Music is one of the essential things present in our everyday lives. It makes us feel different kinds of emotions, and it makes us feel like we are in a different location or ambiance.
Music affects our behavior by triggering behavioral responses in our brain based on musical pleasure, anticipation, emotions, and memories. It is a stimulus that targets our brain’s dopamine system, which is involved in our behaviors.
Our brain categorizes music that exceeds our expectations as one that is pleasurable. That is why people tend to enjoy a musical experience where music is surprising.
Both emotion and memories are associated with how we react to a piece of music, which casually changes our behavior because it can trigger connections and associations (Heshmat, 2019).
That is why when a person listens to particular music or playlist, it seems like a past event or memory will play on a person’s mind.
The behavior a person shows can also be based on what type of music they are listening to, and it can also contribute to how that person feels while listening to certain music.
For example, if a person feels sad, that person resorts to listening to mellow music with sad lyrics.
The more a person listens to sad music, the more they can express those emotions.
The same goes for when a person is in a good mood. Again, listening to lively and pleasant music will boost the confidence or lively ambiance that person is feeling.
What is Music?
Music can be heard and consists of harmony, tone, pitch, rhythm, texture, and expression. It is a set of lyrics performed by singing and has many genres, such as ballad, rock, country, acoustic, reggae, pop, and many more.
Music is also a way of expression by many people. Even a simple person can compose music depending on what they are feeling.
It has much importance that we did not expect it will attain. Music also makes us feel like we are understood, and most of the time, it makes us feel better.
It makes us feel something, and by music, we can also convey our feelings and thoughts.
The science behind Music and Behavior
Different studies prove the relationship of music to a person’s behavior. It is proven that music can affect a person’s behavior depending on the music they are listening to or the place or reason they are listening to music.
A study conducted by Zhang in 2020 aims to explore the influence of music on the brain. Zhang’s method compares the different cognition and memory within the group of students that varies in academic performance, and then the cognitive ability scale is used.
The result he gathered shows that listening to music positively affects cognitive ability, especially in improving memory.
Therefore, another study associated with music and behavior aims to identify the effect of the music genre on a memory task. The researchers researched by having 60 college undergraduates as their participants, and they are randomly selected to be put into three groups which are
- listening to classical music while playing Concentration
- listening to rap music while playing Concentration, and
- playing Concentration in silence.
The results obtained by the researchers show that the participants that are listening to classical music gained much better scores than those who are listening to rap music.
Therefore being consistent with the findings by Hallam, Price, and Katsarou in 2002, wherein participants that exposed to calming music performed better on memory and cognitive tasks (Bugter & Carden, 2012).
Positive Effects of Music
Mind
Researchers from John Hopkins state that listening to music reduces:
- anxiety
- pain
- blood pressure
- memory
- sleeping quality
- mood
- fight response
- flight response
The mechanisms of how our brain responds to music are known using vibration. These vibrations from the source of music traveled through the air and went straight to the ear canal.
The vibrations tickle our eardrums and get transformed into an electrical signal that travels on the auditory nerve to the brain stem, where our brain processes it and identifies it as music (John Hopkins Medicine, n.d.).
Researchers suggest that listening to pleasant background music can help a person focus on what he pr she is doing. It can also help in improving performance on cognitive tasks.
Meanwhile, listening to upbeat and downbeat music can lead to better memory. Music is also proven to reduce stress. In addition, it helps to soothe a person’s mind, which promotes relaxation.
Some studies show that patients listening to music for an hour every day experience reduced pain compared to those not listening to music.
Listening to music also makes a person motivated. For example, the researchers proved that those who listened to more upbeat and fast-paced music tend to work out harder in an experiment.
Music is also proven to lighten your mood and make you happier.
A study shows that those who listen to positive music are happier (Cherry, 2019).
Lifestyle and Health
A study by Chanda and Levitin found that listening to music prompts the release of neurochemicals that play an essential role in our brain function and mental health.
Like dopamine, a chemical associated with pleasure, the stress hormone cortisol, serotonin, and other hormones have a relationship with immunity and oxytocin that carry the ability to connect with other people.
Listening to music improves the quality of life and social life for people who are clinically diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Music also helps in keeping the heart-healthy. Researchers prove that listening to music can change a person’s breath rate, blood pressure, and heart rate depending on the intensity and tempo of the person’s music.
There is also a therapy called music therapy for cancer patients. It is proved to lessen fatigue and raise the threshold for people engaged in neuromuscular training (Stanborough, 2020).
