For most of us, music plays some kind of role in our lives. For some, it makes them wanna dance. For others, it helps them get over a loss. For most, it simply puts a smile on their face.
There are numerous reasons that people enjoy listening to music. I think I can count on my hand how many times someone has told me they “aren’t into music”. Music is so essential to so many cultures; it’s hard to imagine not having some kind of attachment to music. Essentially any time that I’m alone, I’m probably listening to music. I’m actually listening to music right now, as I write this.
Music has been a part of my life since I can remember. I remember using a speaker system we had set up throughout the house, while we would do our weekly chores. I remember nights where my dad would put on a few records while dinner was being cooked and the day was winding down. Just thinking about those times can transport us back to them. Our auditory system (the sounds), like our olfactory (the smells), is very closely linked to the memory and emotionally-specific parts of our brain.
My dad has one of the best record collections I’ve seen. He introduced me and my brothers to all of his favorites. He also plays guitar, harmonica, and sings. Music almost always plays a significant role at any family gathering, whether it’s actually sitting around and playing or simply listening to different albums while we play board games.
My brothers and I have all learned one musical instrument or another at some point in our lives. Me and my older brother have both played in bands to some extent. For a solid 5 years, music was a huge part of my life. I lived for getting out and playing for crowds on the weekends. I took two years off of school with the idea I could make it as a rockstar.
Even though I finally realized it wouldn’t happen, there’s really nothing quite like the high you get from playing something you wrote with some of your closest friends and having the crowd express to you how much they love it. It creates this strange sense of connection with complete strangers and fulfills some of our most basic social needs.
How does music have the power to control our emotions so strongly?
The simple answer is a combination of adrenaline and dopamine gets released, producing specific effects on our bodies. These effects can give a sense of euphoria and joy, which can continue long after the activating stimulus is gone. Dopamine is the same chemical released when you eat something delicious, sleep, and even when you have sex.
It can be looked at it as a kind of reward system for doing things your body needs to do. This reward system motivates us to repeat the action. Whether you prefer to listen to music or create it, I believe music could be added to the list of things people can utilize in order to maintain mental health. If everyone looked at music this way, we could start to use it in positive ways when dealing with depression and other mental illnesses. Many institutions are taking a harder look at music therapy and its positive results.
Adrenaline is a chemical released during our “fight or flight” response. It is extremely beneficial in situations where your safety may be in question. It increases our heart rate, core body temperature, and blood pressure. It slows our digestive system and has control over a multitude of other things. The end goal is to allow us to make the decision to either fight or flee from whatever stimulus is causing the adrenaline spike. For performers, this adrenaline rush is perceived as nerves.
Under the right circumstances, these are great because the effects of the hormone allow you to have dialed in control of your muscles and better focus. For audience members, the effects of adrenaline can be seen as getting hyped up and excited at a show. One of the most interesting things to me about this reaction is that there are so many people that attribute this getting hyped up and excitement as a positive reaction to the music. In reality, something in the music has triggered our fight or flight response and it has been argued that our bodies are giving us an immediate negative response to the music.
However you want to look at it, music has the ability to physically change the chemical composition of our body. It is an insanely powerful resource for people working to find some happy in their lives.
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Originally Published on Go Find Your Happy
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