Why do humans like music?

[BMW]

But, why may be music of use? Is it a sage choice to like music and to spend time on it?

[urangutan]

I think you will find an answer to that from what others have expressed. It may be a combination of some or all and it may differ individually. Think of somebody who cannot hear, reflecting on the weight of the thumping eminating from the speakers or instrument. If there are Gods and not a single entity, then music is a definite God.

[No0ne]

Originally Posted by BMW

(From the point of view of a being evolving to wards better characteristics to survive somehow it doesn't make much sense... excepting the evident cultural one).

My doubt is, should we like music at all?

(In case, I do like music, I even play the trumpet and the violin -a bit).

Why do humans like music?

Vibration's where most likely the first mean for a cell to detect another cell , by the vibration which would give them a ability of distinguish one thing from another.( Hence the first detection system was most likely "music")

Since all thing's have a form of vibration to them, it's likely for a cell to identify another cell by its vibration or in the case of compound's, most likely the amount of vibration's the compound/material would absorb.(there for it could distinguish one thing from another)

So if its true, then its no wonder that once those base cells have become complex organism, that they would still react to different forms of vibration's resulting in chemical alteration to the body depending on the sought after vibration/music, resulting in sensation's of pleasure, relaxation, etc.

(If true then the first categorization system was a vibration based categorization system.)

[FatalMuse]

I have a few points on why I think people find different forms of music pleasurable:

1. Movement/Dancing: Good music makes me want to move my body, sometimes it feels involuntary, and the movement that results seems to release pleasure sensations. Dancing is widely accepted as being a vehicle for endorphin rushes. There is also a link between pressure on the balls of feet and pleasure release. Obviously this doesn't apply to a lot of music and to people who don't dance or move to music.

2. Giving more power to words: Music can emphasize written words. So when a musician performs a song, they not only have all the powers of vocal poetry but also the added emphasis of shifts in pitch, tonality and rhythm. (Personally, this one is particularly important to me as I primarily enjoy music that has either poetic language or deals with social histories through song).

3. Marking time: Because most music is clearly structured in terms of rhythm, this is effectively another method of marking or observing the passage of time. In my opinion, it appeals to the human brain because it is another way of trying to understand time, make sense of it - another form of time-structure.

4. Emotion: We're emotional creatures. A lot of music involves the aural expression of emotion. In some passages of song you can hear the strained sounds of pain or sorrow, the elated sounds of happiness or mania, in the singers voice which can in turn stir similar emotions or sympathy in the listener. This doesn't apply strictly to vocal music, as many instruments seems to mimic or emulate vocal sounds. I think a great example of this is how people will often describe a 'haunting violin piece', or possibly akin to the sound of a cat being strangled. Through music, humans try and capture the sounds and tone of human emotion. Shared emotions reinforce humanity and the common ground among people.

I guess I'm essentially coming to the same conclusion many have made - it's yet another form of communicating emotions & ideas, another manisfestation of language. Communication seems to be one of the major sources of human pleasure.

But the thing that still fascinates me is how different scales, chords and intervals can affect different people to varying degrees of pleasure/pain. Most people would find loud machinery unpleasant to listen to, yet there are musical styles (whether we count them as music or not is another whole debate) that aren't too far removed from the sound of heavy machinery or factory noise.

[urangutan]

Pink Floyd, Hawkwind and Riverdance. Behdouin echo harmonies, Native Australians on didgeridoo to a Geisha playing the Japanese stringed instrument, (usually in pairs). I always thought it as called a tzetse but that is a fly.

I am getting really fed up with music in movies, you know the crap that senses the mood you should be in. It is like elevator music or breakfast radio. Kind of makes you want to kill. I will bet that a great contributer to 'roadrage' is "Breakfast" and the "Drive Home" radio programming. Not that it is music, no they think they are there because you prefer it to music, mundane gossip being broadcast like you don't have a life. It is like listening to truck drivers talk about a stretch of road between two shabby towns in the middle of nowhere where nobody goes, pothole details and how the white lines are fading from the constant abuse from drivers doing U-turns because they realise they are on the wrong route. You can bet that either member of the cast has had some experince to a life exasperating event that has hit the headlines, just to hold the attention of the others like sperm in a profalactic, while they all wait for calls from the people who are to damn straight to be on 'Jerry', but could probably do a cameo from the seats.

