Music like other innumerable art forms is regarded as one of mankind greatest triumphs. But why does music have so much power over us? It’s a question worth asking, since music has increasingly become a part of the modern-day workplace. Music has a strange temporal permanence; as art decorates space, so does music decorate time.

Music, apart from its artistic greatness is also a science. Not every note is compatible with other notes. There is a science behind all of this. Not a lot of people know this about me but apart from being able to play multiple instruments, I am a musical analyst. I analyze musical patterns, predict the type of music that could follow, improvise or improve on current and existing music, suggest instruments…….you get the idea. This took me years of understanding the history and various concepts and patterns of music. It was like a whole new language. But in spite of having such a vast knowledge of music I haven’t been able to answer one simple question: Why does music have so much power over us?

We have been pondering over this question for centuries. 2400 years ago Aristotle asked: “Why music being just sounds remind states of human soul?” Darwin wrote that music is “the greatest mystery.” Music existed in all human societies, but its function in cognition is not known.

The ‘Power of Music’ can be a very broad and a wide topic to discuss and debate on. Music is an art which can touch anyone. It has so much power because people can relate with it. There are innumerable advantages to music like making you happier, reducing stress and depression, etc…..but why? I was very curious with what aspect of music meddles with our mental state? A very interesting, yet mind boggling topic to write on.

I did a detailed research on how music affects our emotions. Keeping me as a test subject, we analyzed the various effects different music has on my emotions.

We started with a jumpy and upbeat rhythm. This forced me off my chair and tap my feet to the music. I did enjoy this since at the end of this part of the experiment I was really chatty with a lot of people. We then moved on to a little bit of a calmer rhythm and found that I was still in a pleasant mood but not as chatty. We then moved on to a little bit of blues which sort of made me sway with the rhythm. I was sort of lethargic after that.  For the next part we chose a rhythm from the romantic era. Not my favorite part of the experiment since i started reminiscing about a great person who had quite an impact in my life, who also used to be very close to me but due to certain differences we had to drift apart  The final part of the experiment included loud and heavy music like Beethoven’s 5th Symphony. It stirred up certain feelings of annoyance, nothing extreme.

One aspect was common in all of the types of music. I enjoyed each and every one of the rhythms. We concluded that every song in this world has certain emotions connected to it. Like Pride, Love, Lust, Hatred, Happiness, Sorrow, Comedy, to name a few. The main aim of fine arts and arts is to express emotions and communicate it to the other person. Therefore, those who listen to music with a lot of emotions (Eg: Break Up Songs, Songs about Infidelity, which usually have strong lyrics, Rap Songs, Inspiration) feel the emotions and their power which the musician has put into making the song. Every time you listen to a piece of music, your brain actually moulds into a different shape. It reinterprets its own shape.

Did you know, music can also have an effect on your fashion sense and your overall look? Like Rap/ Hip Hop Music and Psychedelic music involves drug usage, Punk music involves colored hair and tattooed arms. Us listeners adapt to these musical genres and follow a look that matches with the type of music we listen to.

So why is music so powerful? How could the ancient masters (like Mozart and Beethoven) tap into the true potential of music?

Scientifically speaking, there are basically fives types of wavelengths that our mind works in: The Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Theta and Delta waves. Alpha waves occur when a person is relaxed, but alert, having a frequency of 8–13 Hz. During this state, a person is awake but resting. During sleep, alpha waves are replaced by beta waves. The state of being focused, alert, or engaged in any form of activity are related to beta waves and they have a frequency of 14–30 Hz. After a really long day, all a person desires is to fall into a deep sleep. Delta waves are associated with deep sleep. Their frequencies range from 0.5–4 Hz. Delta waves are known for triggering the release of growth hormone, which provides healing, hence the reason why sleep is so important during the healing process. Theta waves have a frequency of 4–8 Hz and they occur mainly in children during the early stages of sleep, or in adults when they are emotionally stressed (credit for this research goes to Samantha Charles     -> https://hypertextbook.com/facts/2004/SamanthaCharles.shtml). Music is a combination of all these different types of waves. Hence the effect of each one of these waves have a corresponding effect on the body as mentioned earlier. This would result in various outputs of emotions while listening to the different types of music. Another interesting observation is when any of the types of waves resonate with what we are feeling, we tend to get obsessed with the song.

To conclude, the power of music can come from its ability to simulate the brain and its wavelengths, which can have varied effects like the ones mentioned in my experiment.