by Sherry Umlah
Lyrics of a song titled Good Music, which was released in 1986 by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, state that “… it always feels so good to hear good music.” Indeed, listening to good music results in feeling good due to its powerful influence on the human brain. Regardless of a music genre’s popularity, music that is deemed as good by its listener produces positive health effects for that person. When it comes to managing pain or brain-related trauma, the best genre of music to listen to is one’s preferred style of music, accompanied by lyrics with which one can emotionally engage.
Contrary to popular belief, even forlorn country songs or loud heavy metal music can be beneficial to a listening fan who is managing pain. In an article of the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, authors Knox et al. stated that they discovered music’s “… structure does not play a significant role, rather listening to preferred music renders the music ‘functionally equivalent’ as regards [to] its effect upon pain perception” (1673). In addition to personal preference, the listener’s ability to associate with the listening context of the music was found to help reduce pain and increase tolerance. The findings of this study support the notion that no single genre of music is better at producing positive health effects compared to another, provided the listener prefers the music’s style and can emotionally engage with any listening context the music might express.
The listener’s enjoyment of the music is an obvious key component in its effectiveness for pain management, but the existence of lyrics is also a significant factor when considering the best kind of music to listen to for recovery from brain-related trauma. In an article published within Brain: A Journal Of Neurology, authors Teppo et al. explain that “… listening to music, especially with lyrics, is associated with activity of a more widely and bilaterally distributed neural network than listening to verbal material alone” (866). The study suggests that purely verbal material is less effective than song as it relates to aiding in cognitive recovery after stroke. Study findings also suggest that music containing lyrics has a greater effect on the brain because more areas of the brain are accessed and used in processing and interpreting the context conveyed through lyrics compared to music without lyrics. The act of processing the context of song lyrics utilizes additional brain power and has an added significant positive impact on cognitive recovery. Coupled with the findings of Knox’s study, one could conclude that the listener’s ability to emotionally engage with those lyrics would simply magnify the health benefits of music in this study.
Works Cited
Jett, Joan, Laguna, Kenneth. Lyrics. “Good Music.” Good Music. LP. Blackheart/CBS Records. 1986.
Knox D, Beveridge S, Mitchell L, MacDonald R. “Acoustic analysis and mood classification of pain-relieving music.” Journal Of The Acoustical Society Of America [serial online]. September 2011;130(3):1673-1682. Available from: Academic Search Premier, Ipswich, MA. Accessed December 18, 2012.
Teppo S, Mari T, Marja H, et al. “Music listening enhances cognitive recovery and mood after middle cerebral artery stroke.” Brain: A Journal Of Neurology [serial online]. March 2008;131(3):866. Available from: Academic Search Premier, Ipswich, MA. Accessed December 18, 2012.