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Nathan Marks
Karen Tucker
ENC2135
19 July 2016
Musics Effects on Mood and the Mind
Why does a certain song give you goose bumps? Music, for as long as history has been
recorded, has been present in every great civilization, and continues to shape the world today.
Music is a source of expression and can also be therapeutic to people struggling with conditions
such as Alzheimers, amnesia, and can even induce or soothe peoples seizures (Sacks). Its
creative juices can be squeezed and absorbed into the spongey brain of the developing adolescent
(Runfola et. al). Its effects on the mood of a person are very vast and intriguing.
In a study ran by Louise Montello, Alzheimers patients constantly benefit from the
effects of certain types of music on their brains. People afflicted with Alzheimers lose their
memories over time, and music helps them recall certain times in their youth, rejuvenating and
revitalizing cells and telomeres. These people do not necessarily have to hear the exact same
song as they did when they were doing something in the past, but the song acts like a key,
unlocking feelings and emotions that the music inspires. These feelings are then associated with
memories, painting a much clearer picture in the heads of those suffering from Alzheimers.
Musics healing benefits are also applicable in healing children who were traumatized. Scientists
played different types of music and recorded brains reaction to these types of music. They found
that by playing a certain type of music, they could soothe and relax these children, helping them
transition as a human (Montello).

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Some songs have a tendency to evoke a physical response alongside an emotional
response: for example, the hair on the back of an individuals neck standing up. The emotional
side of this concept would be an individual being breathless after the delivery of verses or songs.
This is just another phenomenon that scientists are still trying to explain. Theories suggest that it
is the structure of the music that makes this happen, not the style (Landau). Dopamine, which is a
chemical associated with pleasure, is usually released from the brain as some sort of a self
devised reward mechanism to keep the human body motivated and running efficiently. Music,
when composed correctly, so to say, can be a trigger for this reward mechanism. Music can
trigger the release of dopamine over and over again, until the brain is used to a certain style of
musical progression. Participants seemed to react to musical patterns, not to mere acoustical
triggers (Grewe et. al). This means that it does not matter what kind of music you are happening
to listen to, it matters more what your emotional attachment to a certain structure of musical
development is. Although music is relatively unpredictable, the chills are a response to the brain
anticipating and guessing what is about to happen. A listener will get goose bumps when the
brain is incorrect in its assumption of the upcoming music, but these goose bumps can be
enhanced extremely when your brains guess of what is going to happen next is correct. A darker
and more somber type of music is more likely to evoke the response in the brain to trigger a huge
release of dopamine in the striatum (Reilly), resulting in a larger response in the nervous system,
giving the listener the sensation known as chills running down the spine and many other
different parts of the human body.
Simply because listening to music makes a listener feels good does not necessarily mean
or indicate that it has a positive or negative effect on human health. In an experiment, two groups
of people were randomly assigned to either listen to music or take anti anxiety drugs. In an

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interesting result, the test group of people that listened to music versus taking the anti anxiety
drugs were less anxious, having lower cortisol, the hormone associated with stress. The promise
here is that music is arguably less expensive than drugs, and it is easier on the body and it does
not have side effects (Shanda et. al).
In 2005, Glenn E. Schellenberg conducted a study in which a group of randomly selected
individuals were asked to sit down and listen to the same four very different pieces of music.
When studying the brain for similarities in listeners while listening, researchers were able to
identify apparent similarities in brain synchronization, meaning that although every single one of
the participants was selected in uniform random, their brains were able to identify similarly with
each other, even though none of the selected individuals had any sort of musical background
(Abrams et. al). In this particular study, the individuals were able to prove the hypothesis that
brains are similar, while being completely individual in nature. The patterns were recognizable to
each individual person even though no musical background is apparent.
Classical music - in particular classical music that was composed by Mozart - has, for a
relatively long amount of time, been known and proven to stimulate the brain of young children.
In turn, improving their spatial abilities, i.e. recognizing two dimensional, three dimensional, and
four-dimensional models (Schellenberg). Listening to classical music can also have a very
beneficial and positive effect on the life of cells and length of your telomeres, which control the
bodys deteriorating and slowing down with age. In a particular study, the results show that
college level students were shown to score higher on a test after listening to ten minutes of music
composed by Mozart, compared to students that attempted to simply prepare, sitting in silence.
The results of this study became so popular that it was aired on an NBC news program in 1994
(Thompson et. al). If an individual were to listen to music while studying, hearing the same song

