This is the third of our instructor-led online discussions for Mu 101 (Spring 2019). Refer to the handout you received the first day of class (click on this highlighted text to go to that page our class website) that describes the amount and kinds of contributions you’re expected to make to these online discussions — they’re all the same parameters of good conversation that happens offline, too!
The most effective comments in an online forum are short — think about how you skim past others’ comments if they’re more than a couple lines long instead of engaging closely with that person’s ideas! If everyone involved in these weekly conversations only posts a single long comment, it won’t be a conversation, and we won’t all benefit from opportunity to learn from each other. Rather than dropping in on the blog once during the week and adding a single long comment, think of this forum as an opportunity to have a conversation with your fellow classmates. A conversation, whether online or in person, involves back-and-forth contributions from everyone involved: adding something new based on your own experiences or ideas, asking questions, responding to the ideas of others. The best way to get the most out of this learning experience is to share your single best idea, give room for others to respond, and then build on each others’ contributions later in the week.
A very good place to start
We’re starting by thinking about thinking—how does music affect how people think?
Every activity, experience, and piece of information you come across in your life changes your brain. The brain is a system of neurons and synapses that constantly rewires itself to adapt to your life. The more often you do something (like recall a piece of information or perform an activity), the better your brain gets at accessing and doing it. This is why studying a little bit every day is effective: you’re reinforcing your brain’s ability to recall or associate bits of information. And, this is also why habits can be hard to break—you train your brain to do something by doing it over and over—and unlearning a habit requires both making totally new connections between different parts of your brain and also forgetting old ones.
There are a couple of good books on this subject if you want to keep reading:
- Gerald Edelman, Bright Air, Brilliant Fire: On the Matter of the Mind (1992) and Neural Darwinism (1987), which describe his theory of “neural Darwinism,” or the strengthening of different neural pathways in the brain over others through use and disuse
- Antonio Damasio, The Feeling of What Happens: Body and Emotion in the Making of Consciousness (1999), which describes his theory of “core consciousness” and people’s (including musicians) ability to consciously enter special mental states by training their brains to do so
- Judith Becker, Deep Listeners: Music, Emotion, and Trancing (2004), which applies Damasio’s and Edelman’s research to people who actively and deeply listen to music and tap into their core consciousness, leaving their personalities behind (there’s also the text of a lecture she gave on this subject available here)
So, what does this have to do with music?
Making music changes your brain in ways that other activities don’t. Learning to play a musical instrument can be a great benefit to the brain: its development, improved long-term memory, language skills, faster reaction times. A lot of research in this field specifically studies the effect of musical study on young children (and here and here), but the effects are true at all stages of life—it’s never too late!
Below is a short (5′) TedTalk that scratches the surface of this idea by showing the many mental processes and parts of the brain that are engaged when someone plays a musical instrument.
Singing affects the brain in fascinating ways, too!
Listening—the task of Mu 101
Special things happen to our brains—and our bodies!—when we listen to music, too.
“Physiology” (pronounced fizzy-all-oh-gee) is the study of how our bodies normally function: how our cells, biochemicals, and bodily systems all work together, react to the world around us, and keep us alive.
Physiology comes into play with music when we start thinking about how our bodies react to music: things happen when we like the sounds we’re hearing (our eyes dilate, our pulse changes, our body releases dopamine)—we have a physiological reaction to the music that’s involuntary, exciting, sometimes unexpected, and often enjoyable. Our bodies’ reactions help us understand if we want to hear something again (even if we don’t directly say to ourselves, “Wow, my cerebellum became quite active during that song; I’d better listen to it again!”) because we enjoy the way they feel, and we know that listening to music might be one of the only ways to feel those particular (enjoyable) feelings again.
Below is a link to a short (19′) video presentation given by musician/researcher Deanna Choi at TEDxQueensU in 2012 (Canada) that explains what happens to our bodies when we listen to music. You might be a person that learns more easily from reading than listening, or if you may be interested in reading another short, accessible introduction to the study of music and physiology, so I’m including a link to one here. There are hundreds of similar articles out there—this has been a popular topic of research for the last several decades.
Final thoughts
Engaging with the materials of this class (and every class you take!) will change who you are—by changing how you think and listen, reinforcing new neural pathways in your brain, and helping you acquire new skills that will give you something to build upon, a bundle of neurons ready to link to whatever skills and information you encounter in the future. What a way to start the semester!
