Science cannot tell us a word about why music delights us, of why and how an old song can move us to tears.
Science cannot tell us a word about why music delights us,
of why and how an old song can move us to tears.
ERWIN SCHRODINGER
Why does music have the ability to instantly transport us to feelings or emotions from times gone by?
The tiniest segment of a melody, or a random segment of certain lyrics are capable of instantly leveraging our deepest emotions, and elevating them to new levels of feeling and engagement, based solely on a tiny little bit of audio that we have just heard.
How is it even remotely possible that several well crafted notes or lyrics or both could have such intensely transformative power as to take an individual or an entire arena full of tens of thousands of people and accelerate everyone’s deepest emotions in tandem with one another?
Is it possible that the vibrational energy of the music is causing a chemical reaction in our body?
When we hear music that truly stimulates our soul, is the stimulation in part caused by a release of a chemical in our brain that is triggering these distinct reactions?
Why does that happen?
Why does the auditory experience of being exposed to specific vibrations facilitate the deeper emotional reactions that are triggering in a proximal or nonproximal, digitally-connected audience?
When the snake charmer plays the pungi in order to hypnotize a cobra, is the same reaction taking place in the brain of the cobra or is there a different cause or reason that this is happening?
When we are intoxicated by a tune, and our emotions start to build, are the emotions at a constant or are they continually fluctuating, predicated upon which part of the music we are hearing at any one moment in time?
If it is a track of music that you are very familiar with, do your emotions fluctuate specifically at the favorite moments in that particular song?
Why is it that those particular notes are so much more stimulating to you than another segment of the exact same track of music?
Is it the musicianship or the particular melody or lyrics which ultimately grow that much more appreciated by us?
Are we continually changing our reactions based on a specific mood or circumstance in our world that gives this particular music greater cause to connect or stimulate us? For example, the same track may impact us differently if we are working out, running or driving, than if we heard it under more calm circumstances. A romantic track may be all the more appreciated in the company of the right person, whereas a sad track may be all the more poignant in the absence of the right person.
There are so many variables as to how and why our relationship with music is so critical. Getting in harmony with those variables enables us to fully appreciate the music in our world.
Science may never be fully capable of explaining these deep mysteries, but their impact on us and other living creatures, beings or plants, is undeniable.
Happy Friday!
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