Have you ever felt that a song perfectly encapsulates everything you’re feeling, almost like it was written just for you? Remarkably, the thousands of other people who are listening might feel the same way. That is the spooky, wonderful power of music.
Music can be a very personal and meaningful force in our lives. What we listen to reflects how we’re feeling and provides an outlet for us to find joy, comfort, and understanding.
People love the music they love, but what makes listeners keep coming back to an artist, an album, or a song?
According to Harvard Medicine, listening to music ignites many parts of the brain, like the hippocampus and amygdala, which “activate emotional responses to music through memory.” This explains why we stick to the music we love.
Junior Andy Zan mentioned the nostalgia that she feels about music: “I always go back to a certain piece if I’m feeling that same sense that I had back when I first listened to the album.”
The brain is able to recognize emotions within music, leading the listener to associate songs with the particular emotions they evoke. Thus, songs you resonate strongly with can serve to represent the emotional state you find yourself in (Goswami, 2024). This explains why people might listen to sad music when they’re feeling sad and happy music when they’re feeling happy.
In other words, music helps people understand and cope with their emotions, giving them a soundtrack that closely relates to the lives they are living.
Junior Landon Elm said that when he’s sad, “music will kind of help.”“If [a song] is talking about something I relate to, or something more emotional, I can vibe with it better,” Elm said.
Similarly, Junior Andy Zan said that she particularly enjoys albums “if they resonate with something that’s going on in my life.”
Both Elm and Zan said that the aspect of music they appreciate the most is the lyrics.“The lyrics tell the story,” Elm said.
And that story just might be something listeners can resonate with.
Music engages our brains and gives us space to process our emotions. Without it, the world would be dull, so keep listening.
