Introduction
Humans have played music since at least 35,000 years ago (Nicholas J. Conard, June 25, 2009). Since then music has evolved in many genres and has become a huge part of every culture. It is often called the Universal language because music can convey information like a feeling, an attitude or a mood (Chris Dobrian, 1992). It affects people in a way deeper than regular speech. Regular speech does not make people feel any particular emotion if they cannot understand what one is saying (Mark Changazi, September 15, 2009). Music causes something different to happen.
When people hear music a spiral sheet in their inner ear is plucked like a guitar string. It triggers the auditory cortex of the brain, located just above the ears. Different patterns of firing cells that go off at first trigger other groups of cells that identify different music with emotions, ideas and past experiences. (Willian J. Cromie, November 13,1997). And a study in 2001 by Anne Blood and Robert Zattore showed that when people listened to pleasurable music it activated the limbic and paralimbic areas of the brain. Those are connected with “euphoric reward responses” that we experience during good food, sex or drugs (Phillip Ball, April 19, 2013).
Music now has been used to therapeutically for a number of diseases including Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia and cerebral ischemia. Researchers at Cleveland Clinic found that music lessened chronic pain and rates of depression and scientists at National Taipei College of Nursing found that playing music in the background with dementia patients lowered aggression (Maria Konnikova, September 26, 2013). Music therapy has been used for people in correctional settings, on the autism spectrum, as a response to Crisi...
... middle of paper ...
.... .
Cromie, Willian J.. "How Your Brain Listens to Music." The Harvard University Gazette. Harvard University, 13 Nov 1997. Web. 10 Nov 2013. .
"Music Therapy Fact Sheets & Bibliographies." American Music Therapy Association . American Music Therapy Association, n.d. Web. 10 Nov 2013. .
"Benefits to the Brain." VH1 Save the Music Foundation. VH1 Save the Music, n.d. Web. 10 Nov 2013. .
"Using Music to Tune the Heart." Harvard Health Publications. Harvard University, n.d. Web. 10 Nov 2013. .
THESIS When the human brain is used for ten minutes straight, it generates enough electricity to power the Sears Tower for forty-eight seconds. That’s more than a hundred floors of electricity powered. (7). The brain creates more brainwave signals than every cell phone signal in the world at one time, in one second of use. When humans listen to music, we generate three times the amount of electricity and brainwaves. (6). Music is widely used to express ourselves thoroughly. Bruno Mars’ “Unorthodox Jukebox” album does just that. It expresses. It allows us to express how we feel about something going on in our life. When music is heard, our brain is overloaded with Dopamine which produces immense amounts of love for whatever we are thinking about. Bruno Mars’ album, “Unorthodox Jukebox”, is the most influential album of this century.
Scott, Elizabeth, M.S. “Music and Your Body: How Music Affects Us and Why Music Therapy
Music has been around since the very beginning of time. The human body flows in a rhythmic syncopation. Music is used to change one’s mood and to inspire those who open their minds. It has the potential to cure diseases such as Parkinson’s disease. Humans, of every culture and society, function with a type of rhythmic music. As humans, we are hard wired to respond to music (Mannes). The human brain responds to music in such a way that the brain becomes more open to new rhythms, ideas, and values. Music has the power to take over the human body. This makes it easier to overcome conflict and change the ideals of somebody while using music (The Power of Music).
Music stimulates multiple areas of the brain by provoking auditory, emotional, autonomic, and cognitive processing. Once the sound waves from the music are heard, signaling travels from the auditory system to the areas of the brain responsible for processing and dissecting the sound information. These areas are the primary auditory cortex, heschl’s gyrus, the frontal operculum, the superior temporal sulcus, and cortical language areas. Following sound processing, emotional processing of the sound heard takes place in the amygdala, cingulate gyrus, and medical orbitofrontal cortex of the brain. Feedback from the processed music can lead to physiological responses and changes in the autonomic nervous system as a result of the type of music heard (Nizamie and Tikka). For example, harsh, fast paced music tends to increase sympathetic nervous system activity (increased heart rate, faster breathing), whereas gentle, soothing music stimulates the body to relax, activating the parasympathetic nervous system (slower heart rate, lower blood pressure and slower breathing) (...
