What Is It About Music That Makes Us Feel So Good?

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What is it about music that makes us feel so good? We know that music can have a profound effect on us and that listening to music can induce various emotions. We “feel it” when we hear a beautiful melody, or go to the symphony hall, or hear a sad song. Music brings out emotion. Music can also have a positive effect on our physical well-being. Music can help reduce blood pressure, can alleviate stress and anxiety, and can increase dopamine and serotonin output—the “pleasure” neurotransmitters—in our brains. If you think about it, our bodies are set up like music. Our heart beats in rhythm, we breathe and walk in rhythm, and just like music, if the rhythm is off, everything is off. We strive for “harmony” in our lives. We want to feel “in-tune.”

Music can give us energy and music can help us to relax. Music gives us what we need when we need it. And music is very personal. So, allow yourself to not be influenced by outside forces and make music work for you.

Guaranteed to Make You Feel Good?

“These are the 10 best songs to help you relax, according to science!” Have you ever seen a headline like that on Facebook or LinkedIn? Wow, that is some statement, right? But what if you don’t like those songs? What if noisy guitars or avant-garde jazz helps you relax instead.

According to science? Well, if they actually polled every single person in the universe and then did an analysis…maybe. When I see those statements, though, I just shake my head. One of the great things about music is that it is subjective: We can explore music, any type of music, to help us in our lives when we need it. (Not to mention, these claims never take into consideration cultural concerns. But we’ll save that for another day.) Yes, music is subjective and how we use music is personal unto us — and I love that. There are times, particularly after a rather stressful day at work, when heavy rock music "relaxes" me. I will listen to it on my drive home. The sounds, the aural atmosphere, are matching my inner feelings and angst at that moment. It’s a release. The music is matching me where I am, and it makes me feel better. And then, some days when I’m feeling a bit down and sluggish, I might listen to some down-tempo jazz. It matches my mood, then I move on to something more upbeat. This is no one-trick pony concept.

Music Can Meet Us Where We Are, and Help Take Us Where We Want to Go

As a music therapist working in a hospital setting, I do a lot of work using music to help reduce anxiety. Everyone in the hospital has some anxiety—perhaps as a result of a new diagnosis, waiting for surgery, or just being put into a situation of uncertainty. And we know that the mind and the body are connected, so reducing anxiety can also impact physical outcomes. Research shows that music therapy (evidence-based music therapy techniques) can significantly reduce anxiety. Why? Powerful and meaningful music creates tension and release and it’s the release or resolve of that tension that we physically feel.

We “entrain” to the music, and we follow along, both mentally and physically. When using music to help reduce anxiety in a clinical setting, I generally use “live” music, mainly improvised on the guitar. The reason I use live music is that I can “meet” the patient where they are, with the music, and then gradually change and manipulate the music to help bring them along to a more relaxed place. The music may initially include some tension and dissonance. The initiated soundscape is also empathic, reflecting what the patient may be going through or feeling inside. The music is “entraining” to their inner psyche of the moment and then slowly starts “guiding” them toward a new, more relaxed place. I gradually start incorporating some release from the tension, slowly moving toward more resolve and soothing themes, creating positive movement and landing spots within the aesthetics of the soundscape. Often, as the music ultimately concludes, having moved, perhaps, toward one chord—a simple two note mantra—they fall asleep. Mission accomplished.

Sad Songs Say So Much

Why is it that sometimes we actually want (crave?) dark or sad music? How many times are we feeling “off,” anxious, or down, but don’t really know exactly what we are feeling? And then a song comes on the radio while we are driving home, and it hits us: “That is exactly how I’m feeling!” Music speaks for us when we cannot find the words. And sometimes music allows us to feel what we really want and need to feel at a particular moment. We take solace (comfort?) in the dark, minor essence of Beethoven or the down-tempo sparseness of Lucinda Williams. Sometimes this is what we need. Sometimes we need music to help us experience feelings of longing and melancholy. And it’s OK. We find empathy in the music… and that can be comforting, too.

When you are listening to music to help reduce stress or to relax, whether at home, on a walk, anywhere really, you can use these same concepts. Instead of finding some “relaxing” music that doesn’t match where you are at that moment (and that you don’t particularly like anyway), put together a personal playlist with some guided movement, movement that takes you from where you are to where you want to go. The initial song(s) can have a little intensity, some tension or dissonance. And then, each ensuing song can gradually, one step at a time, help bring you along toward a more relaxed place. To where you want to be. And certainly, use music that you like. Maybe it’s Norah Jones, or ‘80s pop, or classic jazz, or Mozart. It’s your music. Use it as you wish.