Music’s power over your brain, explained | Michael Spitzer

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  • Опубліковано 27 вер 2024
  • Humans are musical animals 4 million years in the making, explained by music expert Michael Spitzer.
    Subscribe to Big Think on UA-cam ► / @bigthink
    Up next, 40,000 years of music explained in 8 minutes ► • 40,000 years of music ...
    The oldest record of notated music, the Hurrian "Hymn to Nikkal," is more than 3,000 years old. But in a sense, our relationship with music is far more ancient than that.
    As Michael Spitzer, a professor of music at the University of Liverpool, told Big Think, humans have been making and learning to recognize music from the moment our species learned to walk on two legs, creating a predictable beat.
    Music affects the brain in profound ways. It eases stress by lowering cortisol. It floods the brain with pleasurable neurotransmitters like dopamine. And it serves as a conduit through which we can process emotions that otherwise might not be describable in words.
    Read the video transcript ► bigthink.com/s...
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    About Michael Spitzer:
    Michael Spitzer is the author of The Musical Human and professor of music at the University of Liverpool, where he leads the department’s work on classical music. A music theorist and musicologist, he is an authority on Beethoven, with interests in aesthetics and critical theory, cognitive metaphor, and music and affect. He organized the International Conferences on Music and Emotion and the International Conference on Analyzing Popular Music and currently chairs the editorial board of Music Analysis Journal.
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    Read more of our stories on music:
    10 of the greatest classical composers alive today
    ► bigthink.com/h...
    Here’s what your music preferences reveal about your personality
    ► bigthink.com/n...
    10 of the greatest classical composers of all time
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КОМЕНТАРІ • 1,1 тис.

  • @bigthink
    @bigthink  Рік тому +344

    40,000 years of music explained in 8 minutes by Michael Spitzer: ua-cam.com/video/Am18ZxKgi_g/v-deo.html

    • @meegaha
      @meegaha Рік тому +2

      I have xo

    • @naynay1498
      @naynay1498 Рік тому +2

      Can you do a video on what happens to the body when you listen to the recitation of the quran?

    • @berniv7375
      @berniv7375 Рік тому +3

      Surely something as primeval and natural as music has to have a greater purpose than to entertain us. Each young generation takes music a step forward in society. The structure of our society turns this creative output into capitalist enterprises and by so doing channels that dynamic creativity into harmless energy which does not help evolve our society. If we do not evolve our society we do not survive. Now! If we were to utilize music to it's full potential or to it's ultimate and true purpose then we would be using music to turn the world vegan. Well! This is what I believe. Thank you for the video.🌱

    • @KnowleDJ
      @KnowleDJ Рік тому +2

      @@berniv7375 agreed! this is what me and my partner are trying to do with music 🙏🏽

    • @ReanuKeevesAus
      @ReanuKeevesAus Рік тому

      @@naynay1498 you become a Muslim extremist who treat women like property and follow in the Prophets footsteps by marrying children! There problem solved! Well not really, not until they're all eliminated!

  • @moodeet
    @moodeet Рік тому +9777

    The best feeling is listening to music no one else around you listens to. And then going to a concert where thousands others who you have never seen connect to the same music and sing along with you.

    • @bigeverlongnow
      @bigeverlongnow Рік тому +331

      THIS. I've always struggled to find others who enjoy the same stuff I do (not trying to be cool, just saying), and I wish I had decided to attend gigs by myself sooner. it really is something special. post concert depression can hit hard though.

    • @KarlSnarks
      @KarlSnarks Рік тому +140

      @@bigeverlongnow Personally I have a melancholic feeling after any majorly enjoyable and social event I go to, but it's more of a calm, contemplative sadness while walking/biking/trainriding home alone, usually when it's already dark, or the sun is just coming up (if it was a rave), and it's kind of enjoyable in itself even if it's a bit depressive too. If that makes sense at all lol.

