Composer Ned Rorem once said, “The hardest of all the arts to speak of is music, because music has no meaning to speak of” (Rorem 1). He has a point. What is the meaning of music? It is truly all up to personal interpretation. However, where does that interpretation come from? Generally, music makes everyone feel the same things. Sad music makes people cry. Scary, shrill music gives people goosebumps and makes them jump. However, when looking at individual songs and individual people, it is clear that music affects everyone differently. Crystal and Lily are sisters and are great examples of this concept. Crystal likes hard rock, ACDC, anything with a blaring guitar and head-banging tempo. Lily likes songs that come from musicals, The King and I and The Sound of Music are her favorites, anything that she can close her eyes and envision the actors moving and dancing to. Crystal and Lily have divorced parents; when mom and dad fight, the kids get pulled into the middle. Crystal has become more and more closed and lingers around the house all day. Lily has become controlling and constantly cleans just to give her hands something to do. Both girls on their worst days when there is nothing to clean, and nowhere to go, sit in their shared bedroom with headphones in listening to their respective music. Sometimes they will play cards while alternating through each other’s play lists. Crystal thinks musicals are boring, and Lily gets annoyed with rock; however, they know how much that music means for the other sister and they sit through it. For these girls, music is the glue holding them together while their world is falling apart. Now think about the mall, dentist’s office, parades, the streets of a city, the theatre, and grocery stores; music is played all around. As it turns out, there is actually science behind how people react to music, and there are some unique variables that leave the meaning of music undefined. While everyone has their own tastes in music and reacts differently to it, one should understand how music can deeply affect various people.

Music affects everyone the same way, scientifically speaking that is. Music changes physical aspects of the human body. As explained by Mitchell Moffit and Gregory Brown, two graduates of the University of Guelph in Biological Science, on their science YouTube channel, when a person listens to music that they enjoy the neurotransmitters dopamine and other feel-good chemicals are released into the brain. These chemicals are also what become active when a person uses certain drugs; which means that one could technically become addicted to music (Moffit and Brown). More importantly, humans feel a rush of happiness when listening to music. On this chemical level, music can be used as a tool in a variety of scenarios to simply make someone feel happy. There are more physical changes when a person listens to music that would support this idea that music can be used as a constant to elicit specific responses. “Our hearts sync to the rhythms we listen to. This means when we listen to slow, sad music our heartbeat slows down… when we listen to fast-paced, upbeat music our brains invoke feelings of excitement and energize us” (Taylor 1). From this, one can see how music is a constant in life that can be used to make someone feel a certain emotion.

Further proving this idea was a study conducted by researchers trying to answer the question of if it was possible to force someone into a better mood through music. “By examining the scans of brain activity, it was shown that listeners experienced a rush of the feel-good neurotransmitter dopamine near this region [the frontal striatum], as well as a rush of dopamine in the rear striatum, the brain’s pleasure center” (Towers 2). This small experiment proved that short term mood could be changed and one could intentionally get the brain to release certain chemicals. As it turns out, music works the same way drugs do, by forcing the brain to release chemicals and forcing the brain into a state of pleasure. This is when the music in question is pleasurable music. As one of the researchers of this study said, “we found that people were successful at raising their positive mood as long as the music they listened to was happy and upbeat” (qtd. in Towers 2). Now in example, sad music, as previously mentioned, would not raise a person’s mood but rather lower it. Therefore, all that has really been proven is that depending on what emotion, or response, is wanted from a person, there is a kind of music that can get it. This is one topic where scientists are just simply proving what the common man already knew. Music has always been used to help someone control their emotions; the most common example of this is with those suffering from depression.

Music helps a depressed mind become active. Songs are written out of true stories or feelings the artist had, which somewhere, somehow, someone can relate to. Music can help lift the spirits of a depressed person because of the physical changes it makes, or the relation to the story. Depression is when a person is constantly sad and their brain is low on dopamine and serotonin. Already discussed is the release of these feel-good chemicals and neurotransmitters when a person listens to music. By simply raising the level of chemicals in a depressed brain, one can feel happier. These moments of happiness overtime can then open other pathways up for the person to handle their disease. On a less scientific level, music tells stories and those stories can be related to and give the depressed person a sense of comfort knowing they are not the only ones who have had tough times. As Kathleen Higgins states in her review of Joel Rudinow’s book based around the origin and meaning of blues music, “In many songs, the lyricist describes a bad situations his own fault, or someone else is told to recognize that ‘what goes around comes around’” (2). A depressed person feels like everything dim in their life is due to them; music that tells the story of similar situations or feelings of worthlessness and regret can help a person feel less alone. They will realize they are not the only ones who have ever made a mistake. Another possibility is that they will realize they are not to blame at all for their misfortune. Either way, the point of music in a depressed person’s life is to help them feel less alone.

