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Allison Barnhart

ENG 1201

Dr Cassel

12 July 2020

How Does Music Affect Mood?

Music is a powerful tool. Music is inspiring and thunderous. It can do amazing things.

Music is something that people are unconsciously drawn to. It is a huge part of our social lives

as human beings. Music has been around for centuries and is a huge part of our society. There

is always music playing. Music can affect mood in a lot of different ways. Music can emotionally

and physiologically affect the human body. Music can evoke memories which affect mood.

These memories can cause mood changes which can affect hormone release. This hormone

release can physiologically affect the human body.

It is believed that music was created 40,000 years ago. The first ever piece of music was

dated in 800 BCE. It was a religious hymn. Music has affected our mood for centuries. It can

calm us, excite us, or scare us. After a while it was found that music could even be used as

therapy. This first time this occurred was in 1789. An article was published called “Music

Physically Considered” This article released in the Columbian Magazine related music to

something that could physically change the body. This was the start of believing that music

could go on to help people physically and mentally. Over the next two centuries music therapy

would go on to help millions of people of all ages.

Music has long been thought to affect our mood. How much is the real question. Music

has been used in various sorts of ways throughout time. From listening for enjoyment to music

therapy to background noise in movies, music changes the way we think and feel. It has been

proven that this causes a physiological response. Even subconsciously music can affect mood.

For example while watching a movie there are sounds that are part of the background music.
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These sounds can cause a reaction from people. These sounds can make a person scared or

happy. It will affect mood and emotions.

Music therapy has been around for quite some time with the first known reference in

1789. However it is also believed that music has been thought to be a way to affect mood since

the writings of Plato and Aristotle. (“American Music Therapy Association.”) In the past few

decades music therapy has evolved into a scientific art and has helped many children and

adults. This kind of art therapy is extremely helpful for people who can not or prefer not to use

prescription medication to treat illnesses. This therapy can help in many different ways. Many

who listened to music before surgical operations had less anxiety. This is just one way music

therapy can help a person. Other ways include restoring lost speech, aiding pain relief, and

reducing side effects of chemotherapy (Harvard Publishing).

Music can evoke many emotions in human beings. From early childhood we are taught,

consciously and subconsciously, what different sounds mean. A main component of why music

affects our emotions is dopamine. When we hear something that makes us happy or joyful there

is a release of dopamine or the “feel-good” hormone. The positive memories associated with the

music can literally make us feel certain emotions. Music and sounds can stay longer as a

memory than normal everyday memories. Music can also influence behavior. A 1999 study on

music and consumers found that these two are linked. The study showed that when french

music is playing in a supermarket more french foods are bought. The study also had a trial with

German music and found the same results. Music can unconsciously affect our behavior. Our

behavior can then affect our mood. (Heshmat)

Music and sleep can also be correlated together. Studies across many countries have

been done on the relationship of music and sleep. One study concluded that music benefited

younger people but they also chose to use music as a sleep aid more often (Trahan). A different

study done in Taiwan showed how music did increase sleep quality in older adults (Hui-Ling). It

is commonly known that good quality sleep can improve mood. The help of music to get a more
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quality sleep can also improve mood in the long term. Slow relaxing music can start many

physiological changes in the human body. These changes can include slow heart rate, slow

breathing, and decrease in blood pressure. These factors can make the body feel as if it is in a

sleep like state. This allows the body to fall asleep faster and stay asleep. A better quality sleep

can affect mood and behavior. A quality night of sleep can drastically improve mood by

increasing serotonin and oxytocin in the body (Breus).

While music can be used as therapy and enjoyment there are also health benefits as

well. Many studies have been done with dementia and alzheimers patients. These studies have

concluded that listening to music increased confidence and overall mood. Music also can create

negative moods. For example movies, specifically horror movies, include certain sounds that

can elicit feelings of nervousness and trepidation. In a study on people with dementia, music

was used as a nonpharmacological intervention. This study concluded that after several weeks

of music therapy their moods increased and their behavior was positively changed. The trial

group of patients were rated at the end of the study. The results found that the patients were

happier and relaxed. These were short term studies and results. This particular study also

showed the people with dementia had a decrease in heart rate and increase in oxygen intake.

These results were due to the listening to music which had changed them mentally and

physically. (Maseda)
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Some believe that music can cause no real change in our physiological selves. There

are people who really do have no change in emotions by listening to music. These people have

something called amusia. They can not hear different musical tones which in turn does not allow

them to “feel” the music. Overall music has been a huge part of the human race’s history. Music

is used in so many ways. It is not only used for enjoyment and pleasure but for science and art.