-Dr. J.
Dr. Jones' Music Classes 
I agree, when i listen to music sometimes i feel a sweet satisfaction. Like am eating delicious cake or pie. I feel this satisfaction in the beginning of a song or nearing my favorite part of it. So, it’s the dopamine that gives us this joy when we listen to music. But i don’t just feel satisfaction but renergiz when am exercising. It’s like a physiology change where my pulse goes from normal speed to in a rush. I feel encouraged to keep moving until i finish my set. It’s surprising how music can make us feel sometimes.
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I agree with u in other words you are trying to say while practicing music you have to put more effort then listening it may be more parts of ur brain working at same time . As they said in the video there’s fireworks in your brain while playing a piece. U r doing multiple tasks like planning, memorizing at same time
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I agree I feel that music could also be like your best friend and it will always try its best to help you whatever your going through and you need somebody like music to understand the thoughts you are thinking about. You have brought up a lot of great points about what music can do for you and the brain. I also agree that the beginning of a song is always the best part about it overall. The joy of music it always help you to think positive.
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This is the exactly how it Feels. I listen to music almost everyday, whether I am simply walking to the store or cleaning my house. Music just gives u an extra boost of motivation sometimes.
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yes, dopamine is a very important substance of our brain. it is an engine to start our feeling and emotion. I wonder to know After dopamine to make people feeling happy. Is it have other effects on our brain?
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That is definitely true Elisha. I get the same sensation when I’m singing or listening to music. I experience a euphoria when I’m listening to or singing a favorite song and it is sort of like eating a delicious cake, especially when I’m nearing my favorite part. I many times blush at that point. I feel like I enter my very own world and I feel so safe and happy there. I love music.
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That is very true, I need to listen to a fast pace song while I’m working out. It gives me more motivation to move and act. Listen to a slow song while working out makes me feel lazy and not as active.
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I took piano lessons when I was younger but I stopped and I recently started playing again. There is a huge time gap from the time I first started playing and so before I started seeing a piano instructor I understood it might be a different experience for me now that I am older. I can tell my brain is activated when I play piano because I am doing many different things at once like reading the notes, moving my hands and body and feeling the emotions of a song. When I learn a new song that I really like I play it over and over again until I get sick of it and the feeling I get when I complete a difficult piece makes me believe that I can be a great piano player one day.
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Once my boss have told me that kids are spong they observe everything. Same in music when u r at ur young age it’s easy for u to learn new things .
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I can relate 100%! I fell in love with piano as a child and decided to take lessons, but quit shortly after. I recently began to teach myself pieces at home and rediscovered the passion I once had years ago. Sometimes I close my eyes and take in the notes of the melody, and its mesmerizing. Listening to classical music is wonderful, but playing it yourself is brand new experience.
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I agree. I enjoy filling my house with the sound of me playing piano. Even though playing piano can be challenging at times I like how it’s a stimulating activity.
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Esther, I found your comment extremely relatable. The piano is my favorite instrument, and I’m hoping to one day learn it. I actually like the piano so much that I get curious as to what certain songs sound like when they are played by piano, and I almost find myself as in love with the song when played on the piano as much as the way it sounds normally, because I get to listen to a song I love in a new language, almost as if I’m rediscovering or observing a new side to something I believed myself unfamiliar with. What songs do you find most rewarding to play on the piano?
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Personally I can not relate to any of the beliefs said by my classmates, perhaps it’s because of my genre of music. unlike Elisha Nipper I do not feel a sweet satisfaction in the beginning of listening to my music. i would better describe it as a rough car ride through the most mountainous of terrain, where at each bump i am hit by a new note or powerful lyric. While my brain does in fact feel affected by the music i listen too, i don’t consider to music to have any lasting affects on my mental abilities.
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So what you are saying is that you don’t like music and that’s why you disagree? If yes, does that mean all genres or just a few specific ones?
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why does music make you feel like you’re on a rough car ride? Are you saying that listening to music isn’t an enjoyable experience for you?
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How does music make you feel like that? So you never listen to a song and enjoy it? Also they mentioned that music has lasting effects on your mental abilities if you’re actively doing it such as playing an instrument.
