Music is a language, with or without words, serving as a medium for people from all walks of life to express their deepest thoughts and emotions. the musical experience goes beyond simply listening to it; as an exercise in creativity and as a social activity, music involves considerable emotional and cognitive investment, whether it be composing music or performing it. Despite its widespread presence and importance in many cultures, music’s effects on the human mind are only just beginning to be understood.
Effects of music spread further from mere enjoyment : right up from our genetic code, through our thoughts and bodies and out into how we relate to groups.Here are 10 effects of Music in our lives:
1. Improve verbal IQ
Practising the piano won’t just improve your musical abilities, it can also improve your visual and verbal skills.A study of 8 to 11-year-olds found that those who had extra-curricular music classes, developed higher verbal IQ, and visual abilities, in comparison to those with no musical training.
2. Feeling the chills
People who are high in one of the five personality dimensions called ‘openness to experience’, are likely to feel the most chills while listening to music-chills down one’s spine In the study, people high in openness to experience were more likely to play a musical instrument and more likely to rate music as important to them.
3. The happiness effects of music
In research by Ferguson and Sheldon (2013), participants who listened to upbeat classical compositions by Aaron Copland, while actively trying to feel happier, felt their moods lift more than those who passively listened to the music.This suggests that engaging with music, rather than allowing it to wash over us, gives the experience extra emotional power.
4. Singing together brings us together
Since music is often a social activity, making it together can help bring us together.
5. Effects of music on heart disease
Music can help deal with the stress and anxiety associated with having treatment for coronary heart disease.
6. Why sad music lifts you up
‘Mood management’ is the number one reason people love music.And, all music fans know that music can have a cathartic effect. But, it’s still odd that, for some people, sad music can, under the right circumstances, improve their mood. Why?According to a study by Kawakami et al. (2013), sad music is enjoyable because it creates an interesting mix of emotions; some negative, some positive.
7. Seeing happy faces
One of the effects of music is that it can make you feel different but as little as 15 seconds of music can change the way you judge the emotions on other people’s faces as well.In other words: people projected the mood of the music they were listening to onto other people’s faces.
8. The colour of music
Music naturally makes people think of certain colours. Across different cultures, people pair particular types of music with particular colours.
9. Could music bring back your vision?
In 60% of people who have a stroke, the visual areas of the brain are affected.But, studies have found, when patients listen to their favourite music, some of their visual attention is restored (Tsai et al., 2013).So, the effects of music can be an important tool in rehabilitation for stroke patients.
10. Babies are born to dance!
Infants as young as five-months-old respond rhythmically to music and seem to find it more interesting than speech.
So Maybe the effects of music really are in our genes!