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Mind and Music

Music has been shown to activate some of the broadest and most diverse networks of the

brain. From helping people with Parkinson's move around like they never have before, to simply

having something to do while waiting for your cookies to be done in the oven. The emotional

parts of the brain not only become activated but synchronized. Not only does music promote

happiness, but it strengthens the neurons in our brains. Music also brings cultures around the

world together. When it comes to music, diversity is something many people do not typically

think of. Normally it takes a talented musician to understand this or just an appreciative music

lover to understand this. Most people find one or two good genres that they like and then stop

there and think that is all they will ever need. On the other hand, some people try to find different

genres that spread from culture to culture and all around the world. Those people will typically

turn out to be the most open-minded, understanding, and welcoming people. At the same time,

just because someone who listens to more is all that, does not mean someone who sticks to one

type of music is worse than someone who likes a bit of everything. It simply means that they like

their things and that is ok too. Even with that though, why do people stick to certain genres over

others? Why do some people listen to symphonic blackened Viking folk metal when others

prefer to loosely listen to rap and pop? Do the genres people listen to affect personality, mindset,

and life choices, or are it just a random preference that does not mean much? Do some types of

music make people smarter, violent, or well-rounded individuals? There are so many questions

to be asked on a topic like this and that is why this senior project is about music affecting

humans' minds as opposed to something like why do people wear clothes? In all seriousness,

music has helped people both mentally and physically but it all traces back to the brain.

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However, those are just the basics. How can music affect peoples’ brains not only short term, or

long term, but also in the exact moment they hear it?

Music in the past was seen as something that only humans could understand and worked

on only one side of the brain. In recent years this has been proven to be progressively proven

wrong. “We may not realize it when listening to a favorite tune, but music activates many

different parts of the brain, according to Harvard Medical School neurologist and psychiatrist

David Silbersweig, MD”( Music and the Brain). In that same article, the parts of the brain said

were the temporal lobe, including specific temporal gyri, the cerebellum, the amygdala,

hippocampus, various parts of the brain’s reward system, and the ventral tegmental area. (The

brain's reward system is the ventral tegmental area, the nucleus accumbens, which is part of the

basal ganglia, hypothalamus, hippocampus, amygdala, prefrontal cortex, globus pallidus,

pituitary gland.) The interesting thing is that the brain's reward system is triggered by dopamine.

Some things that trigger a dopamine rise to name a few are alcohol, sugar, drugs (typically

painkillers/opioids), and caffeine. Music can also give you a shortcut to the brain's reward system

and give you the dopamine rush that someone may crave. So instead of going to your local bar,

you can always just listen to The Jimi Hendrix Experience. When wanting that dopamine rush at

the moment, listening to a certain genre of music can alter your mood. In a study of people ages

twelve to seventy-six, it was found that the most significant mood changes were that classical

music made them feel tense, new age made them feel relaxed, grunge saw a large spike in feeling

hostile, and designer music made everyone more relaxed. But if grunge music makes people feel

hostile, then why do people like it. “One explanation is the fact that increased anger causes

increased sympathetic stimulation, which in turn heightens levels of cortisol and other adrenal

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steroids. This produces a momentary high followed by negative psychological aftereffects. The

stimulating experience of this initial high could account for teenagers' enjoyment of this type of

music.” (McCraty) Getting high off music might sound impossible at first, but if you’ve ever felt

it, it can be like any other drug. You feel it, you want more, and you eventually build a tolerance

for it. This high can come from different things from a slow song with a low tuning to a fast song

in a higher or more standard tuning. This also can go into the question of can music be a therapy

because it can give you the same euphoric high that anti-depressants give you. At this point

considering if music could replace drugs does not seem so difficult. Going back to music making

you feel different emotions, it might seem like a bad thing that music might make you feel

depressed or vengeful but in an interview with (guitar teacher and music director) Kyle Mendes

(from School of Rock in Walnut Creek, California), when asked if specific genres of music were

bad for you he stated “ It depends on what you need” (Mendes). Also in an interview with music

therapist Laura Jensen Norberg (at Bayside Music Therapy Services), she said that it “depends

on person to person” (Norberg). Essentially saying that one person might have a feeling of

intense rage towards someone. That person might turn to heavy metal as a healthy way to get that

anger out in a safe controlled environment. Whereas another person might turn to blues when

there sad and need to calm down after a long hard day. The main point is, that anyone, can listen

to whatever they want because everyone's brain is different and that is ok.

