Music Is More Than Amusement

“Music has healing power. It has the ability to take people out of themselves for a few hours” – Elton John (qtd. in The Observer). By engaging areas that exceed those of mere auditory perception, music establishes highly unique and deeply personal relationships with a variety of individuals. It touches the heart, and reaches even the most guarded depths of the mind and soul; this grants music the power to heal anxieties. With a capacity to saturate lives and captivate listeners in ways that are unparalleled by other types of amusement and media, music’s value in society surely extends beyond the realm of entertainment. Music is much more than that.

In a recent experiment involving a sample size of 19 volunteers, Dr. Valorie Salimpoor and fellow researchers set out to further examine reactions that take place within the brain when being exposed to new music (Hughes). They were particularly interested in studying the ways in which different areas of the human brain communicated with each other throughout this process. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), they monitored participants’ brain activity as they listened to the first 30 seconds of 60 unfamiliar songs (Hughes). Subjects were given $10 and the opportunity to place bids, ranging in increments between $0-$2, for the purchase of full-length versions (Ferris, “Obsessing”). A direct correlation was observed between how much a person was willing to pay for a certain song and the level to which the fMRI responded (Jha, “Brain’s”). This data demonstrates that varying degrees of pleasure and brain activity are derived from listening to new music, as subjects were willing to sacrifice more in order to secure the privilege of listening to particularly enjoyable pieces again in the future. A heavy response may have warranted a heavier bid, but when compared individually, listeners did not react in the same way to the same set of songs. This is of particular interest because it then goes to say that people’s preferences are characteristically shaped and molded. "The way that we like music is 100% unique to who we are and what we've heard in the past” (Jha, “Brain’s”).

So what needs to happen in order for us to derive pleasure from a given piece of music and come to the conscious conclusion that we enjoy the piece in which we are listening to? More so, where does that sense of pleasure even come from? As it turns out, it is a matter of confirming or exceeding predictions based off of pattern recognition. “’We're constantly making predictions, even if we don't know the music,’ Salimpoor says. ‘We're still predicting how it should unfold’" (qtd. in Science NOW). The inferior frontal cortex compares newly processing sounds against those of the past, which have been stored within the superior temporal gyrus as musical templates (Ferris, “What”). “What we think of as our ‘taste’ in music depends on all of these old patterns we have filed away” (qtd. in Ferris, “What”). The superior temporal gyrus then works in concert with another part of the brain, known as the nucleus accumbens, which holds the responsibility for setting expectations and anticipating rewards. “If the music we hear meets or surpasses our expectations, the nucleus accumbens will release dopamine, a feel-good chemical that's generally associated with rewards like the feelings we get from good food, great sex, or drugs” (Ferris, “What”). Inherently, processing music involves much more than the activation of auditory senses – music is an exercise for the mind that engages multiple regions of the brain and promotes communication between them. “Whenever people liked a really liked a [sic] new song both regions buzzed with activity and formed connections with each other so robust the scientists were startled by the result” (Ferris, “Obsessing”). This data also supports the notion that listeners form long-lasting relationships with their music, which trigger innate responses to new sounds that reflect past experiences. This reflective process plays an integral role on the pathway to self-discovery, not only lending itself toward shaping one’s identity, but also in reminding the individual of who they were and who they have become. Music is an extension of self.

Music’s catalytic role in the release of dopamine, and the extent to which it evokes such a reaction, is nothing to laugh about. In Salimpoor’s 2011 study, where she and her team monitored participant reactions to patient-proclaimed goosebump-inducing instrumental pieces (hand chosen by the individuals themselves), one person was shown to have experienced a 21% increase in dopamine levels (Jha, “Favourite”). “That demonstrates that, for some people, it can be really intensely pleasurable” (qtd. in Jha, “Favourite”). For comparison, cocaine’s effects include relative dopamine increases above 22%, where as consuming meals of enjoyment demonstrate a relative dopamine increase of 6% (Jha, “Favourite”). This striking example certifies that music can, and does, have extremely powerful effects on the mind. It would be a mistake to ignore such immense capabilities; surely there lies great potential within the clinical realm for achieving this type of positive effect through natural elicitation.

It is also important to note that in addition to previously mentioned regions of the brain, the amygdala, which handles emotional response; the hippocampus, which plays an integral role in memory and learning; the medial prefrontal cortex, which aids in asserting “value to abstract things like art and music” (Ferris, “What”); and the ventromedial prefrontal coretex, “involved in decision-making,” are also actively communicating while listening to and interpreting music (Hughes). With this information, an even stronger case can be made regarding the impending role music plays in overcoming barriers of mind and emotion. Through the activation of multiple inner sensory and reflective channels of the brain, a better understanding of self and logic can be achieved. This in-turn can relieve feelings of anxiety and hopelessness. “Music influences our emotions because it takes the place of and extends our languages” (Trappe).

