“Conexión entre cerebro y corazón” a través de la música. Fuente: https://dominguezpsicologosmadrid.com/musica-y-emociones/
Author: Angie Caroline Colque Osco
Translator:Ana Lucía Cruz Pinedo
In recent years, the music industry has been influenced by a diversity of genres, ranging from traditional to fusion and novel ones, which is why it is fair to say that music is found everywhere and serves various purposes, from addressing religious, political, and social aspects through its notes to providing intense accompaniments for the emotions we experience throughout our lives. So many people enjoy listening to their favorite tunes daily. Consequently, we can ask ourselves: Is it possible that the messages that the songs convey can influence our mind from how much we listen to them? Could they perhaps allow us to think about a different reality?
Based on research, it is known that music activates our emotional brain, and can result in, among other things, increased heart and respiratory rates, sensations of chills, and various affective modifications such as joy, tears, among others (Piscoya, 1998, 151-152). Given this, we might consider it valid to say that music influences our being. And while not essential for survival, it can imbue life with meaning through the sensations it evokes.
More than 100 million songs of various kinds and reasons have been produced worldwide. Today, I specifically want to address those songs that motivate us to get out of bed, inspire us to keep living despite adversity, reveal the truth to us, speak of the cruelty with which we treat the earth, and compel us to open our eyes. These are the songs that tell us the world is changing and not for the better, those that fight against wars, hunger, and violence. We're talking about songs that deliver a message and invite us to stop being mere spectators of what happens and become the main protagonists, starting from our own lives.
In 2013, scientists from the University of Manchester demonstrated that listening to our favorite melody or song promotes the release of endorphins. Other studies demonstrate its benefit against pain, with some cases showing reductions of up to 20% in subjects who listen to and enjoy melodies (Liang et al., 2021). These findings not only encourage us to listen to music or understand how happy it can make us, but also invite us to continue battling against global ills and to raise awareness through music. Most importantly, they often call us to pursue the common good.
Let’s choose wisely whom we open our ears and hearts to, and let us strive to give a chance to hear those voices that invite us to be activists against the many causes that destroy us. Likewise, let us invite and support more artists to express their art through music and, in the same way, become agents of change through their songs.
Let’s remember that we are capable of making a difference from wherever we want and with what we love the most: it's just a matter of daring to do it. We don't have many lives; so, regardless of what others say, if you have an idea that can contribute to making this a better world, go ahead, we are watching you.