Music and sounds are ever-present in the world, so it is no wonder that the mind, and especially the mood, is affected by the melodies people choose to listen to or play.
In a recent research project at ASU, a relationship between mood and music was discovered.
The study is titled “Oxytocin: Fueling Music’s Power in Human Emotions, Memory and Restoration.” The study, by ASU music professor and band director Gary Hill, found that music has an overall positive affect on the mood, according to psychosocial data.
Ten ASU music students were invited to participate in the study, where their blood was drawn six times after different musical circumstances to see how the oxytocin levels were affected.
Some of the musical situations included before and after playing instruments in a large musical ensemble, a small ensemble and practicing alone.
The students were asked before giving blood to fill out questionnaires describing their musical experiences and preferences when growing up. Before and after drawing blood, students rated their feelings as well.
The study should be completed by the end of the year, according to Hill. Other professors from the school of music and college of nursing helped with the study for different purposes.
“We all hope the findings will contribute to a better understanding of the connection between music and humans,” Hill said.
“In general, it seems that making music does have an overall positive effect on mood,” Lisa Ehlers, one of the research partners, says.
Some students, like Chris Gurtcheff, a music education freshman in marching band, say they notice a difference in their mood before and after listening to music.
“I always feel more focused on the task at hand. I space out when listening to music and then can thereafter find my focus more easily. I’m also in just a better mood overall after listening to music,” Gurtcheff says.
Gurtcheff also says he feels best when playing the tuba or sousaphone by himself or in a smaller setting.
However, some students don’t notice drastic changes in their mood because of music.
“Music doesn’t affect my school work, stress level and relaxation. I can sleep through anything, including obnoxiously loud video games,” Jill Volker, a family and human development sophomore, says.
However, in a study called, “The effects of different types of music on mood, tension and mental clarity”, researchers found that when listening to grunge rock music, most people had increased feelings of hostility, sadness, tension and fatigue. Decreased feelings of care, relaxation, mental clarity and vigor were found.
The opposite outcomes were found in designer music, which is made to have specific effects on the listener. The designer music could be used to reduce tension, mental distraction and negative moods.
Sound healing studies have also proven loud noises can cause more stress-related illnesses. Jonathan Goldman, founder and executive director of the Sound Healer’s Association and author of The 7 Secrets of Sound Healing, did a study with people near a country setting and airport.
Those that lived near the airport had a 60 percent higher chance of having stress-related illnesses, such as heart attacks and cancer, due to the loud noises.
Various music types are found to distract while others help with concentration, and music can correspond with certain activities, such as studying.
In a study with a group of high school students in Missouri, “The effects of sound on reading comprehension and short-term memory,” found students who “normally study with music scored on an average higher than students that did not normally listen to music while studying.”
Groups were tested with no sound, the sound of mountain streams and rock music.
With finals coming up, many students will have to decide whether or not to include music into their studying.
“When I study, I like to listen to very mellow music such as Jack’s Mannequin, Something Corporate or Jimmy Eat World,” Adeola Kassim, a marketing sophomore and assistant Battle of the Bands director, says.
Classical music like Mozart has been studied frequently, and many cases have shown an increased mental clarity and relaxation from listening to the music, according to a study on how music affects concentration and work-efficiency at Miami University.
In a study on “The effect of music listening on work performance”, those who listened to music had a greater quality of work and improved mood. However, people were on-task for longer periods of time when not listening to music.
Overall, it seems to depend on the person and their ability to withstand distractions, since some studies prove music can cause people to be on-task for smaller amounts of time and others prove students listen to music regularly when studying score higher on reading comprehension tests.
Regardless of results, there is a strange and complex connection between music and the mind and no results will likely confirm all the possibilities.
Reach the reporter at reweaver@asu.edu.