    • @bigeverlongnow
      @bigeverlongnow Рік тому +39

      @@KarlSnarks that's nice. I think I understand that, almost like it's a part of the experience itself that enhances it, in a way. I guess I just find it hard coming back to every day life.

    • @Meow-ds7pr
      @Meow-ds7pr Рік тому +3

      this!

    • @KarlSnarks
      @KarlSnarks Рік тому +12

      @@bigeverlongnow Yeah exactly.
      Yeah I get that. I usually don't get that afterward back-to-everyday-life depression from concerts, but definitely when having been to multi-day festivals because your mind is still processing all the new impressions and you haven't taken care of your sleep-debt yet.

  • @francescosavian482
    @francescosavian482 Рік тому +1001

    "Music is violence without the danger". A lovely quote to describe how visceral and powerful it is to our spirit.

    • @kittypewpew
      @kittypewpew Рік тому +10

      Same as tickling in a neurological sense is very close to pain, maybe its the same with the fear/music response?

    • @akimbo139
      @akimbo139 9 місяців тому +5

      It's nonsensical psychobabble! The other way around might make more sense - it's (a sense of) danger without the violence...

    • @etherean01
      @etherean01 8 місяців тому

      Yes!!!! 100% agree, music is violence feels like such an accurate descritption

    • @OmerAsh
      @OmerAsh 2 місяці тому +1

      ​@@akimbo139 Yeah this makes more sense actually.

    • @Sound_Entropy
      @Sound_Entropy 2 місяці тому

      noted

  • @isaakvandaalen3899
    @isaakvandaalen3899 Рік тому +3754

    Music can be written down and stored as data, but it only really exists when its felt. Music is pure emotion given auditory form.

    • @GabrielQuiroz95
      @GabrielQuiroz95 Рік тому +28

      Nicely put

    • @OGDooshbagg
      @OGDooshbagg Рік тому +39

      Not all music. Some music is used to influence behavior and emotions. Some music is used to instill fear like in horror movies. Not all music is emotion. Sometimes it is just a commercial product sold to unwitting people who chant along and don't realize they are performing a ritual. Some music contains witch speak and subliminal messaging to influence your thoughts and more importantly your preference in products. Some music is used to boost depression to push people over the edge and commit suicide. There are many weaponized uses of music. It's not around just to make people feel good.

    • @isaakvandaalen3899
      @isaakvandaalen3899 Рік тому +8

      @@OGDooshbagg as a musician your opinion intrigues me.

    • @vibesxryan
      @vibesxryan Рік тому +5

      @@OGDooshbagg your thoughts actually are really interesting to me too could u explain more?

    • @vibesxryan
      @vibesxryan Рік тому +9

      @@OGDooshbagg so basically what your saying is kinda similar to the law of attraction? what you speak, what you do, say or even listen to can either attract positivity or negativity into your life? And certain music affects the way that you think? It’s kinda similar to the phrase “Watch what you say” because the tongue can manifest certain things

  • @sokkaoaf2699
    @sokkaoaf2699 Рік тому +2252

    If I didn't have music, I wouldn't remember as much of my life. I love the feeling I get when I hear a song and it takes me back decades and flood me with memories forgotten. Each year Spotify notifies me that I listen to music more than 99% of their subscribes. Music IS my sanctuary.

    • @eduardedi4536
      @eduardedi4536 Рік тому +5

      What music do you listen to? Min sharing a playlist

    • @BBWahoo
      @BBWahoo Рік тому +29

      Doesn't spotify say that to everyone? 😶

    • @Mendoxs_
      @Mendoxs_ Рік тому +10

      oh definitely. I've spent a lot of time shutting myself off from the world these past few years so I don't remember much, but I listened to music the whole time and it brings back memories from when I listened to specific songs.
      Music remembers what I forget. 👍🏽

    • @grantprater5213
      @grantprater5213 Рік тому +3

      @@BBWahoo no, it's accurate

    • @scottjackson163
      @scottjackson163 Рік тому +8

      I’m glad that you made that comment, about being able to remember your life by music. I usually know not only the year but the season that a particular past event in my life happened because I know when the music indexed to that event was current.

