Music and Your Mood

There is a wide variety of different music that is out in the world. Each different kind of music evokes a different mood or feeling in the listener. Music quite literally has the power to change your current mood or your feelings about a specific event. That is what makes music so enjoyable. Why is this the case? What gives music the power to do this for people? Music is powerful both in the sense of changing the environment and, in many ways, biologically.
The Beat-Based Biology
 
Music is taken into the brain through the ears. Depending on the sounds or the overall mood of the song, the way that your brain may interpret the song will be different. For example, a very positive and upbeat song will be processed in your brain the same way that another enjoyable event would be processed. Dopamine is released in your brain when you listen to the song, changing your mood to be happier. This is the very biological reason that makes the music so enjoyable.
 
Joy in Sad Music
 
Happy music would naturally evoke a sense of happiness. Therefore, sad music would evoke a feeling of sadness. Why then do people listen to sad music? What makes the music so enjoyable. Within the human body, the evocation of a strong emotion can still change your mood in a positive way. There can be a sense of joy that comes with the powerful, overwhelming evocation of a sudden sadness. The ability to feel is a joyous experience even if the feelings are sad. Music grants people the ability to feel the entire spectrum of human emotion in a controlled environment.