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everyone interprets music their own way just because you don’t have the same experience as someone else it doesn’t mean you don’t enjoy it.
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It’s their any one else have same experience like me . Let’s say I don’t understand a piece so I’ll say oh I don’t like it or I’ll never listen it again. But on the other hand if u listen to that piece couple times on repeat u will start liking it and u want to explore and dig more about that piece. this how i can make connections between music and brain
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Yes I understand what you are saying. However I may not necessarily like that piece of music at the end I have to listen to it again because I have to listen to it again to closely understand why I don’t like it.
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That happens to me at times. But I like to give a fair chance to the song I’m listening to by paying attention to the meaning, the sound, and reminding myself that the piece took time and effort to get to where it’s at. But obviously, there’s going to be some songs that you won’t vibe with.
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I think everyone experiences this, there are certain genres or songs we don’t like or we don’t care to listen to after the first time and that’s okay. There are so many options to choose from and many artists creating different forms of music.
There have been times I don’t like a song the first time I listened to it, but after hearing them over and over again I began to like them because I understood them but I’ve definitely experience times where I just do not like certain songs at all.
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I can relate with you the first time I heard 7 rings from Ariana grande I didn’t really like it but then I heard it a few times and listened to the lyrics I enjoyed it. I also feel like sometimes we listen to something that’s unpleasant and we just skip the song and not try to understand why the artist made it.
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Yes, I can relate to that as well because I also don’t listen to something again if I don’t get it the first time but then I’ll start to like it once you listen to it again (with subtitles if it is a fast song) to understand it because one time isn’t enough to hate something if you don’t understand it.
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I could agree to this because we listen to music in so many different ways even though it is from one part of the human anatomy which is the brain. Personally, I feel like I get into a certain groove or rhythm where my shoulders kind of shrug. This has to do with music because there are so many things that happen in music just like so many things are happening with people because there are 206 bones in the body. Anyways I feel happy when listening to music because music is similar to life so when the professor today mentioned about minor that might seem as a song that is depressing. A song that is in a major would be more uplifting or positive. There is a part of the tone where you want it to be positive at all times and it was during the “Uptown funk song by Bruno Mars” where I have that good attitude. Music makes me feel like I am accepting something really good because in the word music si means yes and it is probably a joyous occasion. Music and the brain work together because you are listening and feeling so many different things, thinking them also while listening makes you kind of put everything together, calm down, and get on the right path, track, etc. Music makes you think about what just happened, but it puts me and others in a neutral phase to calm us down from something traumatic mostly and then the rest is an uplifting story.
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I completely agree a song can change your whole mood and if your going to through a tough time, music helps take your mind off the situation. Music is like therapy for the mind and soul.
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I agree with the individual that commented first on the subject about music and is content with music. There is music that is good music and bad music. At times of need or even struggle, when you are stressed with exams, assignments, studying, etc and you usually go for a walk while listening to music you are putting your brain back into focus. This is similar to cause and effect. One needs to be there for the other so your brain is congested with so many things so it needs to calm down with music, it is something that is soothing not one hundred percent positive or one hundred percent negative. Music is there for the people when they reach that boiling point or breaking point, and then need to bounce back in terms of going up the ladder. Music is for all occasions, this is just one focus that makes it a huge topic.
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What is the true definition of music? Is music a way to spread what you want to say in a different tone?
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ttttt
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I strongly agree on how a lot of us view music and the content of it as well. I feel that music for me I favor and listen to a lot comes out in an exciting way in which can get me motivated to start the day off right. When you feel like that you are not having a good day and you just wanna be left alone when your in a bad mood the only thing that can help relieve that negativity is music and the vibrations of it to help you relax. The brain and music function very well together because you are no longer focusing on the bad stuff that has happened to you earlier in the day and it will make you forget about the terrible things that went bad for you. Music is like your best friend it will always be here for you when you are every having a horrible day its here to understand what you are going through.
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It is true that music is here for you when you are having a terrible day, but music can be there for you all through the day, it depends on what you feel like listening to.You may be happy and want to hear something to match your mood. Some days I have one song stuck in my head, and It feels so good when i listen to that particular song. Haven’t you ever experienced that with a song?
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Indeed I have occasionally of the time.
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It feels good to know I am not the only one who experience music in that way.
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Im pretty sure a couple of people have as well but I understand where you are coming from.