  • @realleftover
    @realleftover Рік тому +6342

    The fact that we just start having the urge to move when we hear rhythms is so adorable 💀

    • @andrewtee
      @andrewtee Рік тому +203

      That's why many can't hit thebgym without their earphones.

    • @oOMaayOo
      @oOMaayOo Рік тому +133

      where there‘s a heartbeat there‘s a rhythm and dancing is the will to break free ♥️

    • @gungnir3926
      @gungnir3926 Рік тому +49

      its probably because the body thinks the beat is fast heart beat of yourself or that others around you are beating fast and addrenaline fueled. activating the instincts to move yourself.

    • @brettnelson7518
      @brettnelson7518 Рік тому +128

      It's super adorable how we used drums in the 1700s to March soldiers into the killing fields.

    • @PerceptionVsReality333
      @PerceptionVsReality333 Рік тому +4

      Not me for whatever reason.

  • @antonego8356
    @antonego8356 Рік тому +562

    Loved this. I’m 39 years old and for just the past year, I’ve been discovering the joy and raw emotion of playing an instrument for the first time in my life. There’s nothing like it.

    • @MementoTurtle
      @MementoTurtle Рік тому +5

      That's cool!
      I started guitar at 17, I'm curious to know what you chose!

    • @MementoTurtle
      @MementoTurtle Рік тому

      @Kepler 186-F hi

    • @MementoTurtle
      @MementoTurtle Рік тому

      @Kepler 186-F Good, and you?

    • @MementoTurtle
      @MementoTurtle Рік тому

      @Kepler 186-F I appreciate that, thank you.
      I hope you have a nice day

    • @nastyzaz
      @nastyzaz Рік тому

      @Kepler 186-F :c if u want i canbe ur friend

  • @savagevidz149
    @savagevidz149 Рік тому +190

    Music is EVERYTHING for me.
    It changes people.
    It changes my entire mood.
    It helped save my Mom's life..I believe this.
    She had a brain aneurysm, a bad one, and the Dr gave her 10% chance to live.
    I played music everyday..while she was hooked up to life support. All her favorite dance music, and her favorite Alaskan Native traditional songs.. I literally brought in my hand drum...and sang to her.
    Music saved my mom's life

    • @coldgrandpa
      @coldgrandpa Рік тому +18

      This is so beautiful I'm so glad your mother is alive

    • @triplemgaming9324
      @triplemgaming9324 Рік тому +8

      Wow this is beautiful 🪶⚡️✊🏾

    • @mcdonaldyeosang
      @mcdonaldyeosang Рік тому +5

      That's wonderful! May your mother be healthy and happy

    • @killua962
      @killua962 Рік тому +2

      it's a drug

    • @sofia-ju8pj
      @sofia-ju8pj Рік тому

      everything is @@killua962

  • @UrAWizard
    @UrAWizard Рік тому +762

    WOW this video has changed the way I think about music.
    My life purpose is to make music because when I was a kid I was very depressed and the only thing that made me feel not alone was music.
    The way you explained these concepts was perfect and genuinely opened my mind to a deeper understanding.
    I feel more inspired than ever to create music now.
    THANK YOU

    • @dhayes907
      @dhayes907 Рік тому +2

      I am having set boundaries crossed right now. Taking a good music day helps a lot.

    • @leandros_3249
      @leandros_3249 Рік тому +3

      I think it'd also depend on the type of music you listen to especially the one that consist lyrics i believe for instance it can also make you more depressed .

