Listening in Lockdown Part 2 | Mood Music

As outlined in our previous article, music has been a much-needed companion for us all during lockdown. Whether it be listening to your own classic playlists whilst working from home, or exploring new genres as an activity in itself, industry figures say our consumption of music is at an all-time high. However, the reasons for why we have been finding solace in sound are much more complicated than just filling the silence.

Widely regarded as the highest form of art, music is universal across all human cultures and historically has filled an important role in developing community and individual identity. While there is some contention at its place in the hierarchy of arts, at a physiological and psychological level, music evokes by far the strongest response; a beautiful painting or piece of poetry may bring up strong emotions, but they do not make us dance.

When we listen to music, it activates a part of the brain known as the nucleus accumbens. This is responsible for releasing important mood hormones like dopamine and oxytocin and for regulating metabolic processes including heart rate.

Such physiological responses have profound effects, particularly when we are together with other people. At festivals, for example, music, paired with the phenomenon of synchronised breathing, results in dopamine and oxytocin being released in large amounts. These hormones are responsible for feelings of elation and emotional relation and can give a drug-like sensation that provides festivalgoers with an elevated mood. Of course, the lack of festivals in recent times has meant this desire for connectivity has needed new outlets, and we mentioned in the last article, the creation of shared playlists being a necessary substitute.

Elsewhere, the powerful physiological responses to music have not gone unnoticed. The medical community, for example, has fielded numerous audio therapy programs in treating a variety of conditions. Indeed, a 2015 review in The Lancet found that patients undergoing surgery experienced less pain and anxiety, even needing less anesthetic, when given music to listen to.

Meanwhile, the Cochrane Review medical journal has published a 2013 study that music listening can assist those with coronary heart disease, by helping in the regulation of blood pressure, and the World Journal of Psychiatry has published numerous studies in which music was used to treat neurological conditions like Parkinson’s disease, dementia, multiple sclerosis and strokes.

By stimulating new neural connections, music not only wards off neurological conditions, but also improves psychological outlook. This is related to the genre of music listened to, all of which have a strong effect on our response. For example, a 2013 study reported findings that persons who listened to the swelling compositions of Aaron Copland, after two weeks, were more positive than those who had listened to the more brooding works of Igor Stravinsky.

Another study conducted by researchers in 2016 at Durham University found that people listening to sad songs, perhaps paradoxically, overwhelmingly reacted with positive emotions. The reason for this is that sad songs can be a powerful medium for exploring personal grief, particularly interpersonal loss, embodying the surrogate role of an empathetic friend. However, in both studies, the conclusion was that the individual had to take an active role in consciously listening to the music played to gain its psychological benefits.

President of the International Association for Music and Medicine, Susanne Hanser, has suggested that we take more time to really listen to music, and notice the feelings, memories, and bodily sensations it causes in us. Indeed, Susanne’s support here is pertinent - with us all feeling a need for companionship and emotional meaningfulness now more than ever, listening to music can form an important exercise in mindfulness.