The relationship between psychology and music dates back to the close intertwining between the constitution of psychology as a scientific discipline and the consideration of musical facts. The first studies, in the 1950s, referred to acoustic perception and the ability of individuals to discriminate the pitch of sounds by evaluating whether there were people equipped with “absolute hearing” capable of recognizing tonalities; In this sense, they were the works of the Hungarian Géza Révész, a true pioneer of the psychology of music. But how has research into the psychology of music helped us? How does music influence us? In this Psychology-Online article we will try to answer these questions, deepen the link between music and psychologythat is, musical psychology.
What is the psychology of music?
Starting from the most recent definition by Gjerdingen (2002), the psychology of music or musical psychology is a specialization of psychology that has as its object the responses of the mind to musical stimulito the modalities in which it prepares them, controls the benefits and evaluates them.
Understanding a piece of music, in general, activates a complex network of cognitive abilities that invest in skills such as memorization, attention or analysis of structures. The study of cognitive processes applied to the musical field is the fruit of a long gestation that has its roots in the first experiments of scientific psychology.
The musical development
Many psychomusicological investigations have investigated at what age and how the ability to understand music develops in the child: already towards 8 monthsthe child, completing auditory development, spontaneously produces babbling songs (babbling song), he has fun doing it and repeats such vocalizations with a certain frequency, as well as vocalizing simple syllables. Not only that, but at four months she can move her eyes vertically appropriately when hearing a loud or quiet sound.
Naturally, the child’s responses in the first 3 years are motor or vocal: achieve recognize short melodies and at 3 years old he can sing musical tracks with a tonal extension of a descending minor third (for example, sol-mi) that corresponds to the sound of a siren or chants; Then he discriminates the rhythmic structures and reproduces them with the beat of the hands already at the age of five.
From the 7 years, musical skills develop further, managing to discriminate different melodic intervals, distinguishing individual notes from chords. All this happens both due to greater cognitive abilities and due to a process of “tonal learning”, according to which from the 6 years our ear turns sensitive to sounds who listens
Finally, towards the 12 yearscompletes musical development, thus becoming capable of perceive the modulations between tonesor dissociative harmonizations, of recognizing the rhythm of a melody and the aesthetic judgment of music begins to appear.
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Relationship between music and emotions
How does music influence psychology? Rivers of words have been written about the psychology of music and theories have been developed that today are considered practically always valid. For example, it is known that the intervals between notes are responsible for quite reproducible reactions between different individuals; compositions for semitones generate tension (“The Shark”, precisely) while a fifth interval (C-G) is so perfect and pleasant that it is the musical equivalent of a circle in the figurative arts.
Why can music affect our emotions so deeply? Music is often considered the “language of emotions”: its ability to evoke and express emotions constitutes its fundamental and primary characteristic. Music expresses emotions that listeners perceive, recognize, or are emotionally touched. Additionally, several studies have suggested that the most common reason people listen to music is to being able to influence emotions, to modify them, to release them, to tune in to your emotional state, to cheer up or console yourself, or to reduce stress.
A study carried out in 2003 by Adrian North North, from the University of Leicester, England, showed that customers of a luxury restaurant choose the most expensive dishes on the menu if sophisticated and classical music is played in the room. According to North, this happens because customers, listening to classical music, perceive themselves as more refined people; Thus, to remain in tune with this image of themselves, they spared no expense when it came to the wine list. This is a mechanism called the Château Lafite effect and, although unconsciously, it confirms how much we are able to realize the emotional value of music and the type of influence it has on our sensations.
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What is music therapy?
The term “music therapy” was born in the 21st century, but the effects of sound and music on man have been used since ancient times: there is no population in the world today and in the history of humanity that has not expressed its emotions. , their social and religious rites through rhythms, sounds, songs, dances.
Sounds are the expression of life in the world, they are our breathing, the transformation of inspired breath into modulated voice, into the word; It is impossible to separate the word from the song. Every time our voice becomes a word, through intonation and inflection of the voice, it manifests the emotions that are in us. Music therapy is theart of capturing these emotions, of transforming them, of giving life to new emotions that calm, encourage, help where there are difficulties.
Music therapy bases its bases on “making music”, even for those who are unable to read a score or play; He is the music therapist who knows how to transform, make music, the game of someone who plays a musical instrument spontaneously. Thus is born a way of speaking, of direct and immediate dialogue that is called “sound dialogue.”
In music therapy, the first requirement is to address the needs and problems of the user through music; The objective is not to propose music as an artistic form, but as medium that involves all the senses producing a series of visual, tactile and kinesthetic stimulations. The multisensory aspect of music makes it ideal for therapeutic use, especially considering that many disabilities are specifically sensory or motor in nature.
Music therapy can be used on various levels, such as teaching, rehabilitation or therapy; and with respect to the latter two, the areas of intervention preferably refer to neurology and psychiatry:
- Autism
- Intellectual disability
- Motor disability
- Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias
- Psychosis
- Depressive disorders
- Somatoform disorders, especially chronic pain syndromes
- Eating disorders (anorexia nervosa)
Other applications of music therapy have been studied in the anesthesiological and surgical field, such as pre-operative use.
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This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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Bibliography
- Cremaschi Trovesi, G., Scardovelli, M. (2005). Il suono della vita. Music therapy fra family, suola, società. Rome: Armando Editore.
- Demichelis, O., Manfredi, C. (2003). Radio Psychology. Cantalupa, TO: Effatò Editrice.
- Mannara, F. (2015). In what way does music condition our cervello? Retrieved from: https://www.fondazioneveronesi.it/magazine/i-blog-della-fondazione/un-cervello-fuga/che-modo-la-musica-condiziona-il-nostro-cervello
- Monacis, L., Toto, G. A. (2017). Music in the main school of psychology. Tricase, LE: Youcanprint Self-Publishing.
- Russo, V. (2013). Neuromarketing pillole. Dopamine in the cervello and the effect of Château Lafite. Tre Bicchieri, 9:7.
- Strazzeri, D. (2011). Compendium of music therapy. Collana Studi Musicali.