Music is a “vocal or instrumental sound (or both) combined in such a way as to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion.” (Oxford Languages). Music greatly influences mental health; it has both positive and negative impacts. Music has also been used as a form of therapy recently. Music has all kinds of incredible effects on mental health.
Listening to music has beneficial effects on mental health. Music reduces stress and makes listeners feel calmer. Several studies have shown that when people listen to soothing music after the surgery, their blood pressure is lower, and they need fewer painkillers than those who do not listen to any soothing music. (How Music Affects Mental Health) Listening to music can also lower cortisol levels, a stress hormone, and lower their heartbeat. (The Impact of Music Therapy on Mental Health | NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness, par. 6) Music has also been found to improve the listener’s memory. (Stanborough Benefits of music on body, mind, relationships & more) For example, researchers for Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience gave people the task of reading and remembering short word lists. Subjects who listened to classical music performed better than those who worked in silence or with white noise.
Listening to music can have adverse effects on mental health as well. According to the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, “Violent song lyrics increase negative emotions and thoughts that can lead to aggression.” (Palmer) Craig Anderson, Ph.D. of Iowa State University, and his colleagues conducted an experiment to verify this theory. They asked more than 500 college students to listen to violent songs such as "Shoot 'Em Up" by Cypress Hill and "Hit 'Em Hard'' by Run DMC. They also made students listen to nonviolent songs such as "Finger-Lickin' Good" by the Beastie Boys and "Love vs. Loneliness" by the Suicidal Tendencies. After listening to the songs, Anderson ordered students to perform various word-based tasks to test and find out whether the words were related to the aggressive meaning or not. Through this experiment, Anderson proved that listening to aggressive music increases violence (Palmer).
Music therapy is the clinical use of music to reduce stress, and improve mood and is key for self-expression. It is a well-established evidence-based treatment in the medical community. Music therapy experiences can include listening, singing, analyzing lyrics, playing musical instruments, or composing. The composition provides an opportunity to express oneself in a positive and rewarding way. Anyone can make lyrics that reflect their thoughts and experiences and choose instruments and sounds that best reflect the emotions behind the lyrics. It also helps to build self-esteem. This therapy can make subjects feel pride because someone listens to their creations. While spoken therapy allows a person to talk about topics that may be difficult to discuss, lyrical analysis introduces a new and less threatening approach to dealing with emotions, thoughts, and experiences.
Music affects mental health in various ways. There are positive effects of music on mental health such as reducing stress, making listeners calm, and improving memory, and negative effects of music, like how violent music makes people more aggressive. Various types of music therapy have been more prominent, as well. From now on, if you feel stressed, perhaps listen to soothing music to calm down.
These are the works cited.
1) “How Music Affects Mental Health.” WebMD, 19 Mar. 2021, www.webmd.com/mental-health/how-music-affects-mental-health.
2) Palmer, A. “Violent Song Lyrics May Lead to Violent Behavior.” Monitor on Psychology, American Psychological Association, https://www.apa.org/monitor/julaug03/violent.
3) Warren, Molly. “The Impact of Music Therapy on Mental Health | NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness.” NAMI, 19 Dec. 2016, www.nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/December-2016/The-Impact-of-Music-Therapy-on-Mental-Health.
Writer: James Ko
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