Music changes how a person sees the world. It can speed up our heartbeats and release

dopamine in our brains. It is a powerful drug.

A powerful way that music can affect mood is through film and media. There is always

background music in movies and commercials. These sounds subconsciously affect our mood

and the way the brain thinks. In a commercial the music is usually upbeat and happy sounding.

This is a marketing tactic to get people to buy a product. The music makes a person feel good.

The music or sounds playing now associate themselves with the product. For example the

Mcdonald's jingle or holiday songs. They are very popular songs that have a meaning behind it.

These songs for most people cause a reaction. People have memories associated with these

jingles or songs. Other songs for people could bring back bad memories. These bad memories
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can also cause a change in mood in a negative way. Memories can cause a change in mood.

After listening to a memorable song a person could have a physical reaction which in turn can

change their mood and emotions. (Media).

In film music also affects mood and emotions. During an important movie scene there is

specific music playing. This music was hand selected just for this part. Those sounds are now

associated with that movie and scene. If a romantic scene is playing, a happy or wistful song

could be expected to play. That music in the background makes a person feel a certain way.

That music is causing a change in their mood. A mood change can also occur from a sad or

suspenseful moment in a movie. There are many movies that play very powerful riveting music

in an important action scene. This anticipation of action and sound causes a change in

emotions. A viewer of the movie will now feel suspense. Music in movies can create many

different emotions. Without music in movies directors and actors would not be able to convey

the message of the movie.

Music can also affect mood in a person’s personal life. Many people choose to listen to

music on an everyday basis. They also listen to several different genres of music. Different

genres of music can vary widely in how they affect a person's mood. Technology that is

available now can allow people to create playlists of their own personally selected music.

People can choose exactly what kind of music they want to listen to when doing certain

activities. They may choose to listen to fast paced loud music when working out or slow

romantic songs when having sex. Music is very accessible now. People can choose to listen to

music to alter their mood. In a sad mood they can listen to songs they really enjoy and hopefully

increase their mood.

In one study on young people in the Netherlands, they found that music was very

important in their lives. They constantly played music in every situation. This study was

specifically about music played during sex. The study concluded by saying that music can affect

many different parts of sex. For some the music was a way to “emotionally distance” from
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someone. Others said “music functions as an important mood-setter, stimulating feeling and

setting the pace for sex.” (van Bohemen) This music can put people in different moods

depending on the music that was chosen. The participants in this study were able to choose

their own music playlists. This verifies that music does affect mood.

Music can also affect our bodies while exercising. In many studies it has shown that

listening to music that a person enjoys can improve their mood. The music can also affect many

other things. In a study by Moss, Enright, & Cushman they showed that by listening to different

genres of music a workout can be positively affected. In this study they showed that all music

genres can help a person increase their number of repetitions at low intensities. They also

showed in their study that music no longer helps with repetitions at high intensity. This study

also showed that music only helped in certain types of workouts. For this sample of people their

squat exercise increased with music. The other workouts such as bench exercises were not

advantaged by the listening of music. Self chosen music also proved to be the most beneficial

which makes sense.

How different genres of music affected mood states before and after a workout
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)Moss, Samantha Louise, et al. “The Influence of Music Genre on Explosive Power, Repetitions

to Failure and Mood Responses during Resistance Exercise.)

In simple terms music can affect exercise. Music that is especially upbeat or in tempo

with a workout can significantly increase the quality of that exercise. Music can increase

performance as well as psychologically increase mood. During exercise endorphins are

released. Listening to music can help counteract the painful part of a workout. The release of

serotonin can help ease the tension in a workout. Serotonin also improves mood. An increase in

mood can cause a person to be more excited and ready for exercise. A better attitude toward

working out can also increase the quality of the exercise (Markell). Music can help distract the

body from the displeasure of a workout. (Moss).

In conclusion music does affect mood. It affects it in many different ways. Music therapy

is an important way that music affects mood. It is a way to calm people. Music has been around

for centuries. It has been affecting people, mentally and physiologically. Music can bring back

memories and speech. It causes a release of hormones throughout the body. These hormones

can excite and depress the human body. Over the years more and more research has been

done on how music affects the body and emotions. This research has led to many new

discoveries and therapies. Music therapy has been known to help young children with behavior

disorders and older adults with dementia. Research on music has consistently shown that music

affects mood. Music can be a helpful therapy for many. All of these are reasons why music

affects mood. There are mental and physical aspects of how mood changes from music.

Works Cited
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