Mood and Emotion
“Working together to produce a collaborative output is a powerful way to bring out the best in people — not just in terms of their musical skills, but their communication skills, friendships, care, and support for one another,” said Anthea Innes, Ph.D., head of Bournemouth University Dementia Institute (BUDI) .
In their institution is a unique orchestra for people with dementia. It helps improve their mood and improve the confidence they have in themselves.
This orchestra is one of the projects of BUDI that aims to prove that people who are clinically diagnosed with dementia can still learn a new skill and still have fun. Furthermore, it proves that nothing will hinder them from living the life they want, even if they have dementia.
Doctor Anthea Innes states that the orchestra is a life-changing project for everyone (Boothby, 2017).
Sad Music
On the other hand, a researcher from Durham University in the United Kingdom, listening to sad music gives pleasure to listeners, and it even helps ease the emotion and feeling that they are feeling (Eerola, 2016).
The lead author of the study, Tuomas Eerola, says,
“The results help us to pinpoint the ways people regulate their mood with the help of music, as well as how music rehabilitation and music therapy might tap into these processes of comfort, relief, and enjoyment.”
In line with this, a study published in the Journal of Consumer Research written by Lee, Andrade, and Palmer in 2013 states that people resort to listening to a sad type of song, especially when they are feeling sad or lost because they feel like they re having someone by their sides.
UpBeat/Happy Music
On the other hand, a study by Yuna and Sheldon found that there is an improvement in people’s moods listening to upbeat music in just two weeks.
The author also stated that if listening to music can make someone happy. Then there is a link on it about better physical health and greater relationship satisfaction.
What Type of Music Should You Listen to Depending on Your Mood?
A person can listen to many variations of music depending on their feelings and what they want to project in their minds.
If a person feels happy and confident, an upbeat song can be a great partner to this feeling. Aside from making you feel like you are the lead star in a movie, you can enjoy the song entirely without worrying about anything.
A cheerful song like acoustics and indie is also a great type of music to listen.
When you feel sad, gloomy, or lonely, listening to sad music such as heartbreak, being lost, or any type of song with striking lyrics and sad melody can help you feel better and release your emotions.
When stressed and nervous, classical music or natural background music such as birds chirping, oceans waves, grass, the rustling of leaves, sounds of air, and rain sounds can make you feel relaxed.
These background pieces of music can also help a person focus while doing activities or while preparing for an exam.
Music is indeed one of the things that can be heard everywhere that can help us with everything we are facing. It might be a passion for others or a hobby, but it differs on what needs a person wants to fulfill in reality.
Different forms of Music
It is consists of different forms categorized as basic music forms and classic standardized forms.
Basic Music Forms
- Strophic – it is a form of music where a verse is being repeated all over. The standard version of a strophic form is a song that is consists of a single verse of melody and structure (Frrant, 2021). An example of music that uses strophic forms is Amazing Grace by Hillsong United.
- Through-composed – it is a type of music that is continuous and non-repetitive (Farrant, 2021). An example of through-composed music is Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen.
- Binary – it is known as a piece of two music consisting of two same sections repeated within the piece. These sections are the same in harmony and are equal in length. An example of music with a binary form is the folk song Greensleeves (Farrant, 2021).
- Ternary – a musical form that deals with three bases. Usually written as ABA, the sections that are represented by the letter are long and whole pieces. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star is an example of music with a ternary form (Farrant, 2021).
Standardized Classic Forms
- Sonata Form – a three-section musical form that refers to making a movement in a piece of instrumental music. It is consists of three sections, (1) exposition, (2) development, and (3) recapitulation (Master Class, 2021).
- Theme and Variation is a piece of music that starts with a fundamental passage and typically consists of 8 to 32 bars (Farrant, 2021).
- Minuet and Trio – a third movement of symphonies and string quartets and is a common form used in composing classical music. It is commonly used in music words of Mozart and Beethoven (Mello, 2016).
- Scherzo and Trio – a form of music developed during the late Classical period that has the same structure as other trio forms. An example of scherzo and trio is Symphony No. 9 by Beethoven (Lumen Learning, n.d.).
- Rondo is simply the extension of binary and ternary forms in which the refrain alternates with episodes. An example of rondo is Fuer Elise by Beethoven (Farrant, 2021).
- Sonata-Rondo – it has the same alternation of refrain-episode that can be found in the five-part rondo. Still, some characteristics of sonata form are associated with the alternation (Open Music Theory, n.d.).