Why do we just ❤ (L-U-V) music?

It all started with drumming sounds. Humans found pretty easy to hit things with a stick and the resulting rhythm allowed them to dance or enter hypnotic states due to repetitiveness. This predisposition has stayed with our human race over the ages. So, in fact, what our brains interpret as music, is our intuitive perception of how sounds have a potential of inducing a form of musical trance. If we identify that certain sounds will not have such potential, our brains will simply regard them as mere noise.

In other words, our ears look for patterns. Such patterns have the potential to treat our brains with a roller-coaster ride of emotions, involving the release of dopamine and adrenaline stimulated by the build-up and release of tension. Musical phrases end with a key note we interpret as “home” and the note just before the home note adds that “almost there” feeling.

Musicians play with our expectations by either rewarding or frustrating them. So, basically, they are teasing us by keeping our dopamine triggers guessing. And that’s when those goosebumps pop out, when that long-awaited chord finally comes, our reward system releases dopamine and gives us satisfaction. The greater the build-up, the greater the chill.

And, do you want to know why we enjoy listening to melancholic music?

It appears that those sad songs evoke an ancient overwhelming feeling our ancestors felt when separated from family. Since separation and loss have always been unavoidable, melancholy is an emotion we developed to accept that life can be difficult, and that suffering and disappointment are inevitable. This means, by experiencing melancholy we are actually becoming wiser. Which explains why melancholy experienced through art, in general, feels so pleasant.

So go ahead, listen to that sad song just one more time, you might get emotionally wiser.

-Kristal Pastor

B.S. in Psychology - Universidad Intercontinental, Mexico

Certified Course in Neuromarketing and Market Intelligence - Universidad Anahuac, Mexico

Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn (Kristal's LinkedIn profile)

Para leer este blog en español, visita Hackeando la vida con psicología

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Hello and thanks for reading! I first started writing this blog as a psychology student, fascinated about approaching everything in life from a psychological perspective. I know, that’s a rather ambitious quest; after all, I don’t want to miss on the bliss of simply enjoying experiences without giving too much thought to them. Still today, after having finished my B.S. in Psychology and pursuing studies in Neuromarketing and Market Intelligence, I keep seeing life as a never-ending learning process and I am passionate about researching interesting subjects to bask in the beauty of discovering more about life and the new gripping paths that unfold in this ever-changing world of ours. So, enough said, I have started this blog to share some of the subjects I have felt intrigued about, and what I found out on them. Go ahead, check out the titles and see if any of them catches your eye. -Kristal Pastor B.S. in Psychology - Universidad Intercontinental, Mexico Diploma in Neuromarketi...

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