Why does music make us emotional?
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“Music speaks the language of the soul, penetrating into the past and resonating into the future, unearthing pain and tenderness and sorrow and joy, reminding us of our infinite fragility and extraordinary strength, reigniting our dreams and passions once again to remind us of who we are meant to be.”
L.R. Knost
Not science just my thoughts but music activates a sympathetic response relating all the way down to our own heartbeat and breath. That sympathy is guided by mood, melody and if applicable lyrics to associations and memories.
If the song is new to us, and it activates those sympathetic associations effectively it maps itself quickly and then each subsequent listening reinforces itself. There is an effect of diminishing returns kinda like getting used to a drug but if you abstain from that song it can reactivate.
I sometimes think it’s because we’re remembering when we first heard the song. Or could be who/what/when we associate the song with. The meaning of the lyrics as it associates with what’s happening in your life.
while i’m not an expert, i’ll give it a shot. all music fundamentally consists of beats. when you listen to a specific piece of music, your heartbeat tends to sync with the music’s beats. as is well known, changes in heartbeat can influence our mood, which in turn affects our emotional state.
Music with lyrics or just instrumental?
If with lyrics, it’s because that is essentially poetry that can tell a story that you either have experienced personally or you can sympathize/empathize/connect with (I wonder if this happens with people who have Aphantasia or no internal voice, or the people who treat vocals as an instrument and thus don’t pay attention to lyrics).
For instance, [a small trend on TikTok a few months ago](https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTNeSqAxy/) was to use the song ‘I’d rather overdose’ by Honestav to post their own imagery/recording of family members or loved ones who passed away or were in hospital beds due to substance abuse (including alcohol), or posting about their siblings who took over the parental role because the parents left or even parents posting about their sober journey. It doesn’t have to be that devastating to make someone cry, it could even be a metaphorical story about a chicken crossing a road to get a better life (Bo Burnham reference). Some people tear up just from hearing a special quality in the vocals, like some Billie Eillish songs. Some songs have very sad music videos which they could remember. Some people just cry from happiness like to some Taylor Swift songs, especially at concerts.
On a very basic level, we know that music stimulates many parts of the brain, including the vision center. It triggers amygdala and hippocampus (emotions and memory), the motor cortex (for that need to just boogey), the frontal lobe (personality and rational thought.), and others.
At the end of the day, music can induce lots of feelings, thoughts, and memories.
I think the greater question is how can music affect us so greatly? That’s a much harder question.
It can cause a relaxation. In the relaxation it’s as if previously built flood gates are slowly opened.
That makes us discover previously left aside emotions. And the opening also increases the general connectivity of our brains and bodies which generally feels good.
I’m not sure if music makes you feel emotional, or you allow yourself to be emotional during a piece of music.
It’s all valid. And if it hits, it hits.
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