Pandora for your emotion

One song can orient a person's mood, giving a burst of energy or bringing upon a sudden sadness. As author of Guitar Zero Gary Marcus states, the different scales in a song have different tones to them. Therefore, the infamous songs we have learned as a child, such as Happy Birthday, incorporate the happy scales to match the content in which they display. (Marcus, 16). Studies have shown that the music we listen to can impact our perceptions.

In a study done by the University of London, participants were exposed to either happy or sad music and then were exposed to a picture of either a happy face or a neutral face. The results proved that the type of music the participant was exposed to highly impacted the categorization of the facial photographs afterwards. In the article "Why does Music Makes us Feel?", by Mark Changizi, it is states that there is a distinct differentiation from music and simple sounds.

Though there may not be a concrete reason as to why music evokes emotion, it is obvious that there is a correlation to the power it has in moving people, as made obvious by the high-volume industry supporting it. A possible reason for the power of music and its ability to touch humans may be that it has some human elements to it. In describing human elements an example would be the emotional value to the color red. Some argue that red has human elements as it gives off the emotion of someone blushing in skin tone or enraged and thus we are able to connect to the color red in such ways.

In this same way Changizi states that music contains a connection with human expressions. Changizi states that one is taught to understand certain sounds in associations with emotion, such as storming off being associated with anger as well as slamming doors would be. Therefore, even though music may not be considered a language and a form of speech, it can be argued that music contains emotions and thus driving our ears to it.

Whether it be that music contains human elements, thus drawing our emotions or the specific scales used direct our emotions, there is no doubt that music can be emotional support. As Marcus was able to find a scale that he found simple enough to learn and be a staple in a genre he enjoyed listening to, music or a genre of music can end up becoming a comforting aspect in one's emotional life (Marcus, 17).

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=why-does-music-make-us-fe
Marcus, Gary F. Guitar Zero: The New Musician and the Science of Learning. New York: Penguin, 2012. Print.