Whether you’re a devoted music enthusiast or you just listen to the radio to pass time, we all listen to music. However, when listening to music, nobody stops to think about what they are doing. Nobody stops to contemplate how the music they are listening to affects them psychologically. We just listen to the music and enjoy ourselves. In fact however, a great deal of research has been done to determine the psychophysiological effects of music. Many studies have been conducted to determine whether music can help people who suffer from psychological and medical disorders, Scholars continually debate whether music can influence behavior, and researchers are attempting to understand what is happening in our brain when we listen to music.
I’m writing my paper on Music Therapy, and how music affects the mind and body, to treat various illnesses. Music therapy is the prescribed use of music under the direction of specially trained therapists to influence changes in negative conditions and behavior. It accomplishes this by maintaining and restoring mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health .One type of theory is the idea that music, movement, and speech are inseparable. Music evokes unconscious thoughts and feelings, which in turn expand self-awareness. Music therapy is a powerful and non-invasive form of sensory stimulation which provokes responses due to the familiarity, predictability, and feelings of security associated with it. In some medical settings such as mental health services, it has been used to decrease patient’s perception of pain, anxiety and depression. ICU patients listening to music showed a significant decrease in blood pressure. It has been shown to calm the patient and to relax their mind and body. Music eases the burden on the arteries and nerves through relaxation. Du...
The brain is a very powerful organ, no doubt. It tells your body how to react and what to do. But what happens when you listen to music? How does your brain react? Let’s take a look.
In order to understand why the use of music therapy is growing, one must know what exactly music therapy is. Music Therapy is an established health profession in which music is used within a therapeutic relationship to address physical, emotional, cognitive, and social needs of individuals. Music therapy also provides avenues for communicati...
Music is one of the few things that has remained constant through the centuries this world has existed. Not only does music provide entertainment, it also has several effects linked to it. Music allows emotions of happiness and sadness to arise. From those emotions, physical effects, negative or positive, can occur. Music has a profound effect on the emotional, social, intellectual, and physical aspects of a person.
Levetin, D. "This is your brain on music." The science of a human obsession. David Levetin, n.d. Web. April 2011. .
Music has been known throughout time. It can help us through everything. There are so many solutions with music to help a person go through so many situations. Music can affect many people in many different ways. Without music some people would be lost and would have no motivation. Music can provide inspiration and insight through education. Music has influence on suicides, killings and shootings, and provocative actions. It can also influence good morals, respect, allowing differences, health, and much more. Music can come in many forms and categories and music is very good for the world.
Music and the Brain. (n.d.). Music and the Brain. Retrieved April 25, 2014, from http://tdlc.ucsd.edu/research/highlights/rh-music-and-brain-2011.html
Cooper, Belle. " How Music Affects and Benefits Your Brain."lifehacker.come. N.p., 11 22 2013. Web. 3
There was never a question in my mind that music possesses a strong element to help people. It has always been a stress reliever in my life. There is research that supports the belief that music is an instrumental part or impact on a wider realm of physical and mental disorders or disabilities. Music is known to set the mood or atmosphere for all types of situations. There is extensive research completed on this subject.
Music has a larger affect on feelings and emotions than most people realize. It is an automatic response for the human body to react to music in certain ways. Miller explains that “By the age of five, almost all healthy children have developed an unconscious framework for listening that will form the basis of their emotional response to music.” Sometimes the emotion that the music brings is very noticeable. For example, if someone is attempting to recover after the death of a loved one and they hear a song that reminds them of that person it can create different emotions quickly. The song could make that person remember the good ...