TaylorJones

English1010

Music:Howlisteningtomusiccanaffectlives
Imagineyouarehomewithyourfamily.Youallshareaseatonthecouchwatchingyour
favoriteshow.Thereisabowlofpopcornsittingonthetablenexttoyou,andeveryoneis
bundledupnexttoawarmfire.Laughterfillstheroom.Theshowgoestocommercial,anda
seriesofadsbegintoplay.Youabsentlylistentotheadsandyourfamilyatthesametime.
Yourfamilysharestheirthoughtsabouttheshowyourewatchingorhowtheirdaywent.Pause.
Allofthesuddentheadchanges,andyouhearasongfromyourchildhood.Instantlyyouare
drawntothemusicplaying.Youdontrememberwherethesongwasfrom,orwhyyou
rememberit,butaflashofmemoriesrunthroughyourbrain.Youcanrememberabirthdaythat
includedyourfavoritecake.Thetasteofthecakeandthesceneryarounditfloodbackintoyour
brain.Youcanfeeltheloveandhearthelaughterfromfriendsandfamilyattending.Asmile
playsaboutyourlips.Asthesongconcludessodoesthevividmemory,butwhatstayswithyou
isthejovialfeelingfromrecallingyourpast.
Ihavehadthisexperiencemanytimes.JustrecentlyIwasinmycarafteranexhausting
day.Iwasntinthebestmood,untilasongfrommyphoneplayed.Thesongplayingwastitled
SkinnyLovebyBirdy.Ibegantorecallwhatthissongwasfrom,andthenIremembered
whenIwasyoungerIdancedtothismusic.Memoriesofpractices,dancefriends,and
performancesconsumedmythoughts.Icouldrecollectdetailsthatweresospecific,andIwas
astonished.Afterlisteningtoonesongandrelivingpastexperiences,myentiredaywaschanged

forthebetter.Mymoodwaslifted,andIcouldnthelpbutsmiling.Thisexperiencewasall
becauseofagreatsong.
Haveyoueverwonderedwhyplayingacertainsongaffectsyousogreatly?Musichasan
incredibleabilitytoaffectemotionsandbehaviors.Simplesnippetsofasongcanaffectaperson
forthegoodorthebad.Nomatterthecultureorsituation,musicisusedtoexpressindividuals.
Thisiswhymusichasbeennicknamedtheuniversallanguage.AnarticlefromNewsinHealth
relayscommoneffectsofmusic,Musiccanliftyouup.Itcanbringtearstoyoureyes.Itcan
helpyourelaxormakeyougetupanddance.Musicsbeenwithussinceancienttimes,andits
partofeveryknownculture.Musicstrikesachordwithallofus.Theseeffectsareknown
becausemusichasbeenaroundforcenturies.Civilizationseverywherehaveusedmusicasa
celebration,aritual,andapasstimebecausehumanshaveaninborncapacitytoprocessmusic
(Cromie).Whatthismeansisthathumanbrainsandearsareprogramedtoprocessmusicfrom
thetimechildrenareborn.Parentsplaylullabiestosoothetheircryingchild,kidsareplacedin
musicclasses,andeverywherepeoplegomusicplaysinthebackground.Almosteveryonein
theworldgrowsupwithmusicintheirlives,andbecauseofthismusicaffectshumansinthree
ways:emotionally,physically,andpsychologically.Althoughmanypeoplehaveexperienced
theeffectofmusic,notmanypeopleunderstandhoworwhymusiccanaffectaperson.Whyis
this?Thescientificstudyofthebrainisstillfairlynew.Evenneweristhestudyoftheeffectof
musiconhumanbrains.Becausethisisafairlynewstudy,manypeopledonthaveknowledge
abouttheeffectofmusic.
Therearealsopeoplewhoknowthatstudieshavebeendone,buttheydontagreethatit
isaccurate.Theyarguethattheresearchhasdrawnnosignificantconclusions.Ontheonehand