Peak hour radio that is filled with comercials to raise funds to pay the people who should be on death row as either inmates or toys for those there. I can't drive to that in heavy slow traffic.

8:45 PM, "CHIME, CHIME".

[seerskater]

i just dont get how our emotions are so intertwined with music. and by music, i dont just mean sound. music is when the vibrations of a sound repeat over and over. with just regular sound (like glass breaking), the vibrations are more random. and the emotion/music relationship doesnt seem to happen with just one note. notes have to be compared to each other to make an emotion. ahh i just dont get it. im not sure how many of you are familiar with music, but for those of you who are, you know a c major chord? why do we discerne that as a "happy" sound, and a c minor chord sounds more like a "sad" sound?

man its too late and im too sick right now to put together a comprehensive idea.

[CarolA]

I have only just joined the group so didn't see this post earlier. As a musician I have often thought about this, it seems almost irrational, yet is common to all humans (OK - know someone will quote a report of some obscure tribe in the back of nowhere that has no music).
When I don't play for several days I get restless and snappy, like someone trying to give up coffee or cigarettes. My thinking would be that it soothes the brain's activity, perhaps rather like the action of dreaming. Certainly for a music performer there is a certain amount of adrenaline buzz - but this doesn't explain the pleasure non-musicians get from music. I think there have been a few studies which show that students who play music learn faster and achieve more, but this still doesn't answer why.

[No0ne]

Originally Posted by seerskater

i just dont get how our emotions are so intertwined with music. and by music, i dont just mean sound. music is when the vibrations of a sound repeat over and over. with just regular sound (like glass breaking), the vibrations are more random. and the emotion/music relationship doesnt seem to happen with just one note. notes have to be compared to each other to make an emotion. ahh i just dont get it. im not sure how many of you are familiar with music, but for those of you who are, you know a c major chord? why do we discerne that as a "happy" sound, and a c minor chord sounds more like a "sad" sound?

man its too late and im too sick right now to put together a comprehensive idea.

When you hear a person talking to you, you must hear them with your ear, then your brain create's a reaction depending on your personality, tone of voice, loudness, and when it was said in a conversation.

So when you hear a song, you must hear it with you ear, the same way as you would with a person, so therefore the brain create's a reaction depending on your personality, tone, loudness, and when the song was played, ect...

This is due to the fact that for thousands of years people have used sound as a form of communication which has inprinted a form of action and reaction to any form of sound, even if it is not another person speaking.

So in a way, "music" is using the same system as "speech", therefore it can create or express emotion's and feeling's the same way as speech.

So that's why people feel, express, communicate, ect with "Muisc", for it's truly another way to verbaly express one's self...

So I hope that can answer your question of "why do we discerne that as a "happy" sound, and a c minor chord sounds more like a "sad" sound?"

(Well not all people due, it's wise not to classsife everyone in a single lable.)

[SummyF]

along with other things people can explore themselves

lsd can also give something missing


R.I.P albert houfman

[BMW]

Originally Posted by CarolA

I have only just joined the group so didn't see this post earlier. As a musician I have often thought about this, it seems almost irrational, yet is common to all humans (OK - know someone will quote a report of some obscure tribe in the back of nowhere that has no music).
When I don't play for several days I get restless and snappy, like someone trying to give up coffee or cigarettes. My thinking would be that it soothes the brain's activity, perhaps rather like the action of dreaming. Certainly for a music performer there is a certain amount of adrenaline buzz - but this doesn't explain the pleasure non-musicians get from music. I think there have been a few studies which show that students who play music learn faster and achieve more, but this still doesn't answer why.

Hello, CarolA:

Well, why do we all assume that stopping to hear music is more like stopping to sleep rather than like stopping to smoke?

Haven't you considered the possibility of it being sort of an intellectual drug? Of course there might be some good side effects -calm, a feeling of happiness- but there might as well be some bad ones.

For example, don't you think that it would be much better to learn how to solve each problem we face rather than playing something or hearing some music? Don't you think there is a chance that our bad temper is more related to the fact that we know there is an easy option and therefore we don't want to face whatever is upsetting us? (And we are upset or sad or... hungry or something most of time... else we wouldn't even move).

As I have said before I also use part of my time to play and listen music, and lately it worries me...