After going over how music can get you high it raises the question; how can music affect

your body through your brain. Everyone knows about playing Mozart for babies but what about

the elderly. Many people from a wide variety of age ranges listen to different types of music but

for older people, it can do things that may seem impossible. “Active musical engagement,

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including those over age 50, was associated with higher rates of happiness and good cognitive

function.” (Budson) There were even some studies of people with Parkinson's where they went

from barely being able to move but when music was being played it was like they just took off

10 years and had very few issues at all. In a video about how music and the brain work together

the following was said; “We actually register a beat in our brains motor system. That’s likely

why it can help people with movement disorders.”( Vox Media Studios 14:06) People in this

study describe using music as a superpower to be able to move in ways that they could never

even imagine doing on their own. A more extreme example of music helping someone is the case

of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. She was shot in the head by a deranged gunman on

January 8, 2011, but luckily survived. Her survival was not perfect though. The part of her brain

that was damaged was the part that lets her speak. She went to a music therapist and slowly

learned how to speak again through the use of songs. Now we have gone from seeing music as a

drug to seeing it as a life-changing experience that can help all types of people. “We know what

we’re doing here,” she said. “We help people get better and back to normal life. We get people

going back to work or back to college, so it’s not uncommon that she has had such a great

recovery.” (Great Names) Those were the words of Maegan Morrow, the therapist who helped

Giffords learn to speak again. She thanked her college for the education she received and did not

think much else of it. But Dr.Morrow only used children's songs like “Happy Birthday” and

“Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”, so what happens when you use other genres? “I think the stuff I

got exposed to put me in a certain direction.” (Mendes) The music you are originally exposed to

will give your brain a nostalgic feeling of euphoria and therefore will raise your motor skills

overall and make your body perform certain tasks that may seem otherwise hard. Not to say that

other forms of musical intake are not good but it is the nostalgic part of our brains that find

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things familiar and that's what makes us see songs we liked when we were younger as something

so familiar.

Music can be people's identity entirely or, just change their mood at the moment, all from

one song. But why do people stick with certain genres and despise others? “It is believed that

music fulfills several functions, and is used to relieve boredom, ease tension, manipulate

listener’s moods, and fight loneliness. It is speculated that music is used to organize one’s

internal and social worlds and may direct activities such as physical exercise or celebrations.”

(Sigg) Essentially, people listen to different things, for different things. These things can be

anything from wanting to get out some negative feelings in a controlled environment to just

wanting a song to listen to on the way to the store. For some people, it might’ve been a family

member or friend that originally got them into it but naturally, if they keep listening to it odds are

they have something in common with others who listen to similar music. “Listening to the blues

& reggae can make you less nervous, rock & classical music can change your average mood to a

great one, heavy metal does not always put one in an aggressive mood, country has been seen to

cause depression and broadway music is inspiring.” (Whelan) Some of this makes a lot of sense

after some thought. Metal usually takes out aggression that you already had. Blues and reggae

make you proud and confident due to the themes of the songs. Rock and classical typically have

the same listeners from time to time and therefore the listeners will eventually want to play and

have a good time doing so. Country a lot of the time takes the sad themes from blues and focuses

on them more. Broadway music has a grand sound and therefore leaves the listener inspired. But

what about throwing those people into those genres without the listener previously listening to

any of the music prior. “We hypothesized that participants who listened to classical and pop

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music would report more positive moods, and those who listened to heavy metal would report

more negative moods.”( Rea) it turned out that the heavy metal group was overall more paranoid.

The classical group was calm and relaxed. In the pop group, it was relaxed and comfortable.

Considering these people had never been exposed to heavy metal this makes sense. It would be

like watching a horror movie for the first time.

Now the more common side of how people would see music as a therapy today.

“Listening to music may boost exercise ability, ease stress and anxiety, and enhance recovery

from strokes.”(Harvard Health) The study goes on to say that no matter what your music

preference is you can and will still get the benefits from music. So far music is helping all types

of people from all walks of life. “Music therapy interventions can address a variety of healthcare

& educational goals such as Promote Wellness, Manage Stress, Alleviate Pain, Express Feelings,

Enhance Memory, Improve Communication, Promote Physical Rehabilitation and more.”

(American Music Therapy Association) Music, when used correctly can fix people's life-lasting

problems. “Depressed patients' negative emotional bias was demonstrated using musical stimuli.

This suggests that the evaluation of emotional qualities in music could become a means to

discriminate between depressed and non-depressed subjects.” (Punkanen) This shows how the

mindset is changed negatively.

Last but not least is how does playing music affect the brain? Well, to start from a

musician's perspective you are already doing multiple things at once. One of those things is

listening to the music and comprehending it better than the listener. While doing a brain scan on

a musician who was told to go from memorizing a song to improvising this was said; “The areas

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that are active before, the ones that deal with motor skills and sounds, are even more active. But

see how there's more blue in the front of his brain. That’s the prefrontal cortex, and it’s

associated with affordable planning and conscience self-monitoring.”(How Does Music Affect

Your Brain?) They are saying that the brain uses almost twice as much of itself from

improvising. This is because your brain simply needs more than just half of your brain to

comprehend music like we used to think it did. Although, new ideas are simply what makes us

human because if they did not then we would be at a very different evolution period. “Playing a

musical instrument engages practically every part of the brain at once” (How Playing an

Instrument Benefits Your Brain 1:54) So while listening to music can be good for your brain,

playing music can send brain signals all over the place. This is your ultimate brain workout.

