Numerous studies leave no doubt that music can affect the human psyche. Some compositions have an inspiring effect on us, others cause euphoria, and others, on the contrary, depress … Let's look at what influence different musical genres and styles have on us. Here are the results of scientific experiments.
Mozart Effect
It is believed that classical music is most beneficial for the brain. During the study, volunteers were given to listen to Mozart's music and their brain activity was scanned using the equipment. It turned out that Mozart's works activated all areas of the brain, including vision and motor coordination. Otolaryngologist Tomatis Alfred explains this phenomenon by the fact that Mozart sounds at a high frequency of five to eight thousand hertz, which stimulates brain activity.
True, a professor at the Institute of Life Science and Technology of the China University of Radio Electronics and Technology from Chengdu Yao Dezhong and his colleagues have received not such unambiguous results regarding the "Mozart effect."
They divided 60 experimental students into three groups, one of which listened to Mozart's compositions in the usual performance, and the other in a "mirror" image, that is, from end to beginning. The third group was the control one. Subsequently, all the participants were asked to complete three tasks - to find a way out of the labyrinth, cut paper crafts, and also make volumetric figures out of it.
The first group really coped with the tasks better than the control, but the one that listened to Mozart “on the contrary” showed the worst results.
It's all about the rhythm, scientists say. "Under the influence of Mozart's music, the number of neurons in the brain increases, and when listening back to the sonata, their number decreases, and the awareness of behavior decreases," commented one of the study authors, Professor Xia Yang.
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Pop music
Psychologists believe that "pop" has a positive effect on people who lack romance in life, who are in search of their soul mate or are unhappy in love. Popular songs give them the right mood, make it easier to build relationships or break up with former lovers.
But this applies to ordinary people. But if you are engaged in science or creativity, then it is better not to listen to such music, experts say. It will only load your brain, which will further lead to degradation.
Hard Rock
Hard rock compositions usually sound at low frequencies. British researchers have come to the conclusion that if you constantly listen to songs on the bass guitar and repetitive rhythms, it destroys the human psyche. That is why rock fans, among whom there are many teenagers and young people, so often commit crimes and suicides, start taking drugs, fall into depression, have communication problems … It's not for nothing that rock is sometimes called "suicide music" …
Jazz
In principle, jazz compositions cannot have any negative influence. Jazz just relaxes, helps to forget about pressing problems for a while … Therefore, listening to jazz is useful when you need rest or you need to calm down.
Rap
Testing has shown that rap lovers have lower IQs on average than those who prefer other musical styles. This is due to the fact that while listening to rap songs, brain activity decreases. And the words of the songs evoke negative emotions in many listeners. Although there are individuals whom rap, on the contrary, motivates and inspires … It all depends on the individual.
Music of sex
Tokyo-based Canadian musician and composer Rory Weiner conducted an experiment to transform into music … movements during sex.
“In this experiment, I turned sexual movements into sound,” Weiner writes on his blog. “For this, I installed piezoelectric sensors on my body and the body of my partner. Each sensor sent a signal
transformed into a specific note and sound. We heard these sounds, so the music and movement influenced each other."
The recorded composition became part of Weiner's new project called Sex, Sensors and Sound ("Sex, sensors and sound").
Musicality of extroverts
Not long ago, The Journal of Research in Personality published a research paper arguing that musical ability is associated with traits such as openness and sociability.
The study involved over seven thousand volunteers. The experimenters tested their musical abilities, in particular, the ability to reproduce the melodies they listened to and their sense of rhythm. Also, all participants passed the "Big Five" psychological test, which includes such basic personality traits as extraversion, goodwill, conscientiousness, openness and neuroticism.
It turned out that the more open and sociable a person was, the more progress he made in the field of singing and playing musical instruments. This was probably because extroverts are not afraid to express themselves.
Margarita Troitsyna