Five Motives for Us to Hear Music

One of the best things about being human is listening to music. A constant companion in people’s daily life is music. Our motivation, emotions, attitude, and movement may all be changed by music. When there are no events that bring us joy, sorrow, or excitement, we still listen to music and feel emotions. Scholars have postulated a number of goals that music listening may achieve during the last few decades (Schäfer, 2016). We may communicate our feelings via music, which also uplifts our spirits and makes a wonderful companion.

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1. Enjoyment of music

The brain’s reward region is the main driver of music listening. Certain parts of the reward system are activated when you listen to enjoyable music. Enjoying music is largely dependent on the same brain-chemical mechanism that makes sex, recreational drugs, and food enjoyable. When a pattern is broken in any manner, music is produced. Strong emotions are felt by listeners when something unexpected occurs. Still, not everyone reacts emotionally strongly to music. Only around 2 percent of people in general don’t get chills. Musical anhedonia is the term used to describe this inability to experience pleasure only from music (also dubbed tone-deafness).

2. Control of mood

Music offers an avenue for escape. Our minds are diverted from the outside world by music. We can improve our mood or increase our alertness by using music as background entertainment. Because brain waves may synchronize with the beat of a song, music has the ability to relax the body. What people choose to listen to can have an impact on their moods. While quiet music soothes, fast or upbeat music may make individuals feel awake and energized. For instance, the music picks up speed and volume at midday and then gradually fades into the early evening.

3. A sense of nostalgia

One of the best things to do when one is feeling nostalgic is to listen to music. A very nostalgic emotional experience might be triggered by listening to music that was played often during an important life event (like a family celebration) many years ago. It’s the memories it evokes, not the music, that give us the emotion. Perhaps we have just come to identify a certain music with sadness because we have come to link it with a loss experience.

4. Pleasure in aesthetics

Aesthetic effects such as enjoyment, inspiration, or being affected by music also contribute to the explanation of music listening. The essence of aesthetic reactions is subjectivity. A musical composition that strikes one individual as visually pleasing may turn them off. These variations result from individual experiences, perspectives on the music, and the prevailing emotions. The outward physical environment that surrounds a person when they are engaged in musical activity is an example of the context that is included in the aesthetic experience. For instance, the listening experience varies depending on whether it is done at home, at a concert venue, with friends, or alone.

5. Motivation for identity

Through music, people may communicate their ideals and sense of self to others. We may demonstrate our membership in a certain social group through music. We are people that love music. Listening to avant-garde music, for instance, might convey the idea that one is unique and inventive.

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