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A healthy mind is a healthy body and music helps some of us to have a healthy mind. For some of us music helps us to start our day well by getting us to think positively or lifting our spirits and it’s a form of relaxation after a long. Music facilitate our studying by helping us to focus and enables us to remember details. Music also puts us in the right mood and gives us the energy to get other stuff done like chores and exercise. There are various ways music helps us mentally on a daily basis whether we are aware of it or not.
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I agree that music does help you get your stuff done especially when its chores. Listening to music makes doing chores more pleasant.
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Music has always been a major part of my life. Growing up my parents would listen to music daily so I grew up listening to music in the best of times and at the worst of times. I strongly believe what my fellow classmates have said, music does help us mentally. However it depends on whether or not you really like music and also the type or genre of music you listen too. because I grew up listening to different genres of music I know what I like and what different genre best fit my mood.
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My entire body can feel revitalized when I listen to music and I often remember better when I make a song about what I need to remember. Clearly music has a specific impact on the brain. I believe that this is for the most positive. However does anyone feel like it can also be negative sometimes?
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It’s so cool that you pointed that out ” music impacts the brain” . However, Do you think that your brain can impact the way you listen to music?
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I feel like thats a great point you perceive something based on what your brain focuses on. what some things people view as loud and annoying can be happy and exciting to others because of what aspects theyre focused on whether its the beat or lyrics etc
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I would definitely say yes. anything you absorb on a daily basis like music will certainly have an impact to your actions, language, habits and other behaviors. But we must point that music can harm your brain by changing the way you think even in negative ways.
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Ever since I was a little girl, I loved music. I would perform for my family who would watch me get so involved with the song, even though I could barely pronounce most of the words. I would dance excitingly to the beat and sing my heart out either way. Although I didn’t entirely know the meaning of a song, my mood shifted to match the way the song felt. Now, music is still a big part of my life and I can definitely say that when I sing or listen to music, I go to a different place which is my brain’s interaction with the soundscape.
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Music has always been one of my primary sources of relaxation and enjoyment. I’ve dabbled in guitar years back, but piano has always been my favorite instrument to listen to and play. Learning new pieces on the piano for me was therapeutic; a short escape from reality. I never realized it was also enhancing my cognitive brain function, but that’s a huge plus! On Friday’s music lesson, learning about early music culture gave me perspective on how it evolved throughout time. It was always tied to refinement, worldliness and holding a higher social status. Even many years ago, people knew that playing instruments required some level of intelligence and skill.
I’m grateful I had access to music lessons as a child. Is there anyone who also feels a sense of gratification towards listening to/playing music?
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According to the article. The quote says: “our eyes dilate, our pulse changes, our body releases dopamine.” I agree with this point. when we listen to music, the body will show how you feeling about music. For instance： when you listen to sad music, your feeling will be very dispirited. even you don’t have any sad situation. As the same result, when you hear upbeat music, your emotion will up. For this reason, when a doctor to try to save the mentally ill, the doctor will play soft music to help patine more relax.
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I believe that our brain has a huge responsibility in the way we listen and understand music. for most music that we listen to nowadays, there is a purpose, a goal, a reason, an objective and most of the time a feeling that needs to felt. Our brain is the first entity to cognitively find those purposes, those reasons. in addition our brain transform those words and sounds into emotions, deep emotions like sadness, pain, love and hope. Then those feelings took over and give us listeners wings and make us feel like we were the singer of the song or the artist who’s playing the instrument.
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@sebastien509 – I exactly know what you mean. However, I just wanted you to make it clear for me is why do you think sadness, pain, love, and hope give us the ability to sing or play an instrument?
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music is a great form of self expression. I’m moving towards becoming a psychologist and something that reappears is music therapy. people feel more comfortable expressing themselves through song more than talking. people become more relaxed and through th music they listen to their heart beat moves with it.
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It’s crazy that music has this big effect on us. I feel like music sometimes isn’t seen as important and that if you do it for a living you’re wasting your time. Music is exceedingly important and is such a great way for people to heal either through listening or making music. I’m glad that music therapy is a thing in the psychology field because art is so important to humans.
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I can agree with you because if I am ever feeling down or just tired in general, I will listen to some music and it just gives me a boost of energy to make me feel better in no time. In fact, sometimes when I have a headache I will listen to some slow-paced music with my eyes closed and it really helps to soothe out the pain for me.
