Music has the incredible power to captivate us and evoke emotions like no other art form. Music has a profound impact on our brains and emotions, whether it’s a catchy melody, an infectious rhythm, or meaningful lyrics. Then, let us explore how melodies, rhythms, and lyrics influence our brains and emotions and shed light on the magic behind the universal language of music.
Melodies, the heart of music, are the sequences of musical notes that create a distinct tune. Melodies are processed in various regions of the brain, including the auditory cortex and the limbic system, which are associated with emotional processing. Studies have shown that melodies can elicit a wide range of emotions, from joy and excitement to sadness and nostalgia. For example, a fast-paced, upbeat melody can trigger feelings of happiness and excitement, while a slow, melancholic melody can evoke a sense of sadness and longing.
The rhythm, the backbone of music, refers to the pattern of beats and accents that give the music its groove and drive. Rhythm is processed in the brain’s motor areas, which are responsible for movement planning and coordination. When we hear a catchy rhythm, our brains instinctively want to move in sync with the beat, which explains why we often tap our feet or nod our heads to the rhythm of a song. Rhythms can also influence our emotions by creating a sense of tension, anticipation, or relaxation. For instance, a fast, energetic rhythm can induce feelings of excitement and adrenaline, while a slow, steady rhythm can promote a sense of calm and relaxation.
Lyrics, the storytellers of music, are the words that convey the message and meaning of a song. Lyrics are processed in the language centres of the brain, such as the left hemisphere, which is associated with semantic processing and understanding of meaning. Lyrics can deeply impact our emotions by resonating with our thoughts, memories, and experiences. They can tell a story, express emotions, or convey social and cultural messages. For example, a heartfelt ballad with poignant lyrics about love and loss can bring tears to our eyes, while an empowering anthem with uplifting lyrics can evoke a sense of empowerment and motivation.
The interaction between melodies, rhythms, and lyrics in music is complex and can profoundly influence our brains and emotions. For instance, when a song’s melody, rhythm, and lyrics are in sync and convey a consistent emotional message, it can create a powerful emotional experience that resonates with us on a deep level. Conversely, when there is a mismatch between these elements, it can create a sense of cognitive dissonance, where our brains struggle to process the conflicting information, leading to a less enjoyable musical experience.
Research has shown that music can also modulate our emotions by influencing the release of neurotransmitters in the brain, such as dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin, which are associated with pleasure, reward, and social bonding. For example, listening to music that we enjoy can trigger the release of dopamine in the brain, leading to feelings of pleasure and happiness. Music can also activate the brain’s reward system, which is responsible for reinforcing behaviours that are pleasurable, such as listening to our favourite songs on repeat.
Moreover, music can evoke memories and trigger strong emotional responses. When we hear a familiar melody or lyrics associated with a specific event or time in our lives, it can instantly transport us back to that moment and evoke vivid emotions associated with that memory. This emotional connection to music is what makes it a powerful tool for self-expression, communication, and emotional regulation. Many people turn to music as a way to cope with difficult emotions, express themselves, or find solace in challenging times.
Furthermore, there are four ways that music affects the human brain.
The field of music and neuroscience is greatly expanding and is indicating many beneficial ways music can engage and change the brain. Here let us learn how music affects the brain and mood by engaging emotion, memory, learning and neuroplasticity, and attention. In looking at the many ways that music engages the brain, we can begin to understand how creating a consistent musical program can target and enhance certain brain functions.
Emotion
Research indicates that music stimulates emotions through specific brain circuits. We can easily see how music and the brain engage mood and emotion when a child smiles and begins to dance to a rhythm. He is experiencing an uplifted mood of joy from the music. We also see this when parent and child connect through song. Have you ever listened to a mother singing a lullaby to her newborn baby? It is probably one of the most significant bonding experiences between people you will ever witness.
Outside of music affecting the brain as an emotional experience, it is also a physical experience. One reason for this is a hormone related to bonding called oxytocin. The “cuddle hormone,” as it’s sometimes called, can be released by singing. No wonder music is such a profound emotional experience in the mind of both mother and child!
In addition, research indicates that music affects mood by producing an array of other beneficial molecules in our biological pharmacy.
Listening to music can create peak emotions, which increase the amount of dopamine, a specific neurotransmitter that is produced in the brain and helps control the brain’s reward and pleasure centres. We often feel emotions experienced by our hearts, but an enormous part of the emotional stimulus is communicated through the brain. Our newfound understanding of how music affects the brain and heart is leading to innovative ways to utilize music and the brain to create emotional understanding among people. A study from the Journal of Music Therapy shows that using songs as a form of communication could increase emotional understanding in autistic children.
The study incorporated specific songs to portray different emotions. For example, a composition by Beethoven could be used to represent sadness, or the song “Happy” by Pharrell Williams could be used to represent joy. The children could then indicate and identify emotions based on the songs that represented them. Music succeeded where verbal language failed. Music was able to bridge the brain and heart. Music evokes and engages our emotions in many stages of our lives both individually and in groups. Music can evoke the deepest emotions in people and help us process fear, grief, sadness, and resentment, even if these emotions are held on a subconscious level.