    • @kejsida4921
      @kejsida4921 Рік тому +1

      same :)

    • @CatchXO
      @CatchXO Рік тому +1

      SAME!! Just finished writing my 100th song never actually produced tho I don’t even have like XL studio but I have an electric guitar so there’s that

    • @Zhoroty
      @Zhoroty Рік тому +1

      Music provide Temporary happiness
      It increases Dopamine stimuli for minutes but it makes you sad at night and some times you cry without any reason

  • @voldlifilm
    @voldlifilm Рік тому +572

    I study anthropology and history, and this is a wonderful take on the relationship between humans and music.

    • @bshistory
      @bshistory Рік тому +2

      Can you suggest me some books?

    • @billsadler3
      @billsadler3 Рік тому +12

      @@bshistory The Psychology of Music. Mickey Hart's book from the late 1980's is also excellent, Planet Drum.

    • @bshistory
      @bshistory Рік тому +1

      @@billsadler3 Thanks. 👍🏻

  • @remusciuciu2840
    @remusciuciu2840 Рік тому +130

    I've been saying this for a while and I'll say it again. Music is one of humanity's greatest inventions

    • @Suzume-Shimmer
      @Suzume-Shimmer Рік тому +17

      Did humans invent it ?
      It seems more like we refined it . Many animals after all do make music , specifacally singing songs.

    • @hatebreeder999
      @hatebreeder999 Рік тому +2

      Insects make much more complex music (rhythmically). Specially many species of cricket

    • @gloriaanderson7424
      @gloriaanderson7424 3 місяці тому +1

      We were all created from sounds movement and rhythm. Breathing is the first example of this then thinking then walking then running…. Music is all of this. The talent of the first breath thought movement sound walk, carried the first humans from Africa to eventually populate the entire planet. No matter how different we erroneously feel we are . We came from one, one breath one thought one movement the rhythm of life. We all need to thank her

    • @the_swag_girl_Tales
      @the_swag_girl_Tales Місяць тому

      Agree buddy

  • @fuferito
    @fuferito Рік тому +96

    What is eerie about music is that it circumvents, somehow, regular memory routes so that people suffering from severe dementia will recall the tune and lyrics of a song while not remembering the name of their own child.

    • @KarlSnarks
      @KarlSnarks Рік тому +15

      And that lady that also remembered the dance move to that composition from when she was ballet dancer, so beautiful to see her eyes just come alive.

    • @danlightened
      @danlightened Рік тому +2

      Woah!

    • @Feathertail2205
      @Feathertail2205 Рік тому +12

      Goes to show that our connection to music is ancient.

    • @kiiturii
      @kiiturii Рік тому +4

      might be because it's not something you "remember" the same way using the hippocampus. If you asked them to name the song they probably would not remember it, they just recognize the melody

    • @FatalShotGG
      @FatalShotGG Рік тому +2

      It's technically not them recognizing it its their brain recognizing a familiar pattern.

  • @Danledz
    @Danledz Рік тому +649

    "Music is a mantra that soothes the soul. It's therapuetic. It's something our body has to have. It's very important to understand the power of music." - Michael Jackson

  • @Stella_Blue1972
    @Stella_Blue1972 Рік тому +25

    As someone on the autism spectrum, music is very important to me as therapy. I have so many tabs open in my brain at once, and music is always playing in there somewhere. It also helps me feel more connected to a world which seems very alien. Music is the universal language.

  • @vt6020
    @vt6020 Рік тому +89

    I don’t pretend to know about all of the science that was explained in this video, but I have used music listening to help me through illnesses. I’m just referring to common colds or flu, but music really seemed to help speed-up my recovery. The funny thing is how even sad songs can cause people to feel good.

    • @s271a
      @s271a Рік тому +3

      maybe placebo effect? maybe not? who knows?...

