In the early 1920’s, music began to be a huge part of social culture, and since then has become a huge part of peoples’ everyday lives. It can be found everywhere, on the radio, in movies or even played in public areas such as shopping malls or restaurants. People are also constantly purchasing music, going to concerts, and creating music on a day-to-day basis. There is no avoiding music no matter where you go, it has become a reality for everyone worldwide. However, along with the development of music and the increasing prevalence of music in society, there has been dispute on whether or not music affects humans in more ways than just cultural. Questions begin to emerge: How does it affect a person when they enjoy or hate a song? And on the other hand, why do the same songs have different effects on different people? Music has been proven to cause people to have certain reactions based on evidence that music can influence a person’s mood, physical behavior, or opinions. Although this may be true, it is difficult to determine whether or not these influences affect people on an individual or group basis. Depending on the influence that most effects the specific listener, music can trigger a reaction unique to each person. But these reactions can be seen in everyone and vary due to the elements of a song, such as beats per minute, or implemented dynamics, and the context. Music provokes different reactions in every individual through emotional and physical responses brought on by the structure of songs and the situations in which they’re heard. 

Music can make you want to do a number of activities such as sing, dance, crying, or even workout. This is what is involved in the physical effects that music has on people. Actions like these are generally caused by different parts of a song. Music is generally structured with the following components: lyrics (in music containing vocals), melodies, and beats and rhythm. These parts of a song have varying physical effects for each individual. For example, a study was done regarding the effect of music associated with the physical activity rates of high school students in gym class. After analyzing the results, they observed and concluded that, “From this study, the data indicate that significant differences were noted between gender and activity type causing that the activities with music to increase steps taken and time in activity. It was found that the activities with music increased steps taken and time in activity for both males and females” (Brewer, Barney, Prusak, Pennington 698-699). This quotation concludes that student activity in gym class significantly increased when exposed to music in both boys and girls. 

Other physical responses are easier to observe, however. For instance, people dancing to music is typically in response to a certain BPM, or beats per minute. This is because the music they are listening to is either fast or slow, making dances such as jumping or just swaying side-to-side suitable to the beat of the music. Dancing to music is just another way to experience music. In Jessica Phillips-Silver’s, On the Meaning of Movement in Music, Development and the Brain, she explains that “Scientific studies can test the hypothesis that when we produce or perceive music, auditory and movement systems are not only functioning simultaneously but are integrated so that what we perceive in music is a product of what we hear and feel” (Phillips-Silver 294). She is basically saying that music can be perceived in many ways and dancing is just one of those ways. These perceptions vary from person to person as everyone dances differently to music that they hear. Other than dancing and increased physical activity, facial expression and singing are two other physical responses that are easy to correlate with each individual’s reaction to music. Observing someone sing along to music with vocals generally displays that they enjoy that song. Seeing that person’s facial expression can confirm this, or it can suggest that the person is singing along just because they recognize the tune. Smiling due to enjoying a song is part of this, as it is one of the easiest responses to music to observe in people.

Physical responses to music can also correlate with emotions. When observing physical behavior regarding music it is easy to associate it with an emotion. Take a facial expression like frowning when correlating it with response to music, for instance. It can most certainly be because someone does not like a song or the song makes them angry or sad. However, some people that listen to the same music may not have the same physical reaction. This is similarly seen in comparison to workout capabilities. In Effects of musical interventions on emotional states and running performance, Andrew Lane argues that, “The findings of the present study lend support to the notion that listening to music is an effective emotion regulation strategy for use in running” (Lane, Davis, Davenport 405). This evaluation concluded that emotional effects of music, such as making someone angry or happy, can have an effect on a runners’ capability to perform. The relationship between emotional and physical reactions to music vary by individual due to the possibility for there to be different opinions on a single song. If all people thought of a song or type of music the same way, there would be no variation in dances for different types of music. For example, if two people walked into a room and heard the same song playing, one of the people might hate it and not react in anyway. On the other hand, the other person might love the song and show multiple effects, such as smile or sing. Dancing is another physical effect of music and is one of the biggest ways to convey emotion through music as a way of expression, depends on emotion. As stated by Marko Ahtisaari in, Music and Emotion, “In summary, movement, be it in musical or physical form, is one important way of conveying emotions. Thus, people who say that they are moved by music are more right than they realize” (Ahtisaari 2015). Dance, is also seen in two forms, art and appreciation. The art side of dance is more proper, is used to convey as well as amplify the emotions portrayed in music, and is seen in art studios and professional performances. The appreciation side of dancing is the more freestyle-oriented type of dance that people partake in at concerts or by themselves as a way of enjoying the music they’re listening to more.

