Why do we like listening to music?
Do we listen to music differently in different stages of our lives? Do we find some songs more gratifying than others in different times in our lives? Why do some songs make us feel good inside and others are just... just alright.
Is it the wave frequency or is it that we relate to the lyrics? I, personally, know that I am not drawn to the words, sure it's great when the songs connect to your feelings and thoughts, but that is not my top requirement when choosing which songs I like or I should say which songs pull me in. I don't feel I choose them. They automatically get replayed and eventually given the title (at least in my head if I don't share them with anyone) that this song is goood.
My taste of music is different than what most people around me like. It is a personal thing. Most of the time I listen to music either on my earphones or in my car, sometimes there are others around me where in that case I listen to different genres usually something more upbeat. Most days I am listening to chill house, but what I really like is something that gets my energy hyped with its beats. Thanks to Spotify my top genres seem to be (see image). Thanks AI technology.
Now, going back to why do we love certain types of music... Well let's start with the basics. Listening to music releases dopamine, the feel good hormone. The hormone that is related to actual rewards. But what neuroscientists have discovered is that while listening to a song you like, dopamine is released into different parts of the brain and get this, when you know that your favorite part of the song is coming, there is anticipation and tension that rises which brings along with it, pure excitement, and once you "get there" once the main part that you like in a song is played, even more dopamine is released into your brain, in a different area. The anticipation is one of the highs you get when you listen to a good song.
Meaning, it is not consistent, there is an up and down, a pull and release, it takes us here and there. We enjoy every part of the song, along the way we feel a sort of tension or an eagerness for what is to come and then it is released. Usually when dopamine is released we know there is a reward, could be the thought of eating a donut or a juicy burger. In the case of listening to music, the reward is the upcoming melody, the rush of feel good vibes, that itself is the reward you get after you feel the tension building. Sometimes this feeling of tension is referred to as the drop in music. The drop is when the music gets a bit quieter, slower, or is different somehow and then it suddenly rises and hypes you up. That is when another serge of dopamine is released into the brain.
So all this dopamine is making you feel good and the more you like the song, the more anticipation there is, and thus the more dopamine you will be releasing.
However, dopamine is not the only thing that is happening within your brain. When our brains hear music, it is processing sound vibrations, or more specifically, frequencies--low, med, and high frequencies. These frequencies stimulate tiny hair cells within your ear, which then pass through the membrane via electrical signals to reach the auditory cortex in your brain. What is interesting here is that if someone is to scan the brain while listening to different sound frequencies they would know what type of frequency was being heard depending on which part of the brain lights up. Therefore, this is not a unique experience from one person to another.
What is unique, is how the brain, which is being triggered here and there, engages with all that is happening. How is your brain analyzing all that is coming in? How is it making sense of everything? What the brain then starts doing is relating to the music with memories, people, moods, places, and so on, stimulating even more areas of the brain. Some say the brain is exercising when you listen to music, because music triggers so many different parts of the brain, and therefore music keeps your brain young.
Music is structural, mathematical, and architectural. We might not be aware of it, but our brains do lots of computing to make sense of the music we hear. This combination of music and memory, even if it is a new song, elicits a feeling, usually a good one. That is why, music is often seen as a remedy to feeling blue, improving mental health, reducing anxiety, staying focused, sleeping better, coping with trauma, along with so many other benefits. Music releases many types of neurotransmitters and hormones, not just dopamine. There is oxytocin, serotonin, endorphins, and sometimes adrenaline, GABA, noradrenaline, glutamate and acetylcholine. If a song is liked, all these should trigger a positive reaction on someone's mood, otherwise they would change the song (if it triggered negative reactions).
In an Oxford University Press book titled Music, Health, and Wellbeing, it explains music is "a powerful way of engaging multisensory and motor networks and inducing changes and linking brain regions within this network. These multimodal effects of music-making together with music’s ability to tap into emotion and the reward system in the brain can be used to facilitate therapy and rehabilitation of various brain disorders". Additionally, music is an inherently social entity; it establishes connections over shared taste, acts as a backbone of many gatherings and rituals, and can be created and distributed via technology."
Music oftentimes takes people a step further, shaping their personality, influencing their fashion sense, what they read, and even the type of people they mingle with.
Now what you like, of course is subjective. It could be house music, classical music or heavy metal. Music however is for sure a mood changer. Depending on the genre it can put someone in a certain mood but preference is key. For example, when you need to read, write or concentrate, instrumental music or relaxing genres are preferred while upbeat music gives you energy. Hence going back to me having a liking to different genres (which I think is normal).
Science has not yet proven exactly why we like certain songs more than others but it certainly has to do with this overwhelming flush of neurotransmitters within the brain and how we unconsciously take it in. Your favorite songs have the power to dilate your eyes, quicken your pulse and blood pressure, give you goosebumps, and even effect your movement and make you active (blood is even redirected to the muscles in your legs).
Some say your music taste is defined while you were in your mother's womb, some in your teenage years, some say by their culture and social identity. Either way it is related to your unique experience, your personality and how your brain interprets the music. People simply like different things, but no matter how your brain functions, it will be releasing dopamine in different parts of your brain if you are listening to something you like.
So enjoy listening to your music and don't forget to make it a part of your happy life.
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