Music and Mood

Music affects everyone in completely different ways. I always found it fascinating that everyone had their own style of music that they enjoy and over time I have noticed that people’s taste in music tends to go along with their personality and moods. When I discovered an article on music and mood I knew I wanted that to be my topic because I was always interested in it and wanted to learn more. The article I found was titled “Music and Mood” by Carolyn J Murrock and Anita V Clark. The article explains how rhythm, melody, pitch, harmony, and interval in music play a role in creating alterations in mood in humans. Murrock and Clark state that, “Music produces psychological effects by engaging the limbic system.” The limbic system is the center of emotions, sensations, and feelings. The article also explains how your emotions affect your nervous system. This can affect your cardiovascular, respiratory, neuroendocrine, and immune systems in your body. Emotions also release different hormones. Stress hormones can lead to anxiety, depression and disappointment; whereas positive emotions lead to tranquility, complacency, and relaxation. Murrock and Clark believe that the release of these hormones when listening to music produces physiological effects in the human body. The therapeutic properties of music date back to prehistoric times when it was used as a powerful instrument for health, healing, and wellness. Today music is used less in pharmacological ways and more for enjoyment and enhancement of physical activity. People also use music today to alter moods, communicate feelings, and create distraction. There are six levels of wellness: physical, social, emotional, intellectual, environmental and spiritual. “Music and Mood” could really be focused on any of these levels of wellness, but I believe it mainly focuses on emotional wellness. In Murrock and Clark’s article they focused on how listening to music releases hormones that are believed to