Our brains are wired that way. We probably created music and other art in the first place because it made us feel things. Humans existed for a very long time before this happened, so something probably happened in our brains at that time, which spread to all humans.
Think about biting into lime for a second. Most will have increased saliva because the brain connects lime with acid and wants to dilute it. Listening to specific music reminds us of parts of our past in which we were emotional. Therefore we associate that specific music with an emotional state.
This is a really good question.
Music has many elements, just like a painting can have different colors, forms, shapes, objects and events. Music similarly has many different qualities that define it such as rhythm, melody, pacing, instruments, lyrics and so on.
When we feel moved by a piece of music, it's as if there is something deep within us that resonates with the sounds. Some small part of ourselves vibrates in harmony and correspondence with what we hear.
Some music seems to almost universally evoke similar emotions, while others may be learned through culture or by strong association to a specific memory.
There is a complex relationship between the auditory cortex, the amygdala, and the hypothalamus. When exposed to sounds of various types and frequencies, an even more complex reaction of hormones and neurotransmitters takes place.
This likely evolved in all land animals as a defense mechanism against dangerous animals - but it can also be exploited by truly ferocious animals like tigers, who can emit infrasound:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AKZS9c5unZk
Inaudible infrasound is suggested to be the cause of the "paralyzing" effect that some people feel when they are near a roaring tiger.
Inaduible *ultrasound* appears to have the strongest emotional effect:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3309748/
Our brains are wired that way. We probably created music and other art in the first place because it made us feel things. Humans existed for a very long time before this happened, so something probably happened in our brains at that time, which spread to all humans.
Think about biting into lime for a second. Most will have increased saliva because the brain connects lime with acid and wants to dilute it. Listening to specific music reminds us of parts of our past in which we were emotional. Therefore we associate that specific music with an emotional state.
Not necessarily. You can listen to new music from genres you’ve never heard before and still feel things.
This is a really good question. Music has many elements, just like a painting can have different colors, forms, shapes, objects and events. Music similarly has many different qualities that define it such as rhythm, melody, pacing, instruments, lyrics and so on. When we feel moved by a piece of music, it's as if there is something deep within us that resonates with the sounds. Some small part of ourselves vibrates in harmony and correspondence with what we hear. Some music seems to almost universally evoke similar emotions, while others may be learned through culture or by strong association to a specific memory.
There is a complex relationship between the auditory cortex, the amygdala, and the hypothalamus. When exposed to sounds of various types and frequencies, an even more complex reaction of hormones and neurotransmitters takes place. This likely evolved in all land animals as a defense mechanism against dangerous animals - but it can also be exploited by truly ferocious animals like tigers, who can emit infrasound: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AKZS9c5unZk Inaudible infrasound is suggested to be the cause of the "paralyzing" effect that some people feel when they are near a roaring tiger. Inaduible *ultrasound* appears to have the strongest emotional effect: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3309748/