Music Music...and its effects on mood

There are very few things shared by every human culture, the ones that we find everywhere are language, and music.  This suggests that there is some fundamental connection between music and the way our brain functions.  Recent research has found that uplifting music effects the limbic system in your brain, the emotional centre releasing endorphins which make you feel good, so this connection between music and the functioning brain is quite profound.

Music is a very important part of my life, I have grown up listening, dancing and singing to music.  I have known myself cry my eyes out due to a piece of music that overwhelms me emotionally, both happy and sad.  When ever I feel a bit down, I put on my music and it acts like a happy drug, puts me in such a good, happy mood.  When I go out, all I need is the music and I just dance the night away... I imagine all sorts when I listen to music, and this can be very stimulating to say the least.
Interestingly, studies have shown that the frequencies in 'major' key notes are similar to our voices when we are talking in an excited way, so no wonder this type of music is uplifting.

Music, can also have a profoundly negative effect on our emotional state too, unpleasant music triggers the posterior cingulate cortex, the part of the brain that lights up on MRI scans when a person is subjected to emotional pain or conflict, so theres a suspicion, that we may be relating discordant music with negative speech.  A 'minor' key note, slightly sad and melancholia, have shown that those frequencies are very similar to our voices when we are depressed or sad.  So again, no wonder if we are feeling a bit down or more seriously, depressed, it can make us feel far worse.

Music not only sounds beautiful, but it speaks to us, it tells us stories, it makes us feel overwhelmed with emotion, it has effects on our brain that we are only just beginning to understand.  Life without my music - I simply cannot imagine it.