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Why do some songs put us in a good mood?
Psychology
The tempo and pitch of songs can influence our mood
Sure you have songs that put you in a good mood. That when they start to sound, you feel like something starts to run through you inside; You can’t help but move your foot to the beat, hum the tune, and smile a little. It may be because you associate that song with a happy memory, or it may be that you cannot explain why it makes you feel so good.
Of course, it has an explanation. But, to begin with, we must understand how it is possible that a song, a melody, can influence our mood. David Gamella González, director of the Master in Music Therapy at UNIR, comments that our brain processes music through the limbic system, this in which our memory
it is linked to past experiences. Therefore, it is very easy for us to have memories associated with songs. «Sound and emotion are linked, even before birth. From the 16th week of pregnancy, we begin to recognize, for example, our mother’s voice. We are predisposed for sounds and music to link us with the affective, ”says the teacher.
But, even if a song is not associated with a past experience, thanks to its characteristics it can influence our mood. “Music therapy is based on seeing what parameters a song has to see if it can make us feel better or worse”, explains David Gamella González. These parameters, he indicates, are highly studied. Therefore, if we find a song that has about 80 or 90 bits per second, and is in a higher key, as is usually common in pop music, for example, it will make us feel more animated and it will transmit us joy. On the contrary, a song in lower tones, and with a lower tempo, such as that of music chill out, it will help us to enter a state of calm.
Our body and the tempo
Also, the beats of our heart join with the tempo of the music. For this reason, the teacher explains that in the shopping centers they play music of happy tempo, so that we have a certain speed when buying: something that we do unconsciously. “I work in an ICU, and for example, slow tempo music is usually played, with the aim of relaxing your heart rate,” he says.
On the contrary, there are times when, when we feel down, what we look for is songs that reinforce this feeling. “The subject of sadness has bad press,” jokes David Gamella González, but explains that it is very important to allow ourselves to be sad. «If we are in a state of sadness, we have to digest this sadness. For example, for people who have suffered an unpleasant, very sad or traumatic experience, it is very important to go through a grief in order to overcome it, ”explains the professor. Thus, we must process sadness, and for this, we require a learning time, and in this, music can help us a lot.
Sad songs for gray days
That is why, unconsciously and more superficially, if one day we feel sad we turn to songs that validate this feeling. If we talk about music therapy, the teacher comments that when a person is going through a duel, a musical transition must be made. “If we start therapy, you can’t put a salsa in the first session: we have to start with slower melodies and gradually switch to songs with a faster tempo,” he explains. «In music therapy, as in life, things are not solved quickly. You have to go through a process, a dialogue, a communicative logic. In this case, we must adapt the use of melodies to each situation “, concludes the professional.
Listen to music … or create it
If listening to a song, due to its tonality and tempo, can influence our emotions, if instead of just listening to it we create it, its benefits are multiplied. David Gamella González, director of the Master in Music Therapy at UNIR, explains that music therapy uses tools so that a person is able to create their own melodies, with the help of the therapist. “We could say that the music therapist is like a tailor, and create a suit for each person. When you start to create a melody, you can start with a very simple rhythm and little by little, see what effect it has on the patient, to add things and adapt it », explains the teacher.