com plete hercourse,ortheywere asked to telanother who’d been of sicktheycouldn’thave lecture m aterial they’d been prom ised.Those who were asked to do these ‘favours’were m ore likelyto sayyesifupbeat, easylistening m usichad been playing in the background.The reason forthiswilingnes to do som eoneelse’sdirtywork?Being inagood m ood can m akeyoum orecom pliant. “M usiccan also conjure stereotypes,” addsZiv.“Think abouthow you m ightperceive som eone who likes clas icalm usiccom pared to som eone who likescountry or pop.” She iscurentlyworking on astudyto exam ine how these stereotypesim pacthow we m ightjudge people we have justm et.“People aren’taware ofhow m usic coloursyourexperience and the traitsyou atribute to people,”she says. Food forthought M usiccan also alterthe wayourothersenseswork.The m usicyou listen to while eating could welchange how yourfood tastesand even the type offood you crave. “The m ore we like the m usic,the m ore we like the food,”explainsCharlesSpence,apsychologistatthe UniversityofO xford,who studieshow oursensesafect ourexperience offood.He and hiscoleagueshave experim ented with how m usiccan create ‘sonic seasoning’in food and drinks,even creating m enuswith carefulycurated m usicalac om panim ents.Som e research suggeststhatthe sim ple tinkling ofapiano can “M usiccouldbeused astherapyforthose withdem entiaand even acutepain”
induce asweetertaste.Butm anyalbum sand singles can change m ode m idwaythrough –such asQ ueen’s Bohem ian Rhapsody.Thiscan alterthe taste sensationsyou m ightexperience while drinking the sam e glas ofwine,ac ording to som e studies. Buthow you listen to the m usiccan have an efecttoo. “Noise suppres estaste when itgetstoo loud,”says Spence.M usic’sefecton ourchoice offood can also be profound.Listening to jaz led participantsin one studyto have apreference forsavouryfoodssuch asa vegetable sandwich,while clas icm usicsaw them reach forsweeteroptions. “W e are rarelyaware ofm usic’sinfluence overourfood and drinkchoices,”saysSpence.“However,ourfood choice,and pos iblythe perceived authenticityofa dish,isafected byoursem anticas ociationswith m usic.Forexam ple,flam enco m akespeople m ore likelyto orderpaela.” M usictherapy Butwhile Spence ishoping to harnes m usicto enhance ourdining experiences,there are otherswho believe m usiccould have m ore wide ranging im pacts on ourwelbeing.Itiscom m on,forexam ple,for people to use m usicto help them driftof to sleep. Som e researchershave been using itsstrong connection to m em oryasatherapyfordem entia patients.O thersare using itto help treatPTSD suferers.And one studyhasshown specialy com posed tracksm ighthelp to reduce levelsofacute pain.M usichaseven been found to trigger im m une-system changesthatcould be beneficialfor fighting disease. Theyare algood reasonsto puton aplaylistwe enjoy and letthe m usicworkitsm agic.ButBrunel’sCostas Karageorghishasone sm altip forwhen Igetbehind the wheelofacar:“Police often find vehicleswith m usicblaring atthe site ofroad ac idents,”he rem indsm e.“W e recom m end asound intensityof around 70dBA.”Thisshould be loud enough to enjoy butnotto m askthe soundsofpotentialhazards.His research suggeststhatsoft,non-lyricalm usiccan be m ostefective atoptim ising the em otionsofpeople when driving.So nexttim e Igetin the car,m aybe I’l putonabitofChopin… Thisarticle originalyappeared in Dynaudio M agazine, is ue 04.Form ore like this, Click Here .
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