Carrying on from Tonic’s new partnership with Richer Sounds, I thought it would be interesting to put my music psychologist hat on and explore some stuff around music listening.
One of the key components surrounding this area is how music moves us emotionally in a variety of ways. Over the next few weeks, I will be looking at some different theoretical frameworks surrounding specific emotional factors involved with music listening and emotional responses.
On key theory defines several categories of emotional factors that we experience through music listening. These seven categories consist of entertainment, revival, strong sensation, diversion, discharge, mental work and solace.
Entertainment describes how music provides a source of pleasure and enjoyment, contributing to overall well-being. It serves as a recreational activity that can uplift spirits and create a positive emotional atmosphere. It’s the songs or music we hear when we are out or cooking at home and uplifts us emotionally.
Revival is based around the concept of how listening to music can restore energy and vitality. This dimension emphasises music's role in rejuvenating us as the listener, helping to overcome feelings of fatigue or burnout and promoting a sense of renewal. This would be the music we use when we exercise or engage in any activity that requires us to focus on completing a task especially if it needs physical energy.
Strong Sensation suggests how music can evoke powerful emotional responses and intense sensory experiences. This aspect highlights how music can stimulate emotions, providing a rich and immersive emotional experience that can be thrilling or deeply moving. These emotions can be anything from sadness, anger or elation.
Diversion describes the way in which music serves as a distraction from negative thoughts and emotions. By engaging with music, individuals can temporarily shift their focus away from stressors, reducing the impact of negative emotional states and provide a mental break. We might use this during those heavy and slow hours of rumination at night-time or when we are thrown in a pseudo road rage when faced with a London E-bike! (Just happened to me…).
Discharge, allows for the release of pent-up emotions. This cathartic function helps individuals to express and process feelings that might otherwise remain suppressed, leading to emotional relief and a sense of liberation. I find this factor particularity important! I feel that as musicians, music also gives us an opportunity to make sense of our emotional worlds whether this be through writing a song or producing a piece of electronic music.
Mental Work articulates how engaging with music can facilitate cognitive processing and internal reflection. This dimension underscores how music can aid in working through complex emotions and thoughts, providing a mental framework for understanding and resolving emotional experiences. This concept is similar to discharge yet it also incorporates a reflective perspective where music can prompt nostalgia or some other temporal set back. It can almost serve as a bridge to another time. I certainly use music to ‘take me back’ for a variety of reasons. Sometimes, not always helpful.
Finally, finding solace in music offers comfort and consolation during times of distress. It provides a sense of companionship and understanding, helping individuals to feel supported and less alone in their emotional struggles. In this way, music can provide a kind of surrogate support system to be with us when we may be on our own. It’s a robust resource that will always be there if we let it.
These seven dimensions illustrate the diverse ways in which music can influence and support emotional well-being. Of course, as always, this is just one example of how music can help. Something Tonic Music knows a lot about.
Adam Ficek hosts a monthly show 'Tonic Music' on Totally Wired Radio, where he talks to various guests about music and mental health. You can listen again to any of the previous show on the Tonic Music Mixcloud page.
