Picture the mosh pit at a Germs concert. The area is complete chaos. People push and shove against each other, and it feels like a riot is about to break out any second. One punch is thrown and the crowd bursts into complete violence. The intense music has drawn out an atmosphere of anger and resentment. This is an extreme example, but music almost always has powerful effects on the emotion and mood of the listener. Every day we encounter music: On the radio, in the store, and at work. Sometimes the music affects us deeply. Other times, we ignore it, letting it blend into the background of our lives. So, why do we experience reactions like chills?
Does music ever cause anger or fear? Does listening to music enhance or change our emotions? Music has a unique ability to stir up a response in us. “The same pleasure centers in the brain light up whether you’re listening to a favorite tune, eating chocolate or having sex” (Gaidos 25). This, of course, is true. But music has a unique impact on us that cannot be replicated by anything else. Companies use it to make us excited about a product. Movie producers use music to enhance their productions and make clear the emotion they are portraying. In this paper, we will be delving into the underlying reasons for our responses to music. We will also explore how companies use these responses to manipulate our emotions.
The first aspect of this topic we need to understand is how music expresses emotion. Why do we instinctually know when a piece of music is happy or sad? Music uses timing and rhythm to manipulate “our psychological sense of time to render us more relaxed or excited: our hearts beat faster or slower with the rhythm of the music” (Adhitya 37). The beat of the music is what we recognize as the most basic part of a composition; it often creates the effect of the entire piece. Along with timing and rhythm, tempo has “an important role in the generation of emotion in music” (Adhitya 38). Whether a piece is played andante or allegro can completely alter the mood it elicits. Other aspects of music, such as “timbre, meter, tempo, [and] harmonic progression” (Zentner 110) also play a part in creating an emotional response to music.
As an example, Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G Major in Allegro would commonly be associated with happy or joyful emotions. This is due to the major key, fast pace, and possibly the staccato tones throughout the song. One composition associated with sadness or depression is Beethoven’s famous Moonlight Sonata . This song is slow-paced and is in a minor key, which helps evoke the sad, haunting feeling.
In addition, anticipation and expectation play a major role in how we listen to music. David Huron’s ITPRA theory describes our psychological response to the expectation of music. He lays out the five responses we have when listening: imagination, tension, prediction, reaction, and appraisal. These reactions are controlled by our biological instincts. Huron “links elements of musical experience as diverse as chills, giggles, and boredom to some of their underlying causes within a general psychology of expectation (Margulis 145). This means the response we have to music is controlled partly by influences that we cannot alter. Even if we have heard a piece one hundred times, we still respond due to “the fast reaction response [which is] not modulated by learning or experience” (Margulis 145). The joy and experience of hearing a composition is not lost when we know what to expect . Our bodies still register surprise even when we know exactly how the song goes .
One powerful response to music is getting the chills. Huron links this as a response to surprise. He then categorizes it as the fight response, as opposed to “flight (linked to laughter via panting), and freeze (linked to awe via breath-holding)” (Margulis 148). The chills are also associated with other physiological responses, such as increased heart rate and shivers down the spine. According to a 2007 study, “chills were not spread randomly across the music, but tended to occur during certain specific passages” (Zentner 114). This means that sections of music characterized by specific technical elements create this response. Examples of this include the music leaping an octave higher, rising melody, and syncopated rhythms. While it may seem strange to reduce our emotions to these terms, advertisers and corporations use these facts to their advantage on a regular basis.
Not all types of music will affect us in the same way. We are all aware that listening to classical music is vastly different than listening to rock. As mentioned in Figure 1, rock music is more likely to make you feel disinhibited or amused. Classical music is associated with serenity and melancholy. We use music as a form of identification. Musical taste can even be divided by political orientation. Conservative students “express greater preference for popular hits and easy listening than do their more liberal peers… liberal students continue to reveal much greater preference for folk music, blues, and protest music than do conservatives ‘ (Fox 369). As consumers, we are more likely to buy a product or use a service if it is associated with music we appreciate.
Movies and television shows a depend on music. The article “Look! Hear! The Uneasy Relationship of Music and Television” was written by Simon Frith. He analyzes the complicated connection between music and television. The main use of music within this area is for promotion, both music itself and other products. Frith goes on to say:
Television is rarely free of music because it is the TV producers’ crucial tool in the ongoing attempt to grab and hold people’s visual interest… Television producers and advertisers clearly draw on genre conventions here, and the increasing importance of niche markets has meant the increasing use of existing (rather than commissioned) tracks . If this further refines the ways in which music is used to attract the right TV audience, it also means that nowadays, more than ever, any music can be used this way, classical and rock, rap and reggae, jazz and jungle.
In other words, music is an integral part of both advertising and TV viewing. Today, music plays a vital role in virtually all cinematic productions. Music brings a depth of emotion that would otherwise be lacking. While I am not saying that film is incapable of expressing emotion, it falls flat when viewed without the soundtrack . It seems impossible to create the range of emotions that music lends through simply cinematic means. The emotions of each song, whatever the genre, becomes inextricably linked to the film. Our feelings about the film are altered or enhanced by musical score.
For example, Hans Zimmer wrote the soundtrack for the Batman film, The Dark Knight. He set out to “make a sonic world for this character” (SB 4?). Zimmer used music to give the film suspense and drama. The main theme was even made to mimic the sound of flapping wings. Without the music of Hans Zimmer, the production would be lackluster. This is only one instance, so think of any film you know. I can almost guarantee that the music is an integral part of it.
