Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Music and Your Mood

Music is very well known for evoking emotions out of people. Our textbook explains how these emotions are usually poisitive feelings, but I think I would have to disagree and say that music can evoke all different kinds of emotions. Music has the ability to alleviate bad moods and push you towards more positive feelings such as love, or you could be listening to a song that reminds you of a bad time in your life. The more you listen to the radio or your preferred artist, you start to realize that a majority of songs are about a longing for love, missing the one you loved, hurting the one you love or expressing how much you actually love someone. Maybe its not necessarily about the lyrics to the music that are so happy, but the beat of the song can change your mood and the ability to relate to the lyrics makes you like that song even more.

The fact that music can enhance your mood so rapidly has been taken into consideration and is now being used for therapy. Well, according to the website below, music therapy has been around for 60 years, but it is kind of a new concept for me.


Another aspect of music that has become very popular is for learning aspects. Women who are pregnant will play music for their unborn child because it is said that the unborn child will react to music by moving in the womb. Fetuses will also breathe in time to music that they find enjoyable. It is pretty incredible that even unborn children react to music.


  1. Music therapy is still fairly new and not very well known yet, although it is growing. To become a music therapist a minimum of a masters degree is required. Very few schools offer it. The only school in NJ that I know of offering music therapy as a major is Montclair State University while the next closest school is NYU.

  2. Music therapy is a very interesting study. I know some research has been done about the effects of classical music in the womb and how it can affect a child later in life but i am unsure how reliable these findings are. I for one believe it may bode well for the child. Your idea idea of music deriving all kinds of emotions from people is pretty spot on. Sure music can derive happiness from us if it's a song we enjoy or a beat we enjoy. However, later in life that same exact song, paired with a negative experience where that song may have been present would yield negative emotions from us because it would remind us so much of a certain person or event that was not very enjoyable. Same goes for smells i've noticed. Or most stimuli for that matter.

  3. I have always felt like I could not live without music! There are so many songs out there that can change your mood completely and allow you to feel happier and uplifted. I also love music because it evokes vivid memories. It allows you to relive past experiences and feel those same emotions. Music can take you back to a memory with a loved one. I enjoy listening to music, and can for many hours at a time because it does take your mind off many things. It is definitely a stress reliever.

  4. I use music for everything from my morning drive with upbeat music to wake me up, to helping sleep at night by listening to ambient tunes. Also music has an amazing ability to help release sadness, but it is even better if you can play an instrument and create your own music.