Essay On Psychology Of Music

The Psychology of Music People have only recently started studying in-depth into music’s connection with brain activity. Scientists are just now starting to develop theories why music has such a big impact on us as humans and our intelligence (Lerch). Music psychology is not a modern idea though. Even the ancient philosophers – Plato, Aristotle, Pythagoras – believed in the calming power of music (“Music and Emotions”). Let’s first talk about what music is, before we explain its correlation to psychology. Music has no concepts, no images, no symbols or any relation to language, yet it has a power over human emotions we can only begin to understand. What is music? In Arthur C. Clarke’s novel, Childhood’s End, alien beings puzzled over this question. They themselves lacked music, and therefore were immensely confused at the emotional reactions humans had to “meaningless tonal patterns”. Philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, in his book The World as Will and Representation, claimed that music was an embodiment of pure will. While this is a beautiful theory, it does …show more content…
It can serve as a distraction, or it can give a sense of control. Music stimulates the production of relaxing endorphins in the brain as well. A study in Canada proved that surgery patients who listened to calming music each day before their surgery needed less sedatives and anesthetics (“Music and Emotions). Music’s calming effect is instrumental in therapy for those with motor disorders. Patients diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, who suffer from jerky muscles and inconsistent movements, are able to overcome their timing difficulty when listing to rhythmic music with a regular tempo. Likewise, people suffering from Tourette’s syndrome are able to control their random tics, to be completely composed while listening to or performing music (Sacks). A close friend of mine has Tourette’s, yet he is able to overcome its symptoms while playing the