Music is one of the most powerful and interesting things people can experience. While it may be a way for a lot of us to connect with one another or escape from reality, does it really affect people’s lives outside of the action of  listening to the music?

“Music helps me a lot when I’m sad. I know that I can turn to music to support an emotion or to change it,” said FCHS senior Zach Carter.

But is there any scientific evidence to that claim?

According to the National Library of Medicine, the answer is yes. In their 2013 study, “The Psychological Functions of Music Listening,” they concluded that in an experiment with 834 participants, all reported feeling a certain emotion from the music that they listened too, whether that be happy, sad, or even more complicated feelings such as absorption or solace.

The study reported three different dimensions that the music listeners fell into while being subjected to music. The first was people reporting thoughts of self-reflection and self-related thoughts. The second was people who reported feelings of bonding and affliction for another, or being with friends. Finally, the third dimension was people who said the music inspired them to use it as a background or pastime.

So while that may prove that music does in fact affect mood,that doesn’t answer every question. How do we know what kind of music to listen to in order to feel a certain emotion?

This may feel pretty straightforward, but the truth is more complex. In music, there are major and minor keys in which songs are written. Major keys are typically associated with happiness and minor keys are associated with sadness.

On the piano, for instance, a major key uses notes on the piano that are generally more spaced out, and therefore, feels more free and uplifting. A minor key, on the other hand, uses notes that are closer together, which can create feelings of tension and seriousness.

“The song ‘And She Was,’ by The Talking Heads, makes me feel excited and motivated,” says FCHS junior Madelyn Grout. This song is in the key of E major. Grout also said, “Certain parts of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody,’ by Queen, makes me feel a sense of empathy for the character described in the song.” So in comparison, this song is largely in the key of C minor. These two examples appear to exemplify how the key of a song may affect a listener’s mood.

Another question that people ask is, can music producers use tools other than the notes on the instrument to create emotions? The answer to that question may also be yes. For instance, a minor key song can use a slow piano with simple drums and a soulful voice to invoke feelings of sadness, reflection, and loneliness. But if you take those same notes and use a powerful, distorted, synth or guitar, fast, banging drums, and faster and more aggressive lyrics, the song may invoke feelings of rage and aggression, instead of sadness.

Ultimately, the effect of music on the human species may be something without question during man’s entire existence. A 2002 National Library of Medicine research article by Panksepp and Bernatzky noted, “In social creatures like ourselves, whose ancestors lived in arboreal environments where sound was one of the most effective ways to coordinate cohesive group activities, reinforce social bonds, resolve animosities, and to establish stable hierarchies of submission and dominance, there could have been a premium on being able to communicate shades of emotional meaning by the melodic character…of emitted sounds.”