Throughout history, music has played a crucial role in spreading ideas. It is also an ever-present entity in modern society. Whether it be Eminem spitting fire or Adele setting all of our hearts ablaze, music can have a significant impact on people.
Although music is just words and frequencies strung together, many people find great pleasure in hearing it. This is because of the release of dopamine in the brain when someone hears a song that they like. Dopamine is a chemical in the brain that makes you feel good when it is released. The release of dopamine can be due to any of the senses; touch, taste, sound, smell, or sight. In addition, it usually goes hand in hand with being rewarded. For example, if you won the lottery right now, that would trigger the release of dopamine. Even something as small as a nice meal has the potential to do this.
When someone hears a slow song, this can actually make them feel sad. This could be partly because of the mental associations that people have with slow music. In movies, slow music is normally playing in scenes where upsetting events occur. In contrast, if someone were to hear an upbeat song (with maybe some maracas shaking in the background or something) maybe they might feel a bit happier and be more willing to let loose.
Here’s a pretend scenario:
You’re on a cruise, and you hear ‘Good Vibrations’ start to play on the radio. That would be fine, wouldn’t it? You might even get a good kick out of it.
Now pretend you’re on that same cruise – and out of absolutely nowhere, the Jaws Theme begins blasting from the observation deck. Clearly there would be no reason to be afraid. Nobody is going to hurt you, but you can’t deny that it would obviously make you somewhat uncomfortable to hear that music while you’re trying to relax on a cruise ship.
Basically, sad songs may cause you to wistfully look out the window on a rainy day, whereas happy songs may have you working out for the first time in a month. This is because songs not only have frequency, but they have the ability to put thoughts into your head that weren’t there previously. These thoughts cause emotions, and emotions have the potential to cause actions. Let’s be real, we have all replaced our heads with our hearts once in a while. In this way, music can even motivate even the decisions that people make. One day a song may mean nothing, and the next day you might listen to it and think it is the story of your life.
There is actually a very interesting concept known as hormonic frequency. Your body has its very own frequency. There are also external frequencies (such as music). Harmonic frequency emphasizes that external frequencies have the ability to change the frequency of your body and other objects. This is why when someone else is having a bad day, they might have the ability to ruin your day too. When you are listening to sad music, you are actually more likely to see neutral faces around you as sad. The same goes for happy music. It is the reason why some people need to pump their music at the gym. They know that as soon as they turn on that one song that has those perfect vibrations, they are going to lift way more weight. Just like anything else, though, this gets old. After listening to the same song about a thousand times, it’s going to get old and you’re not going to get the same rush that you used to get from listening to it.
Not only does music change the frequency of your body and your mood, but it also affects your central nervous system in ways that you wouldn’t think are possible. It can really stimulate your senses, making you more creative and even more productive, almost like caffeine. In fact, just listening to ambient noises has the most impact on an individual’s creativity. It even has the ability to predict someone’s personality.
One great instance of hormonic frequency would be the speed of an individual’s steps when they are walking. When two people of the same height are walking, they have a tendency to match the speed and timing of their steps. Music actually has a lot of power over people. Next time you think you know someone, take a look at their playlist. You might be pleasantly surprised by what you discover about them.