Iagreethattherearefurtherstudiestobedone,butontheotherhandIcontendthatthe
informationacquiredthusfarisenoughtoconcludehowmusicaffectsus.Asfurtherknowledge
isacquired,newaspectsofthebigpicturecanbeadded.Whileitistruethatnoteverythingis
knownaboutthemusicalbrain,itdoesnotnecessarilyfollowthattheinformationobtainedthus
farisntcredibleenoughtodrawlogicalconclusions(Helsingin).
Althoughsomepeopleclaimthatscientistsdonthaveenoughknowledgetoknowhow
musicaffectsthebrain,Iarguethatthroughtheextensiveresearchonthemusicalbrainthereis
sufficientamountofknowledgetoclaimhowthebrainisaffectedbymusic.InthisessayIwill
outlinehowthebrainisaffectedbymusic,whythebrainisaffectedbymusic,andhowthe
knowledgeofthebrainbeingaffectedbymusiccanbeappliedtodailylives.Itiscertainlytrue
thatnoteverypersonisaffectedbyeverygenreofmusic.Althoughsomepeopleonlyrespondto
certaintypesofmusic,Iwillfocusonmusicsoverallimpact.
Emotionsarethefirstaspectthatcometomindwhentheeffectofmusicisconsidered.It
isalmostcommonknowledgethatpeopleeverywhereusemusictoaffectthemineithera
positiveornegativeway.Eachgenre,ortypeofmusic,changesemotionsdifferently.For
example,whenlisteningtohiphopmusicsomeonemightfeeltheiremotionschangetoviolent
orangry,butclassicalorslowmusiccanmakeapersonfeelcalmorsad.Inastudydonewith
144adultsandteenagers,theparticipantslistenedtogrungemusic.Theresultsshowedthatthe
grungemusicledtosignificantincreasesinhostility,sadness,tension,andfatigueacrossthe
entiregroup(MusicandMood).Someoftheparticipantsreportedlikinggrungemusicbefore
thestudy,anditstillaffectedthemnegatively.Thisstudyconcludesthatbylisteningtomusic

youremotionscanbechanged.Thefactofthematteris,thatnomatterwhattypeofmusicyou
choosetolistentoitwillhaveaprofoundaffectonyou.
Behaviorisaprofoundeffectthatsometimesgetslookedover.Notmanypeoplerealize
thatmusicnotonlyaffectsthewaywefeelbutalsothewayweact.Thisexactreasoniswhy
musiccanbeusedindailyactivities.Athletesusemusictogetthemenergized,andtogettheir
bloodflowing.Studentsinschoolusemusictohelpconcentrateandrelievestress(Tickell).
Peoplewithanxietyusemusictocalmthem.Whilesomepeopleusemusictoconsciouslyaffect
them,othersusemusicsubconsciously.Thismeansthatdependingonthegenreofmusicyou
chosetolistento,yourbehaviorcanbeaffecteddifferently.Forexample,apersonwho
routinelylistenstoviolentmusiccanadoptaviolentbehavior.Nomatterifthedecisiontolisten
togenresofmusicisconsciousorsubconscious,itwillaffectbehavior.
Someofyoumightbethinkingthatyoualreadyunderstandthatmusichasanample
affectonyouremotionsandbehaviorsbecauseyouveexperiencedit,butwhatyoustillarent
awareofishow.Musicisapatternofwaves.Thesewavesarefirstprocessedintheear.The
frequenciesofthewavespluckspiralsheetsinsideoftheear.Thispluckingtriggersthefiringof
braincells(Cromie).Whenthebraincellsaretriggered,asignaltravelsuptheauditorynerveto
thebrain'sauditorycortexwhichprocessessounds(MusicMattersforBodyandMind).From
theauditorycortexmusicismoreextensivelyprocessedindifferentpartsofthebrainthataffect
emotions,behavior,memory,andperception.Thishasbeendivulgedinbrainimagingtests
whichshowthatpartsofthebrainresponsiblefortheactivitiesintheprevioussentencelightup
whenmusicisplayed.Thereisntasinglepartofthebrainthatprocessesmusicbecauseitisso
complicatedandaffectstheartisticaswellasthelogicalsidesofthebrain.Thesefindings

challengetheworkorearlierresearches,whotendedtoassumethatmusicwasonlyprocessedon
therightsideofthebrain.Thebiologicalcomponentsofthemusicalbrainprovethatwithinthe
anatomyofahumanmusiccreateschangeswhenitsprocessed.
Whilemusicdoeshaveaspecificcoursethatitfollows,musicalsohasthecapabilityof
executingaprocesscalledmirroring.Thistheorycontributestoanotherwaythatmusicaffects
thebrain.Mirroringhasbeenaroundinthescienceworldforages,butithasmorerecentlybeen
appliedtothemusicalbrain.InthearticleHowdoourbrainsprocessmusic?

