Music has become infused into every-day life. People often stroll with headphones as they move from one destination to the next, filling that void of time with music. Music is easily one of the most accessible forms of art that dominates a significant portion of our lives. This increased access has changed the way music can be utilized as a tool for emotional regulation.
Specific musical elements can be an effective tool in helping shift our emotion, especially when the person resonates with the music. Music holds the power to address certain negative emotions by acting as an outlet for feelings to be reflected, altered or acknowledged. As a creative product of another person’s feelings, music acts as the ultimate unifier by creating an emotional appeal to its audience through a universal language. Music gives us the opportunity to connect with ourselves on a deeper level, in a way that can comfort us when we are feeling down.
“I usually try, when I’m feeling lonely or upset about something, to pivot those feelings and change the direction of them,” said Matthew Leishner, mathematics senior and Healing with Harmonies president. “So, when I’m either listening to music just casually on my phone or making music with my cello, I am … giving these feelings a purpose or turning them into something beautiful, like music.”
The way music affects a person is incredibly nuanced and specific to that individual. However, a common attribute is the ability for music to elicit a sense of nostalgia.
“The impact of the music has as much to do with what memories are activated as the harmonic or musical structure of the sounds that you’re hearing,” said psychology professor Michael Domjan.
Familiarity to certain types of music can transport us back to a meaningful moment in our lives or comfort us through a dear memory. Leishner spoke about how the Healing with Harmonies club tailors their performances to suit their audience.
“When we’re going to places like retirement homes, we’re playing more like ‘50s and ‘60s stuff … when we go to places like settlement homes, then we’re playing more Disney songs,” Leishner said.
Musical techniques used in a piece also allow us to feel certain ways by manipulating the pace or sound of the music, contributing to our emotional associations with the piece. Music offers us the unique ability to regulate our emotions in a way that can either shift our perspective or validate our current feelings through the emotions of the singer or composer.
“A sad piece of music is not going to have a rapid tempo,” Domjan said. “ It’ll tend to have a slower tempo, and it tends to be in a minor key … major keys tend to evoke more positive emotions, and then you introduce a minor key to … make you a little more wistful, and perhaps sad.”
Whether you connect with music through nostalgia or specific elements of music, it offers all of us an outlet to experience and overcome difficult emotions. Familiarity with certain types of music plays a heavy role in determining how people are made to feel while listening to it. Next time you feel overwhelmed, lonely or discouraged, try turning to your preferred genre of music to allow yourself to reflect on your current state, and maybe even temporarily change it.
Thomas is a government freshman from Frisco, Texas.
