The Joy of Music

Source: Ri Butov / Pixabay

In the Western world, individuals on average choose to listen to around 27 hours of music per week. Music provides a means by which people can share emotions, intentions, and meanings. Here are several reasons why we find music rewarding, as shown in a recent book authored by Zatorre (2023).

1. Musical pleasure: Engaging with music can trigger the same biological and psychological responses associated with other highly primary rewards, such as food or sex, or secondary rewards like money. The experience of intensely pleasurable music can cause dopamine release in the mesolimbic reward system. Musical pleasure is commonly called “chills” or “frissons.” It is the pleasurable bodily reactions such as goosebumps that many people experience while listening to certain musical passages. Much of music’s pleasure comes from the patterns of melody, rhythm, and sudden changes. An unexpected change in intensity and tempo is one of the primary means by which music provokes a strong emotional response in listeners (Huron, 2006).
2. Repeated listening: As music becomes more familiar, it also generally becomes better liked. The theory of mere exposure effect suggests that repetition leads to increased preference for any musical piece. But, if repeated too often, enjoyment declines as the opportunities for surprise diminish. As humans, we get used to things. Nothing is ever as good as that first time.
3. Complex vs. simple music: People tend to prefer musical structures that are neither too complicated (difficult to follow) nor too simple (too predictable). The highest pleasure is associated with intermediate values—that is, the stimulus is optimally engaging, without being either too simple (leading to boredom) or too complex (confusing).
4. Music as a universal language: We have often heard the saying, “Where words fail, music speaks.” Music is considered as the best language to express emotions. People who have difficulty expressing their feelings in words sometimes feel more comfortable expressing them through music.
5. Personality: Personality traits, such as novelty seeking or openness to experiences, are shown to be the best predictor of appreciating artworks and participation in aesthetic activities. Individuals with this trait tend to be more intellectually curious. These individuals with greater curiosity not only might listen to music more attentively but also may expose themselves to a wider range of music. This explains why music lovers tend to be people with a lot of exposure to music.
6. Nostalgia: Nostalgia is the most frequent emotion evoked by music. Many listeners use music to remind themselves of valued past events (e.g., the Beatles song "Yesterday" is considered a jewel of modern nostalgia). For example, a song may evoke a memory of the day a listener moved into her first apartment. This memory, in turn, may evoke strong feelings of the excitement and optimism the listener felt on that day.
7. Music as a unifying force: Music leads to bonding between mother and child or between groups who are working together or who are together for any other purpose. Music floods us with oxytocin (a brain chemical) tied to empathy and trust. This explains why music often plays such an important role in a romantic evening with a loved one.
8. Music calms and relaxes: Music can provide a means of mood management in everyday life. People use music to achieve various goals, such as to energize, maintain focus on tasks, and reduce boredom. For instance, young people use music to convey and reflect their feelings, to change their emotional state, and to regulate their mood. Listening to a sad song while in a sad mood is like someone (a friend) empathizing with your experience. Sad music can trigger a cathartic release. Moreover, music makes exercise seem easier and more enjoyable.
9. Music as an expression of one’s identity: Music is part of who we are (Hargreaves, 2017). We use music to present ourselves to others in the way we prefer. For example, listening to innovative music can serve to communicate the belief that one is creative and unconventional. Young adults use music to feel connected to their friends.

In sum, we listen to music for various reasons—including enjoyment, emotion regulation, social bonding, evoking memories, and expressing our cultural identity—that seem beneficial to our quality of life. Evidence shows that music can provide a strong pathway to well-being. Listening to music is an easy way to alter mood via distraction and shifting thought patterns.