Just as much as emotions determine performance or physical responses, emotions play an important role in changing physical factors. In Richard Parncutt’s, The Science & Psychology of Musical Performance: Creative Strategies for Teaching and Learning, he explains that, “The chapter ends by suggesting specific strategies that musicians can use to manage anxiety. These include positive self-talk, mental imagery, goal-setting, relaxation, and performance routines” (Parncutt, McPherson 113-114). Musicians have to utilize emotional tools in order to perform successfully, displaying but another difference in effects felt through music unique to individual people. Emotions can also play a part in the manipulation of physical response to music through an example such as crying. Sad emotions gained from hearing a particular song can be overwhelming and sometimes result in crying. This is common due to the fact that some people listen to sad music in order to cry, but varies as each individual has their own idea of what type of music would be capable of making them cry. 

Emotional responses to music are much more complex than physical responses, seen within an array of components that cause them to be so. There are a number of parts to a song that are responsible for making people feel a certain way. In Psych2Go’s video, Psychology of Music, they explain that, “in conclusion music’s effect on your mood is instantaneous and impactful but it's also dependent on your familiarity with what you're listening to, the setting you're in, the level of volume the music is played at especially for songs volume increases and decreases suddenly while it's playing, and the level of concentration you have while listening to it the effect also depends on the genre and how it fits your mood” (Psych2Go 2015). Familiarity is if you have heard a song before, if you know and like a song that is being played, you are more likely to enjoy hearing it. This can also trigger nostalgic feelings. If you had felt a certain way when you first heard a song, hearing it again may recreate those emotions. Setting is self-explanatory, listening to a song alone versus in a crowd at a concert affects emotions because of the differences in energy levels. In Patrik Juslin’s, Emotional Responses to Music, he emphasizes that, “it is becoming increasingly clear that key to an understanding of musical emotions is to describe the complex interplay between the music, the listener, and the situation. Juslin et al. (in press) noted that emotional responses to music occurred in all kinds of locations, partly because the participants were able to bring their favourite music anywhere” (Juslin 2012). This explains even more how much hearing music in a specific place and hearing your own music there can influence emotional effects. 

Volume is similar to setting, especially at concerts. The louder a song is, the more you’re actually going to be able to really feel the music. Concentration is crucial to effects taken on by music. If someone is not focused on a song, the emotional response will be lessened greatly. These come together to change a person’s mood and shape the way they conceive music. All of these components of a song and what parts affect emotional responses are different for every person because people’s preferences are different. For example, some people may prefer quiet music over loud music but may still have the same effects that loud music would have on someone else who preferred loud music. The only part of songs that the video fails to mention is tempo and/or beats per minute. In Lars Rogenmoser’s, Independent component processes underlying emotions during natural music listening, he states that, “there is evidence indicating a certain stability of music-evoked emotional experiences across cultures (Peretz and He´bert, 2000; Trehub, 2003) in response to specific elementary musical structures such as the musical mode (major/ minor) and tempo inducing happiness and sadness” (Rogenmoser, Zollinger, Elmer, Jäncke 1429). This conclusion was drawn after conducting research on students and observing their overall mood changes in correspondence with music intended to provoke emotional response. He explains that tempo and musical mode can have a large effect on a person’s emotional response to music, regardless of how basic it is. Tempo, or beats per minute, is generally associated with its effect on heart rate. Generally, faster heart rates caused by higher BPMs adopt happier emotional responses, whereas slower heart rates and lower BPMs adopt more sad and solemn emotional responses. 

