What is your brain doing when you listen to music?

Music has the power to affect our emotions and energy levels. But how does music affect the brain exactly?

For people with Alzheimer’s Disease, music helps relieve depression, anxiety, and aggressiveness. Parents soothe overtired and overwrought babies to sleep with a well-chosen lullaby.

Researchers in 2013 found that playing the right type of music can help patients manage their pain better. It helps them relax and create a sense of personal well-being.

The effect of music on the brain and the human condition is profound. In this interview with Neuroscientist and Author, Dr Julia Jones, we’ll look at the science behind how music alters our brain function and learn about Universal Production Music’s new scientifically designed music collection, MusicHacks, can influence brain function and affect moods, stress levels, and sleep.

When listening to MusicHacks, how does it alter our brain function?

Dr Julia Jones: “When we listen to music our brain activity often synchronises to it. So, the style and tempo of music can alter our brainwave activity and the levels of neuro-chemicals that play a role in our behaviour and mood.

However, our MusicHacks tracks are designed to target a different aspect of the nervous system - the autonomic nervous system. By matching your breathing to the timed inhales and exhales, you activate the parasympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system, which lowers the stress response and induces rest, repair and relaxation.”

In what ways does the music seek to impact mood, stress levels, or sleep?

Dr Julia Jones: “The effect of the rhythmic breathing on the autonomic nervous system response results in heightened activation of the parasympathetic nervous system. This results in dampening the ‘fight or flight’ response and the associated stress chemicals. This breathing practice benefits calming mood, lowering stress levels, and priming our brain ready for sleep.”

How might this music be integrated into medical, wellness or self-care practices?

Dr Julia Jones: ”It’s well evidenced that these particular breathing rates are highly effective and fast-acting protocols for enhancing the influence of the parasympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system. We have designed MusicHacks tracks to be highly effective training tools for teaching this technique to anyone. The multitude of genres means that whatever their preferred music taste there should be a track in the collection they enjoy using.”

How music gets to your brain

When we hear music, a sound wave hits our eardrums, causing them to vibrate. Those vibrations carry through to our middle ear until they reach the stapes. The stapes is a bone that connects to the cochlea.

Inside our cochlea, a fluid-filled structure in the inner ear, are up to 15,000 tiny hair cells known as cilia, which are crucial for converting sound vibrations into electrical signals that our brain interprets as sound.

The vibrations in the stapes move the fluid around in our cochlea, stimulating the cochlea’s hair cells. The hair cells then trigger the auditory nerve to send tiny electric currents to the auditory cortex in our brain’s temporal lobes.

At this point, we’ve now heard the music. Now, it’s time to understand the effects of music on the brain.

What happens when music gets to your brain?

Listening to music you like triggers your brain to release dopamine, a 'feel-good' neurotransmitter, as part of the reward system. This demonstrates how music and the brain interact, rewarding us with pleasure for engaging with tunes we enjoy.

If the music you hear makes you feel like dancing, it stimulates your basal ganglia. That’s the brain region that detects rhythm. Your premotor cortex then tells you when to strike your next dance move, and your cerebellum helps that move look fluid and precise.

If a song moves you emotionally, that affects your limbic system. Specifically, the amygdala, a part of your brain that, among other things, responds to music. Your response might be joy because it’s a dancey, upbeat tune or sadness from a slow, melancholic one.

Inside your hippocampus is what you might call your “music memory”. When you hear a song, the hippocampus remembers when you heard that song before and what you felt about it. That’s how music has this seemingly magical ability to take you back to a different place and time as soon as you hear the first chords.

While not true for everyone, music can help you concentrate better. If you’re doing something high-energy like a workout, playing upbeat and fast music can get your blood pumping.

If you’re doing something that requires intellect and patience, slower-paced and calmer music may help you. It can even help with problem-solving, drifting awareness levels, and improving memory.

Why our reaction to music affects how we react to other art forms

Humans exhibit innate mimicking behaviour. We respond emotionally and physically to the feelings and actions we observe in others.

When someone yawns, we yawn. When a loved one is upset, we can’t help but become upset for them. This is why salespeople will tell you one way to win over a potential customer is to mimic their words and body language.

We have the same instinctual response to music.

A sad song will lower our mood. A catchy, happy tune will make us sing along. A fast-tempo song can make us feel like driving slightly faster than we should. Directors and producers use music for that reason. The right soundtrack can help your audience create a deep and meaningful connection to the story and its characters.

Music has the power to turn passive spectators into active participants. And that’s all thanks to the powerful effects of music on the brain.

How do directors, editors, and producers harness the power of music to maximise its impact on the brain?

The directors and producers of movies, TV shows, commercials, and video games know the importance and impact of the right soundtrack and sound design.

With well-chosen music, you can deepen the narrative and make it personal. You can fire up even greater tension in an already suspenseful scene.

You can ramp up the adrenaline rush as a player navigates a tight race corner. You can immerse a viewer in the beauty of a natural landscape. You can make a brand and product even more memorable.

For example, just imagine music with:

• An aggressive mood as the hero of a game gets into a final boss fight on the last level of the game.
• An emotional mood or a romantic mood when, despite all the odds, the main couple make up again at the end of a show.
• An epic mood as the camera pans out to reveal a stunning African savannah by moonlight.
• A heroic mood for a fly-on-the-wall documentary about Mountain Rescue.
• A laid-back mood that convinces viewers of a commercial that a Spanish holiday resort is tranquil.
• A motivational mood to pump up an audience enough to get in touch for more information about a product or service.
• A dramatic mood or a suspense mood as the villain in a film finally realises the net is closing in on him.

The Universal Production Music Library and your next production

The music you choose for your next production could transform your audience’s engagement with and enjoyment of it. It can help them create a real emotional connection and engagement with your work.

With over 635,000 tracks available for your production, work with Universal Production Music on your next movie, TV show, advertisement, or game title.

A subscription means you’re licensed for use across all media, and we have stems available so you can customise the music exactly how you want it. Our team will help you find the right tracks for your next production.

Music is sorted by collection, playlist, album, mood, and genre. To speak with a member of our team, please get in touch.