PLAY ME
let's talk about music.
When you ask the average American what language they speak, they’ll tell you English. Maybe Spanish too, or French– but what about Music?
We often overlook the advanced meaning and understanding we contain around music– thousands of lyrics and melodies we’ve memorized, almost like second nature to us.
We are fluent in music. It is our second language, an unspoken one at that.
I urge you to lean into this strength of ours. Only humans have this power to create and comprehend something so complexly beautiful. Dive deeper into music, understand why it affects you. What memories do you associate with songs? Are they happy? Do they hurt?
Through the power of music, we discover so much about ourselves and the world around us. It lights up every quadrant of our brain, stimulating connections that strengthen its interconnectedness and make us smarter, stronger, emotionally mature people.
So, What's the Purpose of this Website?
I've always been curious to understand how music impacts humans from a neurological and psychological standpoint. Music plays an integral role in my life. It tells me things about myself and helps me reflect in ways I can't put into words. It makes me feel strange combinations of feelings I CAN name, creating sensations I can't name. I've always enjoyed understanding life through a neurological lens because the way it explains concepts makes a lot of sense in my brain. That's why I decided to conduct an Independent Study at my high school about this very topic, which I've titled, "Music Cognition; Neurological Effects of Sound".
Music Cognition uniquely combines Neurology, Psychology, and Music all together to create endless layers of complexity and mystery.
Throughout the semester, I've followed a certain trajectory for my learning, organizing the complex topic that is Music Cognition into a few broad categories:
1. Biology, The Sense of Sound: How do we process sound?
2. Neurology: How does music affect and develop the brain?
3. Psychology: Explaining music's profound music on human feeling, thought, and emotion
4. Music Theory: What aspects of music make us feel certain ways? Why, musically, do they create these feelings?
Alright, quick exercise.
First, Hit Play.
We've all heard this one before.
Tears for fears, an iconically nostalgic, bittersweet, superhero-vibes song.
But take a second this time and think about WHY it makes you feel what you do.
Here's the Neurological and Psychological reasoning behind it:
It builds.
We as humans are inherently drawn to songs that build. It creates a sense of tension and release, which we crave. By the end of the song, it’s HUGE! All of the instruments at full volume, drums pounding, the song releases dopamine and triggers our reward system, forming a tangible feeling of relief. The Dynamics take this song from good to great.
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The intro builds that tension, from the guitars and pianos kicking it off, to the drums slowly coming in… It’s a terribly long intro, which we don't see as much nowadays.
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Even in the first few verses and choruses, it slowly builds that sound, volume, and depth. It starts off simple and slowly adds complexity, rhythm, and loudness.
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The interlude in the second verse adds a guitar part. It’s just a simple two note strum, but it adds depth.
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Harmonies start in the bridge. Again, the depth!
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The last chorus. Every part is 10x more complex and 5x louder. Guitar riffs go crazy, the piano plays around, the vocal arrangements. Everything is big big big!
The song is slightly sharp.
That is, the instruments are slightly tuned up. This gives the song a happier feel and helps speed up the tempo, making the song sound more appealing to our ears. We are drawn to the sharp sound because it indicates a positive direction. It ascends, making us subconsciously feel like it’s going somewhere.
1-2-1-2 chord progression.
For most of the song, the instruments switch between 2 chords only. This makes the song easy to dance and groove to. That’s it.
It gets right to the hook.
The song structure is ABAB. Verse Chorus, Verse Chorus (plus a bridge). Most songs today follow more complicated structures, but this song creates a unique AB structure that speaks for itself, giving it more power.
The BRIDGE!
A vocal bridge AND the instrumental section! The instrumental lets the song breathe and build. It miraculously holds the attention of listeners. Again, nowadays, people don’t do this, because they think vocals need to run through the entire song, but this instrumental bridge builds tension and power in the song.
The message.
The message creates CONFUSION and AMBIGUITY. It’s about the human desire for power and control, about unfulfilled dreams. From the hopeful title and chord progressions to a seemingly melancholy, menacing message, this song contradicts itself, creating endless layers of meaning.
The predictability.
That may seem like a weakness, but with this song, you just want to hear that chorus again and again. You want the riff to come back. It’s hypnotizing, almost.
The riff.
A D-major arpeggio, the guitar comes in with the signature lick that runs through the song. Iconic riffs such as these make the song memorable. The repetition of them and reappearance appeals to our memories. The same way in poems, with anaphora and refrains. That’s the part you remember.
Fun Fact: Orzabal and Hughes wrote this song in only 2 weeks. At first, Orzabal wrote, “everybody wants to go to war.” He didn't like it and wasn’t even going to finish the song. He was playing around with some melodies in the later moments of their album production, and once he figured out the hook the song immediately came together. It’s crazy to think that one of the most influential songs in the history of music was an accident. That’s the beauty of music, everyone!
PLAY ME! :)
Sounds different, right? It's fascinating how the same exact song can be interpreted in a wildly different way.
The inherent complexity of jazz chords and scales (ex// 7th, extended chords, altered dominants) combined with the smooth sound of brass instruments and jazz vocalists creates a unique, satisfying sound, giving Sammy Rae's version a much different feel than the original.
If you're interested in jazzy music, this is the version for you!
PLAY ME! :)
Weezer.
While their version is not wildly different, it's still not the same. Weezer's sound comes from the unique blend of Rivers Cuomo's voice along with their instrument section's unique sound. They don't try to sound like Tears for Fears–they take their own spin on it.
They've got the distorted guitars, awkward sounding vocals (it's true), and indie pop sound that makes this version their own.
Music Lights up Every Quadrant of the Brain.
Sound, a frequency measured in wavelengths, enters the ear and strikes the eardrum, causing vibrations. These vibrations become electric signals which travel to the brain stem by sensory nerves, where our auditory information is processed.
Visual Cortex
Reading music, watching music (live music), music videos, watching music through social media
Prefrontal Cortex
Music is strongly correlated with memory because its chemical stimuli appeal to the long term memory. Helps the PFC be more interconnected with other areas.
Auditory Cortex
Processes pitch, rhythm, and timbre, connects to the limbic system and strengthens connections, leads to increased brain growth overtime, called Neuroplasticity.
Motor Cortex
Responds to rhythm, initiating involuntary movements like tapping your foot, dancing, or nodding your head to the beat.
Sensory Cortex
Processes the multi-sensory experience of music, tactile (touch) and kinesthetic (physical movement) elements involved
Cerebellum
Helps process pitch and rhythm, more developed in frequent music producers, audio engineers, and performers
All of these individual functions contribute to one overall development:
Neuroplasticity.
Neuroplasticity is basically the brain's ability to grow and change, forming neural pathways and synaptic connections. It indicates mental and neurological growth. It's great for your development and intellectual strength throughout your life. Listening to music and always keeping it close to you keeps your brain function functioning better at any age than it normally would.
