Bardales 1
Walter Bardales
Dr. Guilfoyle
Tech Writing
12/10/2013
Music
The sound of chirping of birds, running water, chirping of crickets, and rustling of trees,
all tunes created by mother nature. Humans take in music and use it just like any other
substance found on earth. We naturally react to it in more ways than one. Even though we have
moved away from making music by blowing in hollow pieces of wood or banging
things together like our prehistoric ancestors the fact remains that we are intrigued by it.
Music has an effect on people’s mood and behavior as well as their physiological and motor
functions.
Generally, music that is slow and quiet tends to encourage relaxation and reduce anxiety,
while fast paced rhythms tends to increase someone’s energy and awareness level. The
characteristics of a person’s mood when exposed to music fall under the three classifications of
pleasure – displeasure, arousal – non-arousal, and dominance – submissiveness. Some evidence
show that “firm rhythm tends to evoke feelings of dignified and vigorous character, and flowing
rhythm to evoke happy feelings” (Young Pg 3). Some of those pleasurable moments are shown
by the shivering down the spine and simple laughter. In “biological terms, melodious sounds
help encourage the release of dopamine in the reward area of the brain, as would eating a
delicacy” (Padnani). Someone’s favorite music, regardless of the pace, will lead to lower
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feelings of tension. Physiological responses during exciting music showed greater response
regardless of whether the listener liked it. Nevertheless, there is data that show music can effect
ones mood whether we like the music or not.
You need to get this report to your supervisor before the day ends but your co-worker
keeps blabbering on the phone and your desk won’t stop creacking. You start to wish you would
have brought your headphones from home when you had the chance. Music has an effect on our
behavior without us being aware of the change. An example of this occurrence is behavior
leading to an altered consciousness where you enter a trance like state. This is just one sign of
behavior change that music provides. “Some workers like to listen to music when they find
themselves losing focus” (Padnani) while others enjoy listening to music in their cars because it
provides a sense of privacy while driving that is very much appreciated. Typically this type of