Memory
Imagine an elderly man in a wheelchair. His head droops down to his chest, almost in a state of unconsciousness. His name is Henry and, sadly, he is disconnected from the world around him due to severe Alzheimer’s. What might reconnect him to the world and improve his awareness?
The movie Alive Inside chronicles how music can assist in regaining parts of memory and improve the brain health and quality of life of Alzheimer’s patients. One of the caretakers in Henry’s nursing home interviews his family to find out the type of music Henry used to enjoy listening to before Alzheimer’s affected him. By creating playlists incorporating music specifically for Henry, the caretaker helps Henry reconnect with the world around him and brighten his mood. His eyes are open, he is aware, and he can communicate. He was reconnected to his life from the music—his music.
A 2009 study from Petr Janata at the University of California, Davis found that there is a part of the brain that “associates music and memories when we experience emotionally salient episodic memories that are triggered by familiar songs from our past”. In other words, our familiar music can reconnect people with deep, meaningful memories from their past, as it did in Henry’s case.
These principles are what we will use later to form the basis of specifically constructed playlists to evoke certain emotional responses that we wish to produce by the interaction with music and the brain.
Learning and Neuroplasticity
Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections throughout life and can be greatly affected by the harmony of music and the brain. According to MedicineNet.com, “Neuroplasticity allows the neurons (nerve cells) in the brain to compensate for injury and disease and to adjust their activities in response to new situations or changes in their environment.”
To further clarify, when our brain is damaged, it can find or create new pathways to function properly. Amazingly, music can provide the stimuli to create these new pathways and to help the brain rewire itself in the case of brain injury. For instance, in a groundbreaking study by the University of Newcastle in Australia, popular music was used to assist patients with severe brain injuries in recalling personal memories. The music affected the patients’ brain’s ability to reconnect to memories they previously could not access.
It’s like getting directions to a location. If a road is closed, or you are stuck in traffic, there is sometimes an alternate route to get to the same place. Music can help map that alternate route in your brain!
A great example of this is shown in the case of former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Congresswoman Giffords experienced a brain injury as the result of a gunshot wound, which affected her brain language centre and left her almost unable to speak. By engaging her brain through music therapy, singing, and melodic intonation, she was able to provide new information to the mind through music and create a reorganization that helped her to make the connections necessary to relearn language.
This is an extreme case, but many of us have experienced some kind of neuroplasticity in our normal lives. Neuroplasticity, simply put, is our brain’s ability to repair connections and find alternate pathways to memories, emotions, and even physical systems such as speech—and utilizing music is a wonderful way to achieve this effect.
Attention
Ever hear a song that engages you so profoundly it takes hold of your mind’s full attention? By engaging our brain and our attention in the right ways, music can activate, sustain, and improve our attention.
Using brain images of people listening to short symphonies by an obscure eighteenth-century composer, a research team from the Stanford University School of Medicine investigated the power between music and the mind to hold our attention and showed that peak brain activity occurred during a short period of silence between musical movements—when seemingly nothing was happening. This lead the researchers to theorize that listening to music could help the brain to anticipate events and hold greater attention, just as the listeners demonstrated when they seemed to pay the closest attention during the anticipatory silences between musical movements.
The theory is that these silences are indeed part of each composer’s intention to guide the listener in interpreting and integrating the music in their brain. It is the space between the notes that captivates our full attention and allows the busy mind to communicate and integrate with the heart. It is in these silences, where our focus is total and complete, that true balance and healing can occur, as our brain and heart move into coherence.
On the other hand, we have all experienced how certain types of music, while affecting our mood, can also distract us or make us inattentive to the tasks at hand.
This makes complete sense. Unlike the attentive silences of the previous study, some songs can negatively engage our attention, as we become part of the song’s story or scene. Lyrics are descriptive and engage our analytical mind, and lyrically heavy music could divide the attention of many people’s brains.
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As we move forward in the following chapters, you will be encouraged to become an expert on using music and your brain to access targeted states. You will learn how to use music as a bridge to affect moods, relax, increase your focus, and gain motivation. What’s exciting is that you can assist your heart and brain as they move to more balanced and synchronized states using music, sound, and vibration!
In sum, music is an emotion that can range from joy and excitement to sadness and empathy. The emotional power of music is undeniable, and it is a complex interplay of melodies, rhythms, and lyrics that create a unique and personal experience for each individual. Whether it’s the uplifting melody of a favourite song, the infectious rhythm of a dance tune, or the poignant lyrics of a ballad, music can touch us at a deep emotional level. Understanding the science behind how melodies, rhythms, and lyrics influence our brains and emotions can provide us with a deeper appreciation of the profound impact that music has on our lives. So next time you find yourself humming along to a tune, tapping your feet to a rhythm, or connecting with the lyrics of a song, remember that it’s not just your ears, but your entire brain and emotions that are being influenced by the power of music. (to be continued)
Reference: Barry Goldstein
