The Psychology of Music: Why Certain Songs Move Us

Celisse “freedom” Official Music Video
Celisse “freedom” Official Music Video
Celisse “FREEDOM” Official Music Video

I was listening to an old song and it was moving. I wondered if this was just a chemical thing or if more was going on.

Our brain desires patterns and familiarity. I think that is why many people get lost in nostalgia. I said before that nostalgia is distortion. Science has shown us that we rewrite our memories and often without our conscious being aware of it. To me, memories as flimsy as our fantasies.

Does this mean that music is just a brain biochemical reaction? Yes that is the largest part of it. Music helps reduce pain and vibrational therapy from music helps people even when they don’t consciously recognize it. There is growing evidence and stories like a girl in a coma whose mother sang to her and that helped her get out of her coma. Still the link is not proven, so we can’t say with certainty how music affects us.

I believe in science. If we can’t measure it, we need to be very careful about what we claim. Too often people abuse peoples trust and good nature and feed them stories that make them feel good but may have no basis in fact. An honest reality that may be harsh is ultimately more kind than a loving lie that makes you feel good.

Another part of why we are moved by music is that we assign meaning to songs. We may not consciously do it but all the time we are making judgments about what affects us and how it makes us feel. Listening to that song reminded me of when I first heard it and the joy I felt in hearing it. That song represented hope and love since it was about paradise and what a compelling thought that is. So full of possibility and wonder.

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Who knows what reality is, but I choose to believe based on my experience that reality is kinder than anything I have heard humans invent. While many people take comfort in religion, science or whatever I think that ultimately we are more than our thoughts, feelings, existence. While some will say this is religion, I can’t imagine that our tiny brains can even begin to comprehend our place in evolution. If we even have a place. If I died and that is it, life has still been an incredible experience and one that I am grateful to have.

We assign meaning to our lives. Music is just a reflection of that.