Music and emotions

According to the RAE, music is “the art of combining the sounds of the human voice or of instruments, or of both at the same time, in such a way that they produce delight, moving the sensitivity, whether joyfully or sadly..” So, singing, the sound of a guitar or a violin, of a music orchestra or a rock group… everything is music.

Since ancient times, music has been considered an art. It is a code, a universal language, that is present in all cultures in the history of humanity.. Curiously, the hieroglyphic signs representing the word “music” were identical to those representing the states of “joy” and “well-being.” And in China, the two ideograms that represent it mean “enjoy the sound.”

Therefore, there is a great coincidence in relation to the meanings of what music is, which has endured over time, where the pleasant and pleasurable sensations it produces predominate.

music therapy

Possibly, the origins of the therapeutic use of sounds and music go back to the beginning of humanity. Already Plato quoted that “music was to the soul what gymnastics was to the body.”recognizing the relationship between music and emotions, that it had certain qualities or properties that affected our emotional and/or spiritual dimensions.

The American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) defines music therapy as “a profession in the field of health that uses music and musical activities to treat the physical, psychological and social needs of people of all ages. Music therapy improves quality of life of healthy people and meets the needs of children and adults with disabilities and illnesses. “Its interventions can be designed to improve well-being, control stress, reduce pain, express feelings, enhance memory, improve communication and facilitate physical rehabilitation.”

Thus, if we consider the disease as a rupture, imbalance or lack of communication, we can think that music can help build the necessary bridges so that communication that is blocked can flow. It thus contributes to the restoration or improvement of health.

Music and emotions: applications of music therapy

Currently, Music therapy is applied to a wide field in relation to various disorders, aimed at people of all ages. Applications are frequent in education (autism, hyperactivity, Down syndrome…), mental health (depression, anxiety, stress…), medicine (oncology, pain, people in the ICU…) and geriatrics (dementia…)

Thanks to the ability of music to act at all levels, With music therapy you can achieve some objectives as:

Improve the level of affectivity and behavior. Develop communication and means of expression. Release repressed energy. Develop affective-emotional awareness. Provide people with enriching musical experiences that help motivate themselves. Strengthen self-esteem and personality. Rehabilitate, socialize and educate.

Does music affect you on an emotional level?

Who has not experienced a certain emotion while listening to music? Sound and music produce emotions in us, and these modify our physiology, our hormones, alter our heart rate and pulse. There are many moments in which we use music, whether consciously or unconsciously.

Music was used in ancient times to encourage warriors and hunters. Even in cinema it is used as a means to multiply the effects of certain scenes. In this way, it becomes an indispensable code for the emotional characterization of the script and situations (Cohen, 2011).

Our mood is often reflected by the type of music we listen to or sing.

Music also has an effect on many of our important memories. Who has not ever associated a certain situation with a musical theme?

Music and brain

The brain areas that activate music and emotions are practically the same. When the brain perceives sound waves, certain psychophysiological reactions occur. We respond with emotions and these cause physiological alterations such as increased secretion of neurotransmitters and other hormones, which act on the central nervous system.

Music can modify our physiological rhythms, alter our emotional state and be able to change our mental attitude, bringing peace and harmony to our spirit. Music exerts a powerful influence on human beings at all levels. And you, do you think that could we live without music?

Music and Alzheimer’s

If something catches the attention of researchers, it is the inability of people affected by Alzheimer’s to remember events. However, they can remember songs from the past. The neuroscientist Max Planck carried out a study with other researchers on this phenomenon. Planck states that “At least, the crucial aspects of musical memory are processed in brain areas that are not those usually associated with episodic, semantic or autobiographical memory“.

The brain areas that showed greater activation were the presupplementary motor area (frontal lobe) and the anterior cingulate gyrus (middle area of ​​the brain).

On the other hand, music therapist Fátima Perez-Robledo assures that “The memories that last the longest are those that are linked to an intense emotional experience and just Music is most closely linked to emotions. and emotion is a door to memory.” So, with Humphrey Bogardt’s permission to modify his famous quote from the movie Casablanca: “We will always have music”.

Bibliography:

Jauset Berrocal, Jordi A. (2008). Music and neuroscience: music therapy. Its foundations, effects and therapeutic applications. Barcelona: UOC Publishing.

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