that we feel? According to study and research, our innate nature of why we like music is due to human beings having musicality.

Music, when listened to, can alter or stimulate neurotransmitters in the brain like dopamine and serotonin that influence one’s mood for the better. Both dopamine and serotonin are heavily influential on how humans’ function, such as their memory, focus, anxiety, and even circadian rhythm. Music can also be used to express your current emotional state as well influence how you may feel depending on the rhythm or nature of the song. For example, if a person was listening to the song “My Curse” by Killswitch Engage, that person may have feelings of angry, disappointment, possibly even hatred. However, if we were able to influence this person’s music taste and somehow get them to listen to something more positive, such as “Boys In the Better Land” by Fontaines D.C, we would observe more positive emotions due to the song’s natural positive rhythm.

Music also has an incredible influence on memory. The specific part of the human brain that stores musical memory is called the hippocampus, which is located in the centre of the brain. When we are children, we grow up learning various social concepts and memories through music. When we become adults, this memory strategy still functions to the point that when a song suddenly stops, the brain starts to fill in missing part of the song subconsciously. Since sound is just molecules vibrating in the air, its fascinating to know that something so simple can affect one’s being in such a way.

Citations

—Hoffer, M., Avirett, J., Bocharski, K., & Da Costa, J. (2022). How music affects your mind, mood and body. Tallahassee Memorial Health. https://www.tmh.org/healthy-living/blogs/healthy-living/how-music-affects-your-mind-mood-and-body