Advertisements Companies and charities use music to sway our emotions. Picture the infamous ASPCA commercial that features Sarah McLachlan’s song, “Angel”. As McLachlan sings “In the arms of an angel/ fly away from here,” we are treated to a series of miserable dogs and cats. They look pitifully up at you as the music swells in the background. The song pulls at our emotions and sympathies. When in the end the ASPCA solicited donations, there was an overwhelming response. The commercial generated over thirty million dollars for the organization . (Brekke) This is an example of the most effectual appeal to emotion. Most commercials do not gain this kind of attention, but the both charities and companies, such as State Farm and Disney, aspire to it.
A 2017 advertisement for Entresto, a heart failure medication, is a perfect example of how advertisers change our emotions in a more negative way. The commercial shows a montage of heart patients spending time with family. Throughout the ad, the song “Tomorrow” from the movie “Annie” is incorporated. The chorus of the song is “tomorrow/ tomorrow/ I love you tomorrow/ you’re only a day away.” The ad is insinuating that with this medication you will live to see tomorrow. “Tomorrow” continues to play as a long list of life-threatening side effects blend into the background. The song is not obviously sad, but it has melancholy connotations . The intent of the commercial may have been more optimistic, but when it is paired with the theme song, the result is decidedly depressing.
One other way advertisers appeal to emotion is through nostalgia or joy. A 2017 State Farm insurance commercial uses the song “Believe it or Not” written by Mike Post. The song is played when the commercial switches to memories of the truck that was wrecked. The section of the song played is “believe it or not/ I’m walkin’ on air/ I never thought I could be so free/ flying away/ on a wing and a prayer.” The major key, upbeat tempo, and the harmonies all combine to produce a reminiscent feeling. The song was originally written for a comedy television show and this association adds to the desired impression of a slightly comedic “Great American Hero” (IMDb?). It is not the only appeal to emotion (the commercial features Aaron Rodgers and his dog), but it emphasizes the main nostalgia and slight humorous feelings elicited by and hopefully for State Farm insurance.
A company known for its wide spread use of music is Disney. The ionic songs that it produces are an easily recognizable part of our culture in the US. Disney uses music as a sort of tool for nostalgia, both within theme parks, commercials, and the productions themselves. Instead of remembering moments in our past, the music reinforces the ideas of the original films. The musical experience of Disney is circular. “Instead of simply referencing abstract images of princesses, fairy tales and fantastic animals, the ‘Disney Experience’ now references its own versions of these tales, versions that have been seamlessly integrated into the consumers’ own constructed nostalgic narratives” (Carson 229) The company uses its own creations to draw us into a fantastical world, but not just any world. It wants to bring us back to Mickey Mouse and its recreations of fairytales that have existed for centuries. The dark origins of the stories we know now are nothing like what Disney presents, bar the core details. The Disney versions are romanticized, and their music plays a major role in this. The theme parks are inundated with these kinds of musical scores. Now, there is nothing wrong with this, except for the fact that we may be drawn in for reasons other than the quality of production .
The themes that Disney promotes in its music pull at us emotionally, causing us to reminisce and romanticize our past experiences with their productions. Disney is not the only company that uses the methodology. The Harry Potter franchise has chosen a very distinctive tune created by John Williams that is used in all its promotional content. We hear jingles and theme songs every day on advertisements that are created specifically to capture and retain our attention. Some are made to give us a sense of excitement or urgency. The louder, more obnoxious themes are memorable, if nothing else.
There is a type of music that was created specifically to calm or sooth us. This is ambient music. “Raw emotion and reflective intuition—two non-mechanical elements— propel and prolong the sonic lines that the system initiates” (Siepmann 190). One of the characteristics of ambient music is that there is no persistent beat. The instrumental, electronically-generated music flows gently, which creates an atmosphere of peace and tranquility. One of the most interesting aspects of this music is that the composers play a sort of passive in the production. Without someone specifically creating a melody, ambient music lacks a real story line that is present in most music. Because of this, ambient music is can be used as a tool for relaxation or meditation. This music is something that can be heard in waiting rooms or when you have been put on hold at a business.
On the other hand, punk music does almost the opposite. It was created to make a reaction. “Lexicon Devil” by The Germs has the lyrics, “I’ll get silver guns to drip old blood/
let’s get this established joke a shove/ we’re gonna wreak havoc on this rancid mill.” The music is provocative and harsh. In this particular song, the lyrics seem to be screamed, not sung. This is not uncommon in the punk genre. Punk is characterized by loud, monotone lyrics and an incredibly fast beat. These features combine to make a reactionary atmosphere, with emotions running high and adrenaline pumping. Both ambient music and punk rock were made with a goal in mind. Sometimes it is not companies that are trying to influence our emotions, but the creators and artists themselves.
How we experience music is dominated by our emotions and psychological responses. Television and movie producers know this and use it to improve our responses. Advertisers and companies know this and take advantage of it. Of course, we cannot expect them not to. But at the very least, we should be aware these facts . We receive a constant influx of information that is created specifically to manipulate our emotions. And sometimes, it works. So, the next time you hear that favorite jingle or theme song, give it some thought. You may be stirred up for a different reason than you believed.
