Music and Emotion - Research Paper Example

Music and Emotion “The tremendous ability that music has to affect and manipulate emotions and the brain is undeniable, and yet largely inexplicable” (Vaidya). The association between music, emotion and brain is an interesting topic which provoked the attention of music lovers, psychologists and medical experts. In fact there are many mental disorder cases which have been treated effectively with the help of music therapy. Music has a soothing effect on disturbed minds. Music can touch the emotions of all kinds of people like introverts, extroverts, simple or tough people. Music has no languages or it has its own language which is understandable only to the music lovers. It is quite possible that a westerner may infatuated by the Indian classical music and an Indian may love the western music. In other words, music is all about the rhythm, composing styles, lyrics etc rather than the normal languages. This paper analyses the connection between music and emotions. According to one study, major keys and rapid tempos cause happiness, whereas minor keys and slow tempos cause sadness, and rapid tempos together with dissonance cause fear. There is also a theory that dissonance sounds unpleasant to listeners across all cultures. Dissonance is to a certain degree culture-dependent, but also appears to be partly intrinsic to the music. Studies have shown that infants as young as 4 months old show negative reactions to dissonance (Vaidya). Even though the relation between music and emotion is undeniable, it is not necessary that same emotions may develop among different people when they hear same music. In other words, emotional association of music is highly subjective. For example, a group of people who hear the same music in the same environment may develop different emotions. One of them may develop happiness because of the fast rhythm and another may become sad because of the lyrics. A third person in that group may focus more on the singing style or the voice of the singer while a fourth person may give more importance to the composing of the music. These differences happen because of the individual differences. In other words, the development of emotion as a result of music listening depends on the nature of the individual. Music is effective in the treatment of psychological disorders like autism because of its ability to touch the emotions of the patient. It is difficult to treat psychological problems like autism with the help of any medicines. In the study of how music therapy improves behavioral abnormalities of autism, Griggs-Drane and Wheeler, a music therapist and educational consultant, respectively, in the Richmond Hospital Education Program, performed a study in 1997 with a blind, female adolescent with autism. The client was asked to listen to music, sing with music, and play instruments to decrease her self-destructive behavior. The study did show a decrease in her destructive behavior (Aguila, p.7) The above findings clearly show that music can affect even abnormal people. Music can be used as an effective communication device between an autistic patient and the therapist. The therapist can cultivate many desired feelings in the minds of the patient after recognizing the specific tastes of the patient. It is not necessary that two autistic patients may react in the same manner to a particular music. In other words, the music which was used by the therapist to cultivate a particular behavior in an autistic patient need not be successful on another patient. The therapist should vary the music to see the effects and to decide which music is suitable for a particular patient. “Leanne Belasco, a music therapist at the Kennedy Krieger School's Montgomery County campus in Rockville, says music gives structure and a predictable rhythm to verbal directions” (Hwang). Apart from autism, music therapy can be effective in treating some of the phobias. Some people have the habit of developing unintentional negative feelings. Such people often worried about unnecessary things because of the development of negative thoughts or energy. Music therapy can be used effectively to decrease their negative energy. In a study, it was found that the “negative feelings decreased five-fold for patients who received 30 minutes of acoustic therapy. For the group that heard and felt music only prior to the operation, the fearful feelings reduced by a factor of 1.6 only” (How Does Music Impact Our Emotions?) Even though, it is a fact, the association between music and emotion is still mysterious. No scientific studies were able to provide a concrete answer to the question “why or how music affects emotions”. Many researches are still going on still to unveil the mysteries surrounding music and its association with emotions. Dr. Anne Blood and Robert Zatorre of McGill University in Montreal, used positron emission tomography, or PET scans, to find out if particular brain structures were stimulated by music. In their study, Blood and Zatorre asked 10 musicians, five men and five women, to choose stirring music. The subjects were then given PET scans as they listened to four types of audio stimuli - the selected music, other music, general noise or silence. Each sequence was repeated three times in random order. Blood said when the subjects heard the music that gave them "chills," the PET scans detected activity in the portions of the brain that are also stimulated by food and sex (How Does Music Impact Our Emotions?) The above findings show that music can definitely affect brain systems. Sexual energy is provoked when a person sees a beautiful person of opposite sex under normal circumstances. In other words, beauty is associated with sex. Same way music is associated with emotions which is evident from the above studies. The Science Daily article Brain Hub That Links Music, Memory And Emotion has also revealed some interesting facts about the association of emotions and music. “The region of the brain where memories of our past are supported and retrieved also serves as a hub that links familiar music, memories and emotion” (Brain Hub That Links Music, Memory And Emotion). The above findings explain why different people respond differently to same music. It is not necessary that all the people may have same past experiences. Because of the differences in past experiences, people respond to music in different manner. The contents in the music is often equated or analyzed with respect to the past experience before a person decides whether to accept or reject a particular music. For example, a person with failed love affair may enjoy sad music with a failed love affair theme whereas a boy who is in love with girl may enjoy romantic songs. As stated earlier, music has no language at all. Westerners can enjoy Indian music and Indians can enjoy western music. Annemiek Vink has given a satisfactory explanation for the question why different people who speak different languages, enjoy same music. When we listen to music, we take into account factors such as the complexity, familiarity and novelty of the music. The degree to which the music sounds familiar determines if the music is experienced as pleasurable or uncomfortable. The hedonic value is low when the music is entirely new to the listener and progresses with increasing familiarity and will decrease again when the music is totally known (Music and Emotion). To conclude, the connection between music and emotion is undeniable even though, more studies and researches are needed to give it a scientific backing. Past experiences has definite role in making a music enjoyable to disturbing for a person. Music therapy is used in the treatment of many of the psychological disorders which clearly shows that music can affect mind or emotions. Works Cited 1. Aguila, Elizabeth. “Music and the Mind: Can Music Benefit Those with Autism?”. Web. 18 May 2011. 2. “Brain Hub That Links Music, Memory And Emotion”. 2010. Science Daily. Web. 18 May 2011. 3. Hwang Jean. “Music Wins Applause for Addressing Autism”. Web. 18 May 2011. Washington Post. Tuesday, March 3, 2009. 4. “How Does Music Impact Our Emotions?”. Web. 18 May 2011. 5. “Music and Emotion”. Web. 18 May 2011. 6. Vaidya, Geetanjali. “Music, Emotion and the Brain”. 2011. The Triple Helix. Lent 2011. Web. 18 May 2011. Outline 1. Introduction In the first paragraph, several general hypothesizes and facts about the association between music, emotions and brain were introduced. The general features of music and its ability to touch the emotions of a person are also introduced. 2. Body The ability of music in treating psychological disorders like autism and phobias were motioned in the body to establish the connection between music and emotions. Music is referred as a communication channel between the therapists and the patients. The association between past experiences in enjoying music is also explained in the body. Some of the findings of the scientific studies were also mentioned in the body to establish the association between music and emotions. 3. Conclusions In the last paragraph, all the findings of this research paper were concluded. 4. Works Cited All the references used for writing this paper is given at the end of the paper on a separate page Read More