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I know what you can mean when people don’t see music as a form of living. Many see it as a past time and don’t see it as a way to improve themselves. While music therapy a great thing, as in help most people with troubling effect like PTSD ect.
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I enjoyed watching the videos and learning how music can affect the brain and the way a person thinks. I use to take piano lessons as a child and the brain power I had to use to focus on how to get every note right is amazing. I know music releases dopamine and endorphins which helps make a person feel happy, but what about songs you hate? What kind of affect does listening to songs you dislike have on your brain?
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Songs that you may hate might trigger a feeling of anger. For example songs that I hate make me feel annoyed which still causes my emotions to change.
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I completely understand how listening to music and making music is so beneficial to the brain with the latter having the most impact on it. I find that listening to classical music while I study greatly helps me to focus and to retain information because I find it inspirational and captivating. However, while I’m exercising or doing chores, I listen to modern urban music either in Spanish or English because it motivates me and energizes me with adrenaline. During my free time, I love to sing different genres of Spanish music which I then post online and happy to say that I have a few followers. I can definitely say that singing gives me a more profound sense of satisfaction than listening to music.
I agree with the research that making music involves more neural activity and helps the brain become better at things than just listening to it. Being that both are beneficial, we should all make an effort to implement music into more facets of our life to make us better and happier.
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This makes a lot of sense to why mostly everyone listens to music. Its the dopamine being released in our brains. Doctor valorine salimpoor research made some great discoveries about how this works. I always did feel a certain level of excitement when anticipating the next lyrics or bass drop in my music, but never understood why that was. Her research also legitimizes the thought of certain songs being addicting. I dove deeper and did some research and found out that music can be addiction and that its effects are closely related to drug addiction. On the bright side music addiction has no harmful effects on our body and the effects are only positive. I wonder if listening to music or singing can be used as a substitution to drug use as they both satisfy the dopamine need in our brains.
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I believe that music often affects our emotions and sometimes even makes us more motivated when completing tasks. This happens to me at work when at times I’m not in the mood to be there but once music is put on it changes my entire mood and I often see this in my co workers. They begin to complete their tasks faster and start to become more happy. Although one thing I also realized is how not everyone has the same reaction to the music. Some people don’t find the same music pleasing so their mood stays the same. Music has a way of changing our emotions.
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I totally agree with you music do have an affect on our emotions which helps us in every way possible to express ourselves
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I always knew there was some type of connection with music and the brain, not because I read it somewhere (prior to this week’s discussion) or heard it— I just felt it while listening to my music. My playlist has a wide variety of genres: country, classical, rock, pop, electric, Spanish rock, Spanish love songs, old school rap, modern rap, trap, samba, salsa, merengue….. I can go on and on. Each genre evokes different memories and emotions, but what all these genres have in common is that they release dopamine while I’m listening. I think that’s important to the mind, it helps to keep the brain healthy. My mother believes “Music is the medicine of the body and soul” which is something I also believe in.
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@mariaarevalo94 – Why do you think each genre of music you mentioned suggests different memories and emotions? How do they impact your daily life?
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I can definitely relate. When I’m working out music have a big part of my life , because it gives me this motivation to keep on pushing myself in the gym I feel like while working out and listen to music its like the music is sending a message to the brain to stay calm but yet keep pushing through. Not just by working out music keeps me calm, but also on late night drive I find myself while driving late at night and listen to slow music its very relaxing and meditating as it put you in a peace and clear state of mind. That’s what I love about music because it helps you in any situation at the set time of an problems it send that message to your brain to let you know everything will be okay, like for example when two couple are broken up it’s either the boy to the girl they both listen to music that can ease their mind and help them express their thoughts and feelings out loud to themselves without others know. And that’s the power of music and that’s why music will always be a big part of my life.
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I personally do not like to listening to new music. I mainly stick to rap and R&B music. I find classical music and instrumentals to be boring. How do I open my mind to new music like these?. I want to leave music 101 with something and not only take the class for a letter grade. I want to learn more about these type of music but I often find myself feeling bored and tuning out, is there a method to help with this or does it all just depend on the type of person you are?. If I feel this way about classical music and instrumentals, will I alway feel this way or does it all depends on the music?. I would greatly appreciate it if someone answered my questions. Thank You.