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the individual was listening to while studying will also help them recall the information that they
were trying to learn.
Musics beneficial properties are not only limited to listening. Musical lessons, singing,
or playing an instrument are all exceptionally helpful in that they can drastically improve English
language arts skills, including grammar, sentence structure, and oral vocabulary (Runfola et. al).
The effects of music on the brain are vast and practically unlimited, and it is even involved in
marketing techniques (Gorn et al). Customers listening to music that has positive or uplifting
tones will inspire them to splurge and buy more that they do not necessarily need. After an
inquiry to a small business owner about the music that was audibly playing in the store, the
individual stated that, , this is uplifting music, it makes people happy. If the customer is happy,
they will in turn, buy more.
The effects of certain types of music are somewhat ambiguous, depending on who the
listener is. Studies show that it is very common for different people to have different reactions to
the same audible noise or music. One individual can feel happy, while another may feel sad, all
while listening to the same tune. This is because different people associate songs with different
things (Koelsch). This is not to counter or argue with the idea that music can be created simply
for the stimulation of certain nerves, resulting in a change in emotion. Its the same reason that
you have to delete your entire music library following a breakup. This is a concept worth reading
about because it means that a song allows you to recall feelings that you did not even know that
you had. In a test, a clip of music was recorded, and then altered four times, each differing in
key, each stimulating a different response. Random volunteers then listened to these clips, and
were evaluated to determine whether or not the clips of music were effective in arousing desired
emotions (Hussain et. al). Gordon Bruner, a published professor at Southern Illinois University,

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states that music is an especially powerful stimulus for affecting moods is no revelation. He,
Bruner, then explains how music is like a key to the lock of the nervous system, unlocking
different feelings and different emotions at different times (Bruner). Different types of music
have different effects on people, however it is not so black and white. Depending on different
their personalities, people prefer all different types of music. The type of music that is soothing
to one person is soothing to that person because of what they associate the song with in their
past, which is why music is so helpful and beneficial in recovering lost thoughts and memories.
Music alleviates stress in the lives of people of all ages. It is incredibly relaxing, when listening
to the correct song, and can benefit you similarly to the health benefits of a short nap. A short
music break boosts productivity in the long run, and provides the listener with energy, making
them feel revitalized and awake.
Research shows that music is not only helpful when attempting to retrieve memories, but
also to advance the education of children and inherently the future, alleviates some of the stress
that is involved with Alzheimers, and can even increase the grade of a college level student.
Members of society have long been trying to get more music to be state mandated in education,
but unfortunately, the funding is just not there for it. Perhaps in the future it will be more of a
possibility, but for now, we, as Americans, remain oblivious to the benefits that music has been
offering us for hundreds of years. Without music, the human race would not be what it is today.
Music is a part of our culture, and as it is such a powerful substance, we the people have become
dependent on it for hobby, career, and potentially so much more. It is a way to express, and it is a
way to communicate. With its immeasurable potential, music is something that should be
regarded as medicine for the brain, and we should and will continue to delve deeper into

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understanding more of its beneficial affects on the human mind. As Johnny Depp said, Music
touches us emotionally, where words alone cant.

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Works Cited
Abrams, D. A., Ryali, S., Chen, T., Chordia, P., Khouzam, A., Levitin, D. J. and Menon, V.
(2013), Inter-subject synchronization of brain responses during natural music listening.
European Journal of Neuroscience, 37: 14581469.
Bruner, Gordon C. "Music, Mood, and Marketing." Journal of Marketing 54.4 (1990): 94-104.
Web.
Chanda, Mona Lisa et al. The neurochemistry of music Trends in Cognitive Sciences , Volume
17 , Issue 4 , 179 193
Gerdner. Linda A. Effects of Individualized Versus Classical Relaxation Music on Frequency
of Agitation in Elderly Persons With Alzheimers Disease and Related Disorders.
International Psychogeriatrics, 12, pp-49-65.
Gorn, Gerald J., Goldberg Marvin E., and Basu Kunal. "Mood, Awareness, and Product
Evaluation." Journal of Consumer Psychology 2.3 (1993): 237-56. Web.
Husain, Gabriela, Thompson William Forde, and Schellenberg E. Glenn. "Effects of Musical
Tempo and Mode on Arousal, Mood, and Spatial Abilities." Music Perception: An
Interdisciplinary Journal 20.2 (2002): 151-71. Web.
Koelsch, Stefan, Offermanns Kristin, and Franzke Peter. "Music in the Treatment of Affective
Disorders: An Exploratory Investigation of a New Method for Music-Therapeutic
Research." Music Perception: An Interdisciplinary Journal 27.4 (2010): 307-16. Web.
Landau, Elizabeth. "This Is Your Brain on Music." CNN. Cable News Network, 2 Feb. 2016.
Web. 26 July 2016.
Lucas. "Why Does Music Give Us Chills?" Mental Floss. Mental Floss, 2013. Web. 25 July
2016.

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Montello, Louise. "Music Therapy Perspectives." A Psychoanalytic Music Therapy Approach to
Treating Adults Traumatized as Children. N.p., 1999. Web. 18 July 2016.
Runfola, Maria, Etopio Elisabeth, Hamlen Karla, and Rozendal Mary. "Effect of Music
Instruction on Preschoolers' Music Achievement and Emergent Literacy
Achievement." Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education 192 (2012): 727. Web.
Sacks, Oliver. The Power of Music. The Power of Music. Guarantors of Brain, 25 Sept. 2006.
Web. 17 July 2016
Schellenberg, E. Glenn. "Music and Cognitive Abilities." Current Directions in Psychological
Science 14.6 (2005): 317-20. Web.
Thompson, William Forde, Schellenberg E. Glenn, and Husain Gabriela. "Arousal, Mood, and
the Mozart Effect." Psychological Science 12.3 (2001): 248-51. Web.