While trying to find something to blog about, I stumbled upon this really interesting video, Why Music Moves Us, and a related article by Time Magazine. I thought the ideas presented in both incorporated much of what we have been learning in class, including sensation and perception, the brain, and even evolutionary psychology.
Anyone who has ever listened to music can attest to the fact that music has the ability to make us feel. Different songs and types of music affect our emotions. One song can make us feel incredibly joyful, lifting our spirits. Another song can break our hearts, even sometimes bringing us to tears.
Music is just essentially sound waves and vibrations, so how do we become emotional just from hearing these things? I urge you to watch the video below, it brings up some really cool things you probably didn’t know.
PS, this video wins extra points from for showing George Michael's sad Charlie Brown walk. (Arrested Development fans, where you at?)
This article was also really interesting. I learned that when you listen to music, certain areas of your brain are stimulated. One of these areas is the nucleus accumbens, an area responsible for the release of dopamine as well as the forces of addiction. Music also causes activity in your amygdala, which we all now know, processes emotions.
An experiment was conducted that aimed to understand how our brain influences whether we enjoy a song or not. Subjects of the experiment listened to 30 seconds of a song they had never heard before while under an fMRI machine, and the machine recorded which areas of the brain were being stimulated. Then the subject was asked how much they would be willing to pay to hear the entire song, ranging from nothing to $2. The scientists discovered that if the song initiated a strong response in the intellectual and emotional parts of the brain, the person would be willing to pay more money to purchase the entire song.
Thoughts?
I already filled my comment quota for the day, but I saw this and I wanted to give my thoughts.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this video immensely. (Yes, the only reason I watched it was because you said 'George Michael's sad Charlie Brown walk..) This is a really fascinating subject. There are so many cool factors about music to look into. This is kind've tangential, but I'd love to study the social effects music has had on different societies.
Music actually has many effects on people. It can calm people to the point where they can be relieved from their stressed. It can also have an effect on the way you learn. There are studies that show that a certain type of music that if you listened to it while studying you could get a better grade. Music has a wonderful effect to it.
ReplyDeleteIt's so interesting, how much of an effect music can have on people. I've always wondered why just listening to a good song can be such an enjoyable experience. Another interesting aspect to research would be why different people enjoy different types of music. It would be a really cool science fair experiment, but thank G-d, we don't have to worry about those anymore.
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