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Music without a sound

<div> <div class="copy"> <p>There’s more to our appreciation of music than its sound, according to an Australian study <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0241196" target="_blank">published</a> in the journal <em>PLOS ONE</em>. It found that people can have emotional reactions to music based solely on its genre.</p> <p>“This is one of the first studies which tells us that how we emotionally respond to music might not be related to musical features, as has long been suggested, but to pre-conceived ideas we have about the culture related to the music,” says lead author Marco Susino from Flinders University.</p> <p>Susino, who is also a visiting fellow at New York’s Juilliard School, has worked and played with musicians in a vast range of cultural contexts across four continents. “I have always been fascinated by the power of music, in terms of how it makes us feel and how it can trigger emotions in us,” he says. “Music can make us cry and weep, but also elate with joy.</p> <p>“Throughout my career, I found that people’s reactions to music were at times wildly different, and I always wondered why. If we listen to the same music, how is it that it can trigger such different emotional reactions?”</p> <p>As Susino ventured into research, he discovered that theories about music and emotions tend to focus on its sound. “Yet to me this seemed limiting,” he says. “What if it has nothing to do with the music at all?”</p> <p>To disentangle this, Susino and Emery Schubert, from the University of New South Wales, recruited 276 adult volunteers from Australia and Cuba.</p> <p>Participants were given a short set of lyrics from real songs, with information on which genre of music they came from, and asked what sentiments came to mind when they read them. The eight genres included Japanese gagaku, Brazilian samba, heavy metal, pop, hip hop and western art opera.</p> <p>There was a twist. Some participants were told the lyrics were taken from a genre that in reality wasn’t true. Others weren’t given any genre at all. Essentially, the lyrics were the same, but the genre label changed.</p> <p>After controlling for familiarity and fandom, results showed that people’s emotional responses changed for some genres.</p> <p>When a set of lyrics was presented as Japanese gagaku, for instance, emotional responses were nearly always gentle while samba was associated with happiness, excitement and dancing. Heavy metal and hip hop, on the other hand, evoked anger.</p> <p>Results suggest that on some occasions prejudice and stereotypes influence our emotional response to music, Susino says – even though the music and lyrics might be expressing something completely different.</p> <p>People might hold a stereotype of Japanese culture as calm and spiritual, for instance, which could extend to perceptions of its music, even if the composer is conveying another emotion. Heavy metal and hip hop, on the other hand, tend to be stereotyped as rebellious and aggressive.</p> <p>The researchers also found differences between Cuban and Australian participants which could reflect different biases and stereotypes between cultures. Cubans associated hip hop with violence and sadness, for instance, while Australians more frequently linked it to sadness, betrayal and longing.</p> <p>The study has several interesting implications.</p> <p>“Music has been used for music therapy and treatment, music cognition and music psychology research,” says Susino. “But, to find out that how someone feels in relation to music might have nothing to do with the music itself is remarkable.”</p> <p>“The cross-cultural differences also bring into question the reliability of the well-known saying ‘music is a universal language’. When it comes to emotions, it does not look that way.”</p> <em>Image credit: Shutterstock            <!-- Start of tracking content syndication. Please do not remove this section as it allows us to keep track of republished articles --> <img id="cosmos-post-tracker" style="opacity: 0; height: 1px!important; width: 1px!important; border: 0!important; position: absolute!important; z-index: -1!important;" src="https://syndication.cosmosmagazine.com/?id=126972&amp;title=Music+without+a+sound" alt="" width="1" height="1" /> <!-- End of tracking content syndication -->          </em></div> <div id="contributors"> <p><em>This article was originally published on <a rel="noopener" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/people/music-without-a-sound/" target="_blank">cosmosmagazine.com</a> and was written by Natalie Parletta.</em></p> </div> </div>

Music

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How different genres of music affect your mind and body

<p>We all go through phases when a certain type of music appeals to us. Perhaps it was rock and roll when we wanted to cut loose as a teenager; or even some whale music when we needed to relax.</p> <p>But it seems that you can actually affect your mood positively by choosing the right tunes. Turn the stereo on!</p> <p><strong>1. Pop music to lift your mood</strong></p> <p>While some pop music is all about love and loss, the feel good stuff is where you want to head if you need a lift. Is it even possible to listen to “Dancing Queen”without smiling?</p> <p><strong>2. Jazz to reduce stress</strong></p> <p>You wouldn’t want to come home from a stressful day and listen to some heavy metal to calm your nerves. Sitting in a comfy chair listening to jazz legend Louis Armstrong sing “It’s A Wonderful World”is sure to hit the spot.</p> <p><strong>3. Punk music to let out aggression</strong></p> <p>If you’re feeling seriously peeved after some perceived injustice (or just a bad tax return), a little bit of The Clash’s “London Calling” while you stomp around the house is a great way to put a positive spin on things.</p> <p><strong>4. Disco to get you dancing</strong></p> <p>Dancing is a great way to exercise at home and put you in a positive frame of mind. Why not get “Stayin’ Alive”on the record player and have a bop around the lounge room?</p> <p><strong>5. Love songs to deal with sadness</strong></p> <p>Feeling a bit heart broken, forlorn or just a bit teary? Get yourself a copy of (basically any song by) Adele. “Someone Like You”is thought to be her most emotional song. Sometimes it helps to know that others have been through the same emotions and come out the other side.</p> <p><strong>6. Classical to help you focus</strong></p> <p>Listening to some calming classical music is thought to help you focus, meaning it’s ideal for when you are driving, studying or reading and don’t want to be distracted. That’s why a bit of Richard Clayderman playing “How Deep Is Your Love”is always going to be a great track to play while you eat dinner with a loved one.</p> <p><strong>7. Rap to fight depression</strong></p> <p>The ‘up yours’ effect of rap can be really empowering for the listener. Get some Snoop and listen to “Who Am I (What’s My Name)”for a boost to your mood.</p> <p>What’s your favourite style of music? Does it suit how you are feeling at the moment as we suggest here?</p>

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