Music that surprises us is felt at the heart level, while music that meets our expectations brings feelings of calm and satisfaction.
- Fluctuations in predictions about musical chords were felt in specific parts of the body, including the heart, abdomen and brain.
- Sensations at the heart level were strongly linked to aesthetic appreciation and feelings of pleasure.
- In contrast, melodies that provoked strong brain sensations were associated with feelings of anxiety and confusion.
Music has shaped the experiences of human beings across cultures and generations, but its impact on our minds and bodies remains elusive, according to researchers at the Universities of Tokyo and Hiroshima, Japan. That’s why they decided to conduct a study, the results of which were published in the journal iScience.
Cardiac sensations related to aesthetic appreciation of music and pleasure
In this work, the team examined in detail how the perception of a musical chord elicits bodily sensations and emotions through the brain’s predictive processing. For this, she recruited 527 people who had to listen to eight short melodies composed of only four chords each. Each track featured a diverse mix of surprising and unsurprising, certain and uncertain chord progressions. While listening, participants had to indicate on an image where on their body they felt the music and with what intensity. They also ranked their five main emotions for each sound, from a list of options, and declared to what extent the music attracted them or not.
With these responses, the authors were able to create a distinct body map for each musical chord. Among the eight melodies, the strongest abdominal sensations were recorded when the four chords progressed with little surprise and little uncertainty. This “very predictable tune” also elicited feelings of calm, relief, satisfaction, nostalgia and empathy. According to the results, the strongest heart-level sensations were experienced when the first three chords were played with low surprise and low uncertainty, but the final fourth chord elicited high surprise and low uncertainty. “The two chord progressions thus provoked cardiac and abdominal sensations that elicited aesthetic appreciation and reduced negative feelings of anxiety and awkwardness.”
Music: Brain sensations cause anxiety and confusion
On the other hand, melodies that generated strong sensations in the head, that is, in the brain, were significantly associated with feelings of anxiety and confusion. Since this research focused on subjective sensations and emotions, scientists would now like to see how more quantifiable physical responses, such as changes in heart rate, coincide with the map of reported sensations.
“Music is not just something you listen to with your ears, it is an experience felt throughout the body. I think this bodily sensation is what really defines music. This study helps us understand how musical experiences are intimately linked to our bodies. It promises to contribute to the use of music to relieve stress and improve mental health. concluded Tatsuya Daikokuwho supervised the work.
