Importance of studying psychology of music - Essay Example

Music psychology Affiliation Music psychology Introduction Music is an art of gathering sounds together in a way that individual like or finds interesting. Most of music comprises people singing using their voices or playing instruments like guitar, piano and drums. Most human behavior is connected to survival and, therefore, music behaviors can have the advantage that enhances human procreation and survival. Hence, it is important in psychology since it is a non-adaptive pleasure seeking and an evolutionary vestige (David 2001).

There are different evidence to show that music play a great role in psychology. Some evolutionary theories explain the advantage of music. Mate selection may have raised the courtship behavior. For example, the skills of singing can imply that the person is in good health. Therefore, music linked animals to find each other colorful and attractive (David 2001).Biochemical evidence also proved the importance of musical pleasure. Avram Goldstein experiment implies that music induce pleasure because it releases endorphins that stimulate the opiate brains of receptors.

In other words, music pleasures involve the same psychological mechanisms that are used by other pleasure-inducing behaviors.Fukui listened testosterone production to measuring the effect of music. He measured testosterone levels from saliva samples from individuals while they listened to their best music. Compared with a group that did not listen to music, and the testosterone levels dropped largely (David 2001). Therefore, both experiments proved that music influences the production of certain proteins in the body.

Archaeological facts show the continuous record of music making in the settlement of humans. Due to musical activities found in every people settlement. For example, Ivan Turk recovered a bone flute on an ancient burial mound while excavating in Divje Babe, Slovenia (Anon, 1997). The instrument is bone made making it an earliest era instrument because flutes are now wood fashioned. Hence, music was present at the old times. Therefore, it is evident that music was a basic requirement in evolution.

Anthropological evidence, there is no human culture in modern times that does not involve themselves in musical activities. The flute found by Divje is not a human artifact hence, music making in not only among the Homo sapiens but also among the entire homo (David 2001). Relatively, not all adaptations are in the affected generation hence, making music a basic requirement.Ethological evidence shows how animal and human behaviors are related to music. Some behaviors are practiced most of the time and require a large expenditure of energy and a great deal of time, making them important.

The Ethologists had two cases to explain the musical behaviors; the U.S. society and the Mekranoti Indians.Mekranoti are gatherers and hunters in Amazon rainforest in Brazil. Mekranoti men sing every night and before sunset and their women sing several months of the year. The men song is a masculine roar to their endeavor in hunting (David 2001). The song makes them stay awake during gathering in the night. In U.S., a modern industrialized society, music is an important export. In sports, televisions, films, games and toys, music ranks the most (David 2001).

Therefore, both modern industrial society and hunters and gatherers, human dedicate most of their resources to music making and listening.Lastly, music helps in social bonding. It raises arousal and synchronizes people moods to serve the larger goal of the group. For example, music making can influence war party. North Americans Indians famously dances and sing prior to introducing an attack on another tribe (David 2001). Therefore, music unites people in performing an activity in unity.ConclusionFrom the discussion, it is evident that music plays a main responsibility in psychology and it evident in social bonding, evolution, anthropology, biochemical activities and ethology.

ReferenceAnon, S. (2014). Neanderthal notes: Did ancient humans play modern scales? Scientific American, 277(3), 28-30.Huron, D. (2001). Is music an evolutionary adaptation? Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 930(1), 43-61.