College
College of Arts and Sciences
Mentor Information
Olukemi Akintewe
Description
Music has long been acknowledged for its influence on the mind, most notably in its capacity to elicit measurable changes in emotional arousal. A stimulus will induce emotional arousal, or activation, that can be assessed through physiological measures (e.g., heart rate and brain activity) or self-reported emotional levels. While music’s emotional effects are established, the roles of features such as rhythm and harmony remain unclear. Harmony is created when sounds are united together, and rhythm is the pattern of music over time. This review examines how these influence emotional arousal, which may have relevance in music therapy development. The study began by screening 685 articles, which were filtered using keywords such as rhythm, harmony, syncopation, and harmonic complexity. Then, 56 articles were selected for analysis, with 21 meeting criteria. Included articles utilized biological markers or self-report tools to detect emotional arousal with a direct relation to rhythm or harmony stimuli. The results revealed that medium-rated rhythm and harmony, described as predictable, elicited high pleasure ratings. Additionally, increased musical intensity triggered elevation of dopamine levels and self-reported positive emotions. Data also indicated that slower tempos correlated with increased alpha/theta brain waves, which relate to relaxation state. Furthermore, the brain exhibits peak activity during specific shifts in musical features, with music deemed pleasurable being associated with shifting of left frontal asymmetry. These findings have significant implications for the development of music therapies for emotional disorders. However, future research must eliminate limitations such as small sample sizes and limited demographics.
Examining the Effects of Music Rhythm and Harmony on Emotional Arousal
Music has long been acknowledged for its influence on the mind, most notably in its capacity to elicit measurable changes in emotional arousal. A stimulus will induce emotional arousal, or activation, that can be assessed through physiological measures (e.g., heart rate and brain activity) or self-reported emotional levels. While music’s emotional effects are established, the roles of features such as rhythm and harmony remain unclear. Harmony is created when sounds are united together, and rhythm is the pattern of music over time. This review examines how these influence emotional arousal, which may have relevance in music therapy development. The study began by screening 685 articles, which were filtered using keywords such as rhythm, harmony, syncopation, and harmonic complexity. Then, 56 articles were selected for analysis, with 21 meeting criteria. Included articles utilized biological markers or self-report tools to detect emotional arousal with a direct relation to rhythm or harmony stimuli. The results revealed that medium-rated rhythm and harmony, described as predictable, elicited high pleasure ratings. Additionally, increased musical intensity triggered elevation of dopamine levels and self-reported positive emotions. Data also indicated that slower tempos correlated with increased alpha/theta brain waves, which relate to relaxation state. Furthermore, the brain exhibits peak activity during specific shifts in musical features, with music deemed pleasurable being associated with shifting of left frontal asymmetry. These findings have significant implications for the development of music therapies for emotional disorders. However, future research must eliminate limitations such as small sample sizes and limited demographics.
