Have you ever noticed how music can change the way you think or feel?

Music gets your whole brain working and can spark strong emotions. When you listen, your brain releases chemicals that help you connect with the music even more.

Music puts an emphasis on the importance of the non-dominant hemisphere of the brain. Certain songs can lift your mood, give you energy, or help you concentrate. Music can also release dopamine and serotonin, which can help you focus or even make you feel sleepy.

Our relation to music doesn’t start here; the earliest mammals, most of them likely nocturnal, had to rely on their hearing and sense of smell as defensive mechanisms. They were focused, constantly listening to the slightest noise.

In performances like concerts or musicals, the brain has to scan through all the ambient noise in a concert hall. In movies like The Lord of the Rings and Interstellar, the music in certain scenes can bring out deep and complex feelings.

Even back in the day, Plato considered that music played in different modes would make us feel different emotions, and as a general rule, most of us would agree on the emotional significance of any particular piece of music, whether it be happy or sad.

The human brain and nervous system are hard-wired to distinguish music from noise and to respond to rhythm and repetition.