thetheoryof
mirroringisoutlined.
InaUCLAstudy,neurologistsIstvanMolnarSzakacsandKatieOvery
watchedbrainscanstoseewhichneuronsfiredwhilepeopleandmonkeys
observedotherpeopleandmonkeysperformspecificactionsorexperience
specificemotions.Theydeterminedthatasetofneuronsintheobserver
mirrorswhattheysawhappeningintheobserved.Thismirroreffectgoes
foremotionalsignalsaswell.Whenweseesomeonefrownorsmile,the
neuronsassociatedwiththosefacialmuscleswillfire.Butandheresthe
significantparttheemotionalneuronsassociatedwiththosefeelingsfire
aswell.Visualandauditorycluestriggerempatheticneurons.[Bryne]
Whatthismeansisthatwhenalistenerishearingsadorhappyemotionsinasong,thebrainwill
mirrorthoseemotions.Inreturnthepersonwillexperiencetheemotionsinthesong.Thistested
evidencepointstoanotherwaythatmusicaffectsemotionsandbehaviors.
Emotionsarealsocontrolledbyhormonelevelswithinthehumanbody.Hormonessuch
ascortisolwhichisinvolvedinstress,testosteronewhichisinvolvedinaggression,oxytocin

whichisinvolvedinnurturingbehavior,andendorphinswhichareinvolvedinhappinesshave
beenshowntobereleasedwhenalistenerhearsmusic(Lemonick).Thebodyreleasesthese
hormoneswhenthebrainreceivesmusicalsignals.Becauseofexperimentsdonetoprovethe
releasingofemotionswhilelisteningtomusic,itcanbelogicallyconcludedthathearingmusic
affectsthebodysignificantly.
Althoughitisgreattounderstandhowsuchasignificantpartofourlivesaffectsus,why
doesitmatter?Musiccanbeusedtohelpamelioratedailyaspectsoflives.Usingmusiccan
improvememory,confidence,stress,courage,andenthusiasm(MusicandMood).Studentscan
findgreaterachievementinschoolandtestsiftheyareinvolvedinmusic.Manydoctorsuse
musicforpatientswhosufferfromanxietyorposttramaticstress.Nomatterthesituationa
personfindsthemselfin,musiccanhelpaideeveryperson.Themostimportanteffectofmusic,
ishappiness.Listeningtomusicconsistentlywillhelppeoplehavehappierlives,andwho
doesntwanttobehappy?
Musichasbeenproventoaffectpeopleemotionally,physically,andpsychologically.
Thisisbecauseofmusicalprocessinginmostareasofthebrain,mirroringemotions,and
releasingemotionsthatcausepeopletobeaffectedemotionallyandbehaviourally.Consciously
usingmusicineverydaylivescanhelpimprovelifeandhelppeoplewithemotionaldisorders.
Althoughtherearepeoplewhodontbelievethestudiesdonethusfarareenough,Iarguethat
thestudiesdonearesufficientfortheinformationneeded.Iwassignificantlyaffectedbyasong
thatcameonwhenIwashavingahardday.AlthoughIwasntinsearchofsomethingtolighten
mymood,Ifounditinoneofmyfavoritesongs.Ifweunderstandtheeffectofmusicanduseit
inourdailylives,theneveryonecanexperienceahappierandmorepositivelife.

WorksCited
Byrne,David."HowDoBrainsProcessMusic?"
Smithsonian.com
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2012.Web.19Nov.2015.
Cromie,WilliamJ."HowYourBrainListenstoMusic."
TheGazette
.HarvardUniversity,
13Nov.1997.Web.23Nov.2015.
Helsingin,Ylipsito."ListeningtoClassicalMusicModulatesGenesThatAreResponsible
forBrainFunctions."
ScienceDaily
.ScienceDaily,13Mar.2015.Web.19Nov.2015.
Lemonick,MichaelD.,andAndreaDorfman."MusicOnTheBrain."
Time
155.23(2000):
74.
AcademicSearchPremier
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"MusicandMood."
HealthyChildren.org
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Web.30Nov.2015.
"MusicMattersforBodyandMind."
NewsinHealth
.DepartmentofHealthandHuman
Services,2010.Web.30Nov.2015.
Tickell,Sofia."ShouldYouListentoMusicWhileYouStudy?"
USATODAYCollege
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TODAY,10Sept.2012.Web.14Dec.2015.