    • @kiiturii
      @kiiturii Рік тому +6

      aah I love how everyone has different random remedies to common illnesses lol, like 99% of the time you just recover normally and then for some reason people relate that to something specific that they were doing
      a common cold *will* go away, nothing you do or don't do will change that. If music makes you feel better while sick that's understandable, because music just makes people feel good in general. But It's not doing anything to the illness itself

    • @galitzinee
      @galitzinee Рік тому +2

      ​@@kiiturii it does. maybe not directly, but it does help. it soothes your body and calms you down, helps you fall asleep, which is great when having a cold. calmness and sleep are the cure of cold and music provides just that.

  • @kontrabass47
    @kontrabass47 Рік тому +269

    There is still much debate as to the global commonalities in music, but we are getting there. In order to truly understand, you have to broaden your definition of music. If you think of it as organized sound by human perception, it unlocks how essential it is to human existence. Love this stuff!

    • @maryrosekent8223
      @maryrosekent8223 Рік тому +4

      Thanks Jonathan, that’s a really eloquent observation.

    • @lorerecru
      @lorerecru Рік тому +7

      I recommend reading John Blacking's "How musical is man?".
      He talks about music as humanly organized sounds, soundly organized humanity... Very interesting

    • @austinthornton3407
      @austinthornton3407 Рік тому +4

      I don't think the organised sound definition is sufficient. So ordinary speech and morse code are organised sound but are not in themselves what people generally call music.
      IMO the key to it is metaphor. A piece of music is a metaphor of some aspect of human experience constructed from sound. As such the organisation just flows naturally from the requirement of construction.
      So how does that work? It seems that different musical cultures have different metaphorical languages and much of the response to music derives from that culture. But there are also some basic musical properties that derive from the harmonic series. And it seems that pentatonic scales are very widespread. So there are physical properties which form the basis of these vocabularies.

    • @kontrabass47
      @kontrabass47 Рік тому +2

      Austin- yes metaphoric cultural component is critical! IMO morse code and speech can be music, only when presented as such. Much like a blank wall could be considered art, but only by presentation and acceptance by the viewer.

    • @tomorrowstrat
      @tomorrowstrat Рік тому +2

      Defining music from a human-centric standpoint is too limiting. Leaving it up to human perception, as opposed to sensation, ignores medicine music and leaves it susceptible to cultural biases.

  • @danlightened
    @danlightened Рік тому +53

    At first, I was suggested by the doctor to walk. I then started enjoying it when I paired it with music, and walk 4 kms a day which is way more than I even walked before.
    It was at this time, when I started realising the relationship between music and walking. Also, you can enter a beautiful flow step if you music beats match your foot steps.
    The slap in genres like Synth pop or deep house music suit my walking. Something like hip hop can help with a nice confident strut.

    • @Masked_SVincent
      @Masked_SVincent Рік тому +5

      Lmao I’ve learned to dance doin this method. I call it the drunk step. Just step and away in time and feels and looks very carefree and in tune with it (or atleast to me… I haven’t danced in front of anyone but aye lol)

    • @Lazlo.
      @Lazlo. Рік тому

      try synthwave

    • @danlightened
      @danlightened Рік тому +2

      @@Lazlo. Yeah, Synth wave and synth pop both. But I personally prefer laid back versions of all genres, so chill hop, Lo-fi, minimal techno, deep house and so on.

    • @carlogaytan7010
      @carlogaytan7010 Рік тому +1

      This is very interesting. Many elite and non elite runners listen to music with a beat of 80bpm which correlates to a cadence of 80 steps per minute. This helps them run better and achieve a flow state while running. I wonder if this can be used to make runners, recreational and competitive better at running.

    • @danlightened
      @danlightened Рік тому +1

      @@carlogaytan7010 Oh! Nice to know. A lot of the music I gravitate towards in around that range. But a lot of the electronic music has much higher BPM.
      When the music syncs, it gives a nice spring in the step.

  • @25Wineman
    @25Wineman Рік тому +23

    Our brains need music. Just as our bodies need air to breathe, food to eat and water to drink. Absolutely fascinating! Thanks Big Think team.

