On Music | Halcyon

Indigenous peoples who have never even listened to the radio can nonetheless pick up on happy, sad, and fearful emotions in Western music. A studied suggested that the expression of emotions is a basic feature of Western music, whereas in other musical traditions, music has traditionally more often been appreciated for other qualities, such as group coordination in rituals.

Indeed, there's scientific evidence showing that humans literally feel music, but are the sensations universal? Scientists presented nearly 2,000 participants from the United Kingdom, the United States, and China with a dozen excerpts from different songs and asked them to describe where they felt the music in their bodies. The researchers found that both Western and Chinese participants physically responded to the songs in nearly identical fashions.

There is a word that describes this common human response to music - a word for “that moment” when a song pierces your body and soul. It’s called “frisson,” and it’s the reason why music from artists as seemingly disparate background all featured on a recently released, "scientifically-backed" playlist of songs that researchers claimed are likely to give people “chills.” The 715-song playlist was curated by a team of neuroscientists and is available on Spotify.

Research has shown correlations between an individual's music preference and their personality traits. Recent data suggests that these relationships exist across cultures. In other words, an introvert in Europe and an introvert in Asia are likely to enjoy similar music.

Playing a musical instrument or singing could help with brain health in old age, research found. Reading music and practising can help to sustain a good memory and the ability to solve complicated tasks. People who play a musical instrument saw the most benefit, which could be due to the multiple demands it places on the individual. Playing the piano had the most impact, followed by brass and woodwind. The added socialisation brought about by singing in a group was also beneficial. There was no impact on cognitive health from just listening to music. People who continued to play a musical instrument into old age saw an additional benefit, the lead researcher told the BBC.

A major study tested music perception ability in a global sample covering 54 languages around the world. Tonal language speakers discriminated melodies better than other participants. but tonal language speakers had a disadvantage in beat perception ability. Language experience may therefore shape how people perceive music.

Turning up music during the workday can bring stress levels down. Research shows that listening to music while working is beneficial to your cognitive performance, mood and creativity. "When we're in a relaxed, positive state, our brains are primed for productivity," Jamie Pabst, founder of a therapeutic music app, wrote in Fortune.

In The Neurophysiology of Enchantment: How Music Casts Its Spell on Us, Maria Popova noted that:

"Music,” the composer Julia Perry wrote, “has a unifying effect on the peoples of the world, because they all understand and love it… And when they find themselves enjoying and loving the same music, they find themselves loving one another.”
As the neurologist Oliver Sacks observed, “music can pierce the heart directly; it needs no mediation.”