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I feel the same way as you. I love listening to modern/Old school R&B music but also like listening to different genres too. However I’m super close minded when it comes to country music or heavy metal. When I start listening to a new genre though I try listening to the most popular songs in that specified genre, I would suggest trying to do the same to see what type of music works for you. I don’t prefer listening to classical music and will only listen to it if I’m studying for a crazy exam because it helps tune out other noises around me. But maybe consider trying to listening to different parts of the song like the rhythm or beat. Hope this helps a lil 🙂
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I can also relate with listening to new music but if this helps, maybe trying to listen to more of the music similar to what you may not like may end up helping. In my experience, I find the songs I tend to dislike to be noisy since I skip parts and end up giving up on it but, after listening to it little by little, it ends up sounding nice.
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I have honestly felt the same way about music of today. I found myself only sticking to several old fashioned genres throughout most of my life. I believed that music from today lacked creativity and talent. It was until i began to listen to newer tracks with an open mind. I began to understand that these well constructed songs, mentally attract the attention of its listeners. You obviously have a right to to your own opinion and to your own preferences, but try to remember that there is beauty and art within all genres. This is why there are so many music cultures and dire emotional connections with certain genres and people. Music hits us all differently, try to understand by learning more about what confuses you or what you do not like.This may be through learning its origins, impact on society and how it was constructed.
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I feel like music affects us more emotionally, mentally, and spiritually than physically.Music has the capability of making us happy when we’re upset and sad or mellow even when we’re not. Music can also make us feel nostalgic and bring us back to specific memories in our life. I tend to listen to music genres that will either calm me down or hype me up and energize me. I like how music could really affect our mood and mentality on life. Music motivates and keeps me focused whether I’m studying for an exam or cleaning my room and helps me out whenever I’m having a bad day.
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I agree because certain songs you listen to can bring back the memories of when you first heard it whether it’s sadness or happiness. For example sometimes I’ll listen to a song I’ll remember exactly where I was when I heard it , what I was doing and my emotions and that’s why music is so powerful it makes you feel .
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Music might be different for everyone because everyone has their own taste and preference for music. Some people may like a certain type of music and others may not. The effect of music may also vary on everyone according to how they hear the music and what they make out of it. I personally listen to music a lot because it just gives me a feeling of relaxation and if I am ever stressed or tired I will listen to music as it makes me feel better instantly. Music also has a connection with your brain, as it can fire it up or just give you a boost of energy (in my case, when I listen to fast music or rap). The experience can be different for everyone and doesn’t have to be the same although it might be similar.
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I honestly had no clue how music has an effect on the brain. After learning about the dopamine our bodies release and how our brains work simultaneously to strengthen our functions completely makes sense to how we all react to music. We all react so differently to music depending on the time and day. While listening to music, I feel pent up of energy with a feeling to dance or a surge of happiness caused by the song I’m listening too. After learning about the how learning to play a musical instrument can better our health, I’ve become motivated to finally try and learn how to play a piano.
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I agree that music does work in several areas of the brain. I mostly see it work for me emotionally. Different types of music make me feel different emotions. For me in the mornings I need upbeat music to wake me up and get me going through the day. When I’m feeling down I’ll look through my playlist for songs that match the emotions I’m going through at the moment. But one of the things I love that I can see and go through is how music gets us dancing.
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I can agree with music change how your brain reacts. Depending on what song is to your liking, you will feel differently for each diverse song plays. Some will pump you up other relax and some make you sad, depending each genre of music can be felt different for everyone. In our life i will agree that music change us and make us see different thing around us, many song can have message in them and some may not, but in all it can relax us and make us be better with our self.
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Music indeed affects us emotionally as listeners. We tend to feel a connection and build a mood or identity with whatever we may be listening to. I agree with your statement, in fact we learned about genre culture within one of our first readings, different experiences make different interpretations, customs and dispositions.
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When I was about 7 years old, I began piano lessons. Learning music made me feel complete and motivated. I learned well enough to the point where I would play for church parties and family reunions. I stopped taking lessons at the age of 10, we couldn’t afford the classes, books and the school was raising its prices. Since then I discontinued practicing what I had learned. I recently bought a keyboard in all hope and aspiration to regain my knowledge and continue by self teaching. I can clearly differentiate the power of making music indeed changes your brain in ways that other activities don’t and that it is never too late. I most definitely agree that music has a deep influence on the brain.
