disputed,butitappearsm anyofusactualyenjoysad m usic.Som e researchershave suggested thatbecause thistype ofm usicoften usesslow,beautifulm elodies,it isaestheticalypleasing and the lyricshelp to trigger feelingsofem pathy.Thism ightalso triggerthe release ofa‘consoling’horm one known asprolactin,which is thoughtto help counteractthe m entalpain ofgriefand sadnes .Asthe m usicsim ulatessadnes often in asafe seting,itm ightbe tricking the brain into producing this horm one and helping to reduce anypain the listeneris experiencing. Butnoteveryone isassusceptible.The strength of certain personalitytraits,such asabsorption – the tendencyto becom e deeplyim m ersed in sensoryand im aginaryexperiences–and opennes help to determ ine how m uch som eone wilbenefitm ostfrom listening to sad m usic. Equaly,the contextwe are listening to m usicplaysa role too.People who are in happyrelationshipstend to preferlistening to love songs,while those who are dis atisfied with theirlove-life wiltend to find lam ents aboutlostlove and break-upsm ore appealing.There are efectsthatm usicappearsto have thatdo appearto be m ore universalthan others,however.M elodiesin the m ajorkey,forexam ple,are seen ashappierthan those in m inorkeysacros culturesaround the world.
Butwhym usichassuch astrong im pacton our em otionsisstilsom ething ofam ysterythathasyet to be fulyunraveled.M odern brain-scanning technologiessuch asfunctionalm agneticresonance im aging (fM RI),are providing som e clues.
Proces ing power
M usic,like alsound,ispicked up byoureardrum s and pas ed along to the cochleain ourinnerearas vibrations,where theyturn into electricalsignalsthat cascade along nervesto the brainstem .Butonce here,m usicisproces ed byasurprisinglylarge num berofareas–notjustthe auditorycortices,but also those involved in vision,m ovem ent,tim ing, m em ory,reward and those deep in ourbrains involved with em otion. Unique paternsofneuralactivitylightup when volunteerslisten to clipsofm usicalinstrum ents selected to induce particularem otionalresponses. M ostactivityisfound in the auditorycortices,butit also showsup in neighbouring areasinvolved in recognising em otions(such when we lookat som eone’sfacialexpres ion orfrom bodylanguage, forexam ple)and those furtherawaythatplayarole in triggering em otionsand em pathy. The sheercom plexityofthe wayourbrainsproces sound alowsthem to do som e incrediblyim pres ive feats.
M ind overm ater Dynaudio’schiefacoustic
engineersaysourbrainscan be tricked into believing stereo sound ishappening in 3D space
66 MUSICATHOME+
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