Essay On Listening To Music

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Introduction Music has undeniably evolved through the centuries. It is an art form whose unknown origins later become the source of human entertainment and pleasure. We, the people, depend on music as it is a daily need, through which we express our spirits and inner feelings. According to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, music is the ‘universal language’ of mankind. It is a means of communication for people to uncover their emotions, thoughts, and ideas. A complex language that differs in each culture but converges as one. The information from musician to listener is expressed through the inscriptions in the organization of each piece, messages that are sent through each note thoroughly written and prearranged by the musician himself. We as the…show more content…
This is responsible for the imaginative and creative processing of information. Our limbic system on the other hand, is responsible for our emotions and this is somehow influenced by the processes in the right hemisphere of the brain. Psychological effects by music may be caused by vibrations on the auditory cortex that affects the limbic system, as hypothesized by brain anatomy researchers. Listening to music can have powerful emotional conditions on the listener; it can also change cardiovascular, neuroendocrine, and immune system functions which are controlled by the autonomic nervous system (McCraty, Barrios-Choplin, Atkinson, & Tomasino,…show more content…
In fact, rhythm has a significant role in the context of psychology in music as well. Primarily, consistent rhythm gives off a feeling of security, whereas inconsistent rhythm tends to create uneasiness, anxiety and basically demands attention from the listener. Because the body naturally has rhythm, the brain can also be capable of matching its rhythm with music (Smith & Moon, 1998). So if rhythm in music is gradually changed, the emotional state of the listener may also change from one to another. This is also known as the iso-principle, when an individual’s mood is changed to match music and then gradually moved into a desired direction (Ortiz,

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