Music has also been proven to enhance cognitive performance. For example, according to a recent study performed by clinical psychologist Emma Gray, under the guise of popular internet-streaming service Spotify, listening to music of 50-80 beats per minute while studying can be beneficial for students by aiding in memory retention (Lopez). More specifically, students are able to focus for greater lengths of time while listening to classical music of 60-70 beats per minute. This is due largely in part to the melody and tone range that is common of such pieces. Surprisingly, students who practiced this scored on average “12 per cent [sic] more in their Maths exams – the equivalent of climbing a whole grade” (Griffiths). It is interesting to note that unlike other studies, personal attachment – or rather, a subject’s relationship with the music – was not of significant importance or a major determining factor within this experiment’s observations; positive outcomes were contingent on type and/or genre. “Music has a positive effect on the mind and listening to the right type of music can actually improve studying and learning. […] indeed, students who listen to music can actually do better than those who don’t” (qtd. in Griffiths). The science behind classical music’s influence on memory retention has also been explained.
Mozart's music and baroque music, with a 60 beats per minute beat pattern, activate the left and right brain. The simultaneous left and right brain action maximizes learning and retention of information. The information being studied activates the left brain while the music activates the right brain. (Trappe)
However, cognitive neuroscientist Jessica Grahn affirms that greater importance should be placed on how music makes a person feel and cognitive performance is not necessarily reliant on genres or mathematics. It is these feelings that evoke an increase in performance capabilities.
She describes several studies where both adults and children listened to classical music or enjoyable familiar songs and then completed tasks. Their performance was improved after listening to music — classical or not — that made them more aroused and made them feel better, based on personal preferences. (Bushak)
True power relies within the emotional response that music enables. This distinction is also in line with Salimpoor’s 2011 study, which compared dopamine relative increase levels “with a control condition in which participants listened to each other’s choices of music” (Jha, “Favourite”). As the results declared, dopamine levels were more likely to increase during the listening of favorite musical passages than those chosen by others. This ensures that it is a person’s relationship with music, and how music relates to such pallets from their past, that hold the most potential for nurturing positive responses and harvesting better outcomes. Furthermore, listening to personally enjoyable music can fuel improvements over endurance in exercise; help reduce pain, as well as encourage recovery, from injuries such as stroke; and improve symptoms of dementia as numerous studies have shown (Bushak). The beneficiary evidence of how music improves quality of life is staggering and seemingly never-ending. Music then, undoubtedly can be used as a form of treatment – and if not exclusively, then certainly as a key supplement in addition to other forms of care and healing methods.

Recent studies have pursued such hypotheses, exhibiting results that are overwhelmingly positive. In one study involving 23 Taiwanese female cancer survivors between the ages of 30 and 67, patients received two hours of music therapy, which included performing, singing, listening, and learning (Chuang). “The aim of this study was to determine whether or not music therapy affects the sensations of fatigue, comfort, and relaxation in cancer survivors” (Chuang). Tests were performed before and after therapy and included taking heart rate variability measurements via electrocardiogram signal, as well as administering patient questionnaires. “The questionnaires for subjective sensations employed visual analog mood scales (VAMS), and assessed whether or not the participants were fatigued, comfortable, and relaxed. Scores on each scale was [sic] ranged from 0 (lack of endorsement) to 100 (complete endorsement)” (Chuang). Results confirmed the initial hypothesis that music therapy can have significant effects on sensations and nervous systems. “The VAMS mean value for the fatigue level was significant [sic] lower after music therapy” as well as the “VAMS mean value for relaxation” being “significantly higher after music therapy” (Chuang). Music therapy also had favorable results on heart rate variability, showing that “parasympathetic nervous system activity increased and sympathetic nervous system activity decreased” (Chuang). Music can have a calming and stabilizing effect on the mind, which then carries over to the body. Tension will dissipate as a direct result of these effects. A case example such as this one suggests that music therapy can be of great use within the clinical environment.

Another study, published in a 2012 edition of the Iranian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Research entitled “The effects of listening to preferred music on pain intensity after open heart surgery,” took 60 patients and divided them into two groups (Jafari). One group of 30 served as the intervention and listened to self-chosen music for half an hour via headphones, where as the remaining 30 served as the control and did not listen to music at all. It is interesting to note that although the control did not listen to any music at all, they still wore a set of headphones. Pain intensity measurements were taken before and exactly one hour and 30 minutes after the experiment. “It was discovered that music significantly decreased postoperative pain in patients after open heart surgery” (Jafari). It is important to note that in previously performed studies where patients did not have a choice in their selection of music, results on decreasing postoperative pain were negligible (Jafari). Pain management is of severe concern when addressing cardiac surgery patients because neglect can lead to many severe complications. In situations such as these, music therapy is an easy and cost-effective solution. Music’s power to elicit transcendence of the physical, to overcome pain and captivate the mind, has a definite place within hospitals as this data’s results have proven. Also, when compared to traditional treatment methods, music therapy is also a much safer option.

Systemic medications can lead to complications such as insufficient treatment, respiratory depression and excessive sedation. Epidural anesthesia may also result in hypotension, itching, nausea, vomiting and urinary retention. Furthermore, medications cannot be used in all patients and impose expenses to the health care system. (Jafari)
Music therapy not only removes the possibility of encountering such side effects, but it gives the patient a sense of pleasure, happiness, and overall enjoyment. In other words, it does not just take something away from the patient, but it gives them something positive in return.

In a separate case study, listening to music relieved patients of anxiety to a greater extent than traditionally medicated methods.
Music significantly decreases the level of anxiety for patients in a preoperative setting […] to a greater extent even than orally administered midazolam. In addition, the score was better after surgery in the music group compared to midazolam. Higher effectiveness and absence of apparent adverse effects make relaxing, preoperative music a useful alternative to midazolam. (Trappe)

Music is a much more personal way to medicate patients and should be used more often. Instead of resorting to drugs, which aim to numb the symptoms, music can be used to remove feelings of anxiousness and stress entirely.
“If you pour some music on whatever's wrong, it'll sure help out” – Levon Helm (qtd. in Hotchkiss). The potential for music to generate medicinal healing properties and its power to facilitate the transcendence of mental and physical barriers is undeniably strong. For many, music is not entertainment; it is sustainment. It provides strength to overcome difficult situations, support during times of need, clarity in times of question, and relief in situations that initially feel unbearable. Now that we know the ways that music can truly affect its listeners, it will be interesting to see how we as humans continue to take advantage of its pull on people, and evolve they ways in which we use music as a form of treatment and medicine outside of the realm of entertainment and amusement.