Why Music?
Updated: Jul 24, 2021
We may or may not believe the fact that we are introduced to music through every little sound around us. We are surrounded by beautiful voices of birds chirping, mother singing lullaby, rhythm of rhymes, rustling of leaves in the trees on a breezy night.
Why does music make us feel so many feelings? Can you imagine a world without music. Also through brain scans we have found that musicians have different brains than non-musicians. People who play an instrument have bigger and better connected more sensitive brains. A study from 2008 showed that children who had at least three years of instrumental training, performed better than their non-musical counterparts in a variety of tests. Children who listen to music or are involved in creating have good vocabulary, non verbal reasoning skills.They have greater understanding and analysis of visual information such as differentiating shapes and patterns or finding the similarities. Genre of music chosen by children defines their personality. So it is fascinating to see how music can help children develop such important life skills. Both listening and creating music has its own benefits at any age group. Music while exercising!! Even adults who play or create music have greater memory and cognitive power. Another interesting aspect is listening to music while exercising changes the mode of the workout. Music gets you in the zone of exercise and listening to your favorite music adds the extra benefits. Most of the time you may not realize how hard you workout as music soothes the pain through the chemical releases in your brain. A 2012 study, showed that cyclists who listen to music use 7% less oxygen to do the same work as those who cycled in silence. So music saves our energy by soothing the pain of exercising and hence making longer and harder exercise routines. Researchers have also found that listening to music you like increases blood flow to the brain more than listening to music you don't like. Our brain reacts! Music is the soul of filmography. Any scene in the film is felt more when a music is added to it. Music tells us how to feel about a particular scene through the melodies and it elevates our feelings at various dramatic moments. Thinking of any happy or sad moments in a particular scene, it's the music that makes it epic. Our brain reacts differently to happy and sad melodies. When you listen to music, your brain releases a neurotransmitter called dopamine which causes a feeling of satisfaction. It is always advisable to introduce music in one's life at a very early stage. If you would like to know the effect music has on kids' brains and overall development, check out our next article.