There isn’t much that works your brain as hard as playing music because you are multitasking to

an extreme measure and therefore your brain works hard to do something that many people make

look effortless.

In conclusion, music can affect the way people see and hear the world. When it is in the

moment it can calm you down after a long hard day or amp you up just before a workout. It is all

up to the listener on how they want that experience to be. In the long term, it can take over

someone's life in both positive and negative ways. Music could even save your life, make you

move in ways you did not think you could, and on top of all that it can even get you high if you

wanted. It can give people a purpose in life or just a really fun hobby to have when you have

nothing better to do. It can greet you at birth and stay with you till death. But with that, there is

also short-term where maybe your just in the car and decide to turn on the radio. Maybe it is a

song you know or maybe know but regardless without realizing you are bobbing your head up

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and down to the beat and you love it. It gives you the chills and it makes you happy. That is all

that matters. For some people, it is their identity and for others, it is just something they find

interesting from time to time. Overall, music is something that connects us all whether we know

it or not. That alone is why music will never die. As long as there is a beat somehow,

somewhere, there will always be music. So, reader, all I ask is you find something you have

never in your life heard. Hear it out, listen to it all, and know its story. You might just find

something in yourself you never thought was there.

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Works Cited

American Music Therapy Association. “What Is Music Therapy? | What Is Music

Therapy? | American Music Therapy Association (AMTA).” American Music Therapy

Association, American Music Therapy Association, 2005,

www.musictherapy.org/about/musictherapy.

Budson, Andrew E., MD. “Why Is Music Good for the Brain?” Harvard Health, Harvard

Health Publishing, 7 Oct. 2020, www.health.harvard.edu/blog/why-is-music-good-for-

the-brain-2020100721062?msclkid=71a05aa5c1d311ecbb9ec2e8359d8709.

“Great Names - Sam Houston State University.” Sam Houston State University, Sam

Houston State University, www.shsu.edu/dept/marketing/great-name/maegan-

morrow.html. Accessed 25 Apr. 2022.

Harvard Health. “Tuning in: How Music May Affect Your Heart.” Harvard Health,

Harvard Health Publishing, 30 Mar. 2021, www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/tuning-

in-how-music-may-affect-your-heart.

“How Does Music Affect Your Brain? | Tech Effects | WIRED.” YouTube, uploaded by

WIRED, 15 Mar. 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRE624795zU.

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“How Playing an Instrument Benefits Your Brain - Anita Collins.” YouTube, uploaded by

TED-Ed, 22 July 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0JKCYZ8hng.

McCraty, Rollin, et al. “The Effects Of Different Types Of Music On Mood, Tension,

and Mental Clarity.” Alternative Therapies, vol. 4, no. 1, 1998, p. 8,

www.heartmath.org/assets/uploads/2015/01/music-mood-effects.pdf.

Mendes, Kyle. Interview. Conducted by Jakob Carstensen, 24 April 2022.

Norberg, Laura. Interview. Conducted by Jakob Carstensen, 10 May 2022.

“Music and the Brain.” Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, 6 May 2022,

neuro.hms.harvard.edu/centers-and-initiatives/harvard-Mahoney-neuroscience-institute/

about-hmni/archive-brain-1?msclkid=d435686ec44211ecbfc25d606d0a07eb.

Punkanen, Marko, et al. “Just a Moment...” Science Direct, 2010,

www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0165032710006488

REA, CHRISTOPHER, et al. “Listening to Classical, Pop, and Metal Music: An

Investigation of Mood.” EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES, vol. 46, no. 1, 2010,

p. 1. emporia, esirc.emporia.edu/bitstream/handle/123456789/381/205.1.pdf?

sequence=1#:~:text=Specifically%2C%20classical%20music%20increased

%20participants,related%20to%20worry%20and%20tension.

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Sigg, Nicola.An investigation into the relationship between music preference, personality

and psychological wellbeing.School of Health and Environmental Science,

2009.citeseerx. download (psu.edu)

Vox Media Studios, et al. “Explained | Music | FULL EPISODE | Netflix.” YouTube,

uploaded by Netflix, 17 Apr. 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xb33zXpEgCc.

Whelan, Caitlin. “Does the Type of Music You Listen to Affect Your Mood? | SiOWfa15:

Science in Our World: Certainty and Controversy.” SiOWfa15: Science in Our World: Certainty

and Controversy, Penn State University, 21 Oct. 2015, sites.psu.edu/siowfa15/2015/10/21/does-

the-type-of-music-you-listen-to-affect-your-mood.

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