Finally, music can grant people with useful traits that enhance your way of life. In Emily Lynar’s, The joy of heartfelt music, An examination of emotional and physiological responses, she states that, “Music forms an integral and powerful part of human experience (Trappe, 2012a). Not only can music invoke a large spectrum of emotions, but it can regulate arousal, enhance executive skills and concentration, improve sleep quality, and strengthen social connectedness” (Lynar 2017). So, on top of the effect of emotional influences music has on the human brain, such as shifts in mood, music can also expand the capabilities of people’s “neural network”. 

There is some disagreement on whether or not physical and emotional responses to music are individually based or if they are influenced by something else outside of the listeners themselves. The counter argument to individual effects of music is not very popular, but has some good points. These consist of theories of Placebo Effect and social norms. The Placebo theories regarding effects of human responses to music are this: it is believed that when people see others reacting to a certain type of music a certain way that they will follow. This can be seen in any scene when people are uncultured in how to dance to certain types of music, and look to others for guidance. However, this counter claim becomes almost invalid when presented music that goes against the grain and is unique, provoking a unique physical or emotional response from listeners. Music such as classical pieces has the potential to be annoying or boring to music lovers who enjoy the modern music that is being created today, but magnificent to an art history major at any university or someone who is fond of this genre. The people who are fond of this genre are rare, hence why you don’t hear these pieces on the pop radio stations. In Ahtisaari’s, Music and Emotion, he emphasizes that, “emotions are contagious: according to a study, exposure to pictures of facial expressions of emotions activated the same facial muscles needed to produce a similar expression and led to reports of experiencing similar feelings in the observers” (Ahtisaari 2015). But these expressions are what is contagious, these people that are interacting are not sharing the same feeling for music. Even if the people interacting felt the same way about a song, it would be at different levels. 

Next comes social norms, which are extremely relevant in modern culture. The Placebo theory is that people will only react to music a certain way if it is from a mainstream artist. This is true to an extent, but there is a lot of evidence against it as well. For example, someone who is not a fan of a high grossing artist may feel left out if a lot of other people like a song, but will still not be a fan of theirs. It also goes for music that is not grossing in culture: people do sometimes buy music just because they know an artist is unpopular. But what about the less popular artists? If people’s responses to music were only affected by through this “peer pressure” type situation, then why would they be more of a fan of an artist not many people have heard of? People have their own different tastes in music and therefore have different emotional responses to artists that may not be what is popular at the moment. 

There is also proof that music affects people differently for different reasons that reside within that individual. In Emotional Responses to Music, Patrik Juslin explains that, “Still, research has revealed a number of factors in the individual that may potentially affect emotional responses to music, such as the listener's age, gender, personality, musical training, music preference and current mood” (Juslin 2012). The quotation describes that there can be more studies done to prove that different characteristics of a person are responsible for the responses that that person has to certain music. Juslin also talks about how listening styles affect emotional effects in music listeners, “Musical training might lead to less emotional involvement due to increasingly analytic listening suggested that there may be different individual ‘listening styles’” (Juslin 2012). Listening style is one of the points that people use as a counter argument against individual effects of music as well. These arguments are most likely due to the amount of people with similar listening styles, making it seem like music’s effects are inflicted on a group of people rather that individuals. This is flawed as well due to the fact that some listening styles, such as analytical as explained above, are adopted styles of listening rather than that of what was natural for the individual. In other words, people choosing to listen to music a certain way is different than the immediate responses they have naturally.

Music plays such a large role in everyday life: it is useful to know what aspects of it affect our emotions and how that may impact specific behaviors. Since music is unavoidable and a huge part of pop culture, awareness of its presence and effect on the individual may be useful to aid if a specific reaction is desired. Emotional responses to music are something that everyone should be aware of because of how relevant they are in everyone’s life whether or not someone is a music lover. This can be implemented when doing daily tasks such as going to the gym or relaxing or doing homework to increase productivity levels. Physical responses may be advantageous to know about in order to be confident in expressing music and utilizing that expression for both your own convenience and knowledge. As time goes on, more should be done to further analyze the effects of music as music itself progresses along with society. Especially since it is thought that music affects the individual based on traits such as gender and age, this data should be obtained as society continues to allow music to be such a large piece of culture all around the world. Music is universal, and understanding its effects and the importance of them in people’s lives should be very important to everyone. 