Once again using blues music as an example, most of the genre was written during a depressing time in the world full of discrimination, hatred, and sorrow. The purpose of blues then was to put out a common message of understanding among those who were feeling the weight of the world most heavily.  To further explain the common feeling, Higgins describes blues music, “The lyrics present images of hitting rock bottom, of things going radically wrong. And yet the music buoys one up. It is cheering on a physical level. Its steady rhythm and its use of lower registers convey a sense of support” (3).  The message is that no one should give up. That while things may be bad, relief is on the way. Music was, and still is, a support system for those who feel they have no support. Depressed listeners can realize, through the help of music, they are not the only ones who have ever felt depressed, or else the music they are listening to would not exist. For those suffering from depression, music is the force that pushes them through a bad day and into a good.

Music can also help calm an anxious mind. Anxiety is when a person is in a state of constant worry and uneasiness. The stress chemicals in their brain are overworking. What anxious people need is to escape from their stressors and calm down. Music can do this by either giving the person a way to release their built up frustrations or by simply slowing down their brain activity. Why does an ordinary man suddenly have the strength of Superman in a crisis? The answer is adrenaline. Adrenaline is just one of the many stress hormones coursing through a person at the time of an anxiety attack.  Most people would assume the way to burn off this adrenaline would be to run ten miles or punch a wall; as it turns out music can actually have the same outcome. As Kevin Taylor expresses in his article “Does Music Affect Our Mood?”, “if we are experiencing a stressful time, listening to angry-sounding music with an aggressive tone can help us release some of our built up anger” (1). Taylor is absolutely right, by releasing the buildup of adrenaline the body goes into a state of recuperation which is when the blood pressure returns to normal and the heartbeat slows down. This clears away the stress hormones and allows a person to think clearly once again.

On the other hand, instead of releasing the built up energy in a person, why not prevent their stress levels from reaching maximum level in the first place? Music is already used in a variety of situations to help relax people: from patients receiving stressful treatments to students studying for a heavily weighted exam. As explained by HealthyChildren.org, “music is so effective in reducing anxiety, it is often used in dental, preoperative, and radiation therapy settings…calming background music can significantly decrease irritability and promote calm in elderly nursing home patients with dementia. Music, widely chosen, lowers stress hormone levels” (“Music and Mood” 1, 2). Music has been proven, and is commonly used, to soothe fears in a person and prevent them from becoming so worked up that they need to release excess adrenaline. Whether it is releasing built up stress or preventing the stress in the first place, music to an anxious mind means being able to relax once again.
Some people would negate these findings and claim that music gives nothing more than a little down-time enjoyment, and has no real value on the human mind or body. They may bring up the examples of pop culture music having no more practical use than dancing music at a party. They are also the same people who lump together all kinds of genres into simple categories, and who once tried to stop Kevin Bacon and his friends from dancing and listening to anything other than Christian Hymns in Footloose. These people are indisputably incorrect. To further prove them wrong is research from the University of Missouri where researchers conducted two experiments that measured brain activity of participants (Towers 1). They found that music can elevate mood, decrease stress levels, and significantly change brain chemical levels and activity. Which is that not the same findings that the previous studies concluded? Researcher Murray Gibson from Northern University in Boston, who studies the effect of music on individuals, has declared, “the connection between art and science is more intimate than people think… I feel strongly about the scientists being great at doing science, but leaving it up to them all the time isn’t going to work. People need to be aware how important it can be to learn about science through how we respond to music” (qtd. in Towers 2). Absolutely true is the fact that music helps people. It has proven multiple times, in multiple situations and no one can argue otherwise.

While everyone has a different reaction to their favorite tunes, one should understand how music can truly help the people around them. The meaning of music is still up to personal interpretation, just as Ned Rorem suggests. For Crystal, music means being able to take on the day without feeling completely alone. For Lily, music means a break from chaos and a little time to breathe. In all honesty, no matter whom the individual is in question, music helps them get through their toughest days and celebrate their happiest moments. People who think music is just background noise, or has no significance in people’s lives are wrong. Because of the wide range of types and genres music has, everyone can find something that does more than just entertain them on a Sunday drive. If this fact were not true, there would not be so many studies coming out with reports of successful treatment of depression, anxiety, or just generally lifting a person’s mood. Music scientifically changes a person’s brain chemistry, one cannot argue with science. Also, if music meant nothing then why is it used in so many places? Music is always present: at the store, at the coffee shop, at school, at work, at home. Music is the common ground that everyone shares. Music is a force bringing people closer together and helping to understand one another. While we go through our busy and chaotic lives, music is what holds us steady. Music is the hand we hold while crossing the busy street that gives us a sense of security while we are facing the unknown.