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I agree that music goes hand and hand with our brains because of the way I’ve experienced it . Whenever I hear a song sad , relaxing or happy my brain always flashes back to when I first heard the song , how I felt at time always comes back to me . Also the effects of music on our brain is different for everyone because we all have different taste of what we like , but what we have in common is what music does to us it makes us feel and that Is why music is so powerful. Music has a way of making us feel and reliving memories we lost
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When it comes to music playing a major factor in the human brain, I can definitely relate. Since I was ten years old, every time I heard music on the radio or on the streets, I would always sing along to pop songs I enjoy listening to like Michael Jackson, Kelly Clarkson, etc. My heart would be pumping at a fast pace and my hands and feet would be tapping to the rhythm. I could not be happier because music especially pop, helps me calm down if I face stressful situations like homework, exams and pop quizzes. An example is according to Judith Becker’s “Deep Listeners: Music, Emotion, and Trancing” (2004), she states, “In my book I proposed that both religious ecstatics and “deep listeners” experience strong emotional responses when listening to music they find deeply moving. And furthermore, that “deep listeners” are potential trancers and that in the proper time and place, without the negative attitude of most Americans concerning trancers, they might themselves trance.”
Click to access Becker-DeepListenersLecture.pdf
This quote interprets that Judith Becker recommends that people who are dedicated to their inner faith and passionately listen to music, they tend to zone out to avoid negative stress and find themselves in a comfortable place to settle down. Overall, what I am trying to say is that every moment I hear music, it brings me joy and stability.
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I can agree that music has a big impact on the brain. For example when I workout I need like a workout song to be set in the mood for working out, If I listen to classical music it doesn’t give me that boost to workout more because the type of music doesn’t match with the activity. Listening to music gives my brain a sense excitement enjoyment, and without music the world wouldn’t be a pleasant place to live. I can also see how music works with memory, because when you hear a song or music from like 2009, you can feel the nostalgia and how you felt when you heard this song for the first time.
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I completely agree with all of the article and videos because I realized that when things are in a musical form or a sweet tone then you start to remmeber because it becomes catchy. For example, the alphabet the musical form or it makes it easy to remember and sing along. I sometimes personally when needing to remember something I sing it to a beat that i like or find catchy to help remember it. Music gives a person a sense of enjoyment due to the free tone of it. People become completely into it and fall into a zone. Music helps people release stress and get rid of all negatives in their life.
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Music triggers memories for me. When I hear certain sounds or instrumentals I can be brought back to a time and place in my mind. Music triggers emotions. Music can make us cry, laugh, relax, etc… and by revisiting songs those emotions can always be brought back.
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I can relate to you because I was recently out of the country to visit family and hearing the same songs here as I did over there, makes me emotional. Not because it brings back sad memories but because I miss being over there and the environment that I was in.
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I believe that often times we underestimate the power that music holds over us. The same way a smell can trigger a distant memory or primal feeling we can’t fully comprehend, music can reach within us and grab hold of something we didn’t know was there. I think that the since we are so deeply connected to the music that we listen to on an emotional level, the music we listen too says something about us: who we are, where we’ve been, and what we look to for pleasure. Do any of you believe that the music you listen to in some way reflects an aspect of your personality?
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I believe that music affects the way people think because different genres have a different “energy” to them. The music that I listen to makes me want to jump around and sing the songs out loud, whether it’s a sad, happy or love song. Thats because I listen to “pop punk”, rock or alternative but there are other genres that do make me emotional. I do agree that the brain and music have a connection since we do feel certain ways with different genres and instruments.
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agree that music has a big effect on our brain. Music changes our way to think and our emotions like for example every morning when I wake up I put music and I am not a morning person so when I listen to the music it makes me change my mood like it makes me feel motived and happy. Music is like coffee it can never be absent. Music helps you to concentrate and understand clearly what you are doing. It has never happened to you that while you read or do homework you listen to music and it’s like you fall apart in another world, it’s like your brain is almost 100% active. This happened to me every time I listen to electronic music while I reading and it’s incredible how our brain works with just a listen to music. I hope that you feel the same way as me.
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