Submission #17: Why does music move us? Why does it make us feel emotions?

Music is so diverse, it comes in many different genres; pop, hip-hop, rap, country, gospel, jazz, blues, etc.  There are songs in different languages, different styles (instrumental or lyrical) etc. There are billions of songs in the world, and the number keeps rising. We all have those staple songs that we go to when we want to feel a certain way, whether it’s sad or happy etc. Everybody has their own unique taste in music; the songs they like may not be as appealing to other people. Why is this? Why is it that music makes us feel certain emotions? What is it in music that elicits certain emotions in us? A song may make you feel happy, or sad, it may bring you comfort, it may make you cry.

            BBC started a series where they answered questions asked by their fans. Philip Le Riche asked “Why does music have a hotline to our emotions? What is the evolutionary advantage of this?” And David Robson, BBC Future feature writer answered in a page titled “Why music has a hotline to our emotions” (http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150918-why-music-has-a-hotline-to-our-emotions). Robson explains that there is no concrete and scientific evidence as to why music is a hotline to our emotions because nobody as a good idea about how music affects us. There have been many theories however, surrounding our attraction to music. One theory is that music makes us more appealing, it makes us stand out from the crowd and more attractive. Another theory is that music makes us feel emotions because when we listen to music, it makes us feel like we are the only ones there, it makes us feel unique and it caters to our needs. A third theory is quite the opposite, where music makes us feel connect to other people, if we listen to music as a group, we would all feel connect to one another because of our bond with that one song. It argues that music creates “social glue” for a community. The final theory is that music is a part of culture; the page brings up the BaBinga people from Central Africa, they have elaborate dances for almost every activity. This shows that music is both cultural and allows a community to create bonds with each other because everyone would participate in the elaborate dances in the BaBinga tribe.