    • @louisegarner8888
      @louisegarner8888 Рік тому +1

      We are frequency. That's who we are all energetically resonating at different levels of vibration right down to the cellular level. We're mostly water and if you connect the concept with Maseru Emoto's water experiments responding to sound e-motion you'll see it. We can heal or harm, curse or bless ourselves and others just by what we think, feel or say, let alone do. 💖⚡🧠

  • @rickemmet1104
    @rickemmet1104 Рік тому +38

    That was short and sweet! This reminded me of a video I watched a year or so ago about celestial navigation which allowed the Polyneseans to navigate the entire Pacific Basin. At one point the teacher, a man known as Papa Mau, had his pupils sitting on the beach with various shells arranged in positions representing the planets, stars and constellations. He then had them stand up and taught each of them in turn different dance steps. As the students began to learn their parts in this dance, it became apparent to one of them, Nainoa Thompson, that Papa Mau was teaching them the movements of the heavenly bodies through the seasons. This method of teaching - and music likely accompanied the dancing - would make it almost impossible to forget the patterns of movement.

  • @Marilyn429
    @Marilyn429 Рік тому +24

    I’m going through and have been going through probably the roughest time of my life in the last 2 1/2 years and it hasn’t let up at all and my constant my love and my constant love of music is always there. It does help in the ways that you said it did. Thank you for sharing this.

    • @lily444u
      @lily444u Рік тому +4

      I agree! sending u much love by the way:)

    • @Marilyn429
      @Marilyn429 Рік тому

      @@lily444u bless u😇❤️

    • @frootloot6789
      @frootloot6789 Рік тому +3

      u WILL get through it. i claim it for you ♡ sending many blessings 🙌

    • @Marilyn429
      @Marilyn429 Рік тому

      @@frootloot6789 thank u bless u😇

  • @senzokuhlebhengu1126
    @senzokuhlebhengu1126 Рік тому +16

    Music is so powerful it triggers all sorts of emotion and memories allowing us to travel back in time to certain moments whether good or bad. It connects us and divides us, makes want to move or sit still it's a stimulus that we were blessed with and not enough people appreciate it. I always say I would probably die or go into a state of depression if I lost all my music on Spotify because it is what gives me life, my music has gotten me out of dark places that I doubt I would have made it out of without it . Music is life

  • @GK-qc5ry
    @GK-qc5ry Рік тому +11

    Music certainly helps me to forget my current circumstances, helps achieve a flow state in work and puts me in a different state of mind. Certainly makes me happier.

  • @hendrasutika
    @hendrasutika Рік тому +15

    I like listening to music, literally I couldn’t live without putting my AirPods on and listening to songs, every single day.

    • @ThomasGilmore-fi6gb
      @ThomasGilmore-fi6gb 2 місяці тому

      Using "literally" in this context makes you seem both ignorant and stupid...literally 😂

  • @semis4170
    @semis4170 Рік тому +64

    I rarely get chills when I listen to music, and I chose those chilling songs when I am doing very intense exercise (like running 15 minutes straight for than a mile hard with incline). I had to run 1 more minute after running for 14 minutes, and I timed the song (In this case, La Campanella by liszt) perfectly with the climax. It ALWAYS gave me goosebumps, which made me want to keep running when every was sore. It's weird how I always associate that piece of music with fear, dread, and suffering as I only listened to it when I do very intense cardio.

  • @sunsetguy37
    @sunsetguy37 Рік тому +14

    Music, Rhythm, Humming & Yawns...
    I believe the first sounds I heard, would have been the heartbeat of my mother, followed by the ecos of her voice with that underwater muffling effect. The patterns and rhythms of her heartbeat, and in time, her quieter breathing, and I am certain I also heard sounds that was were well beyond my ears, while I was still inside her. I have no doubt that her sobbing and crying became one of the earliest recognizable patterns, or rhythms.
    I agree with the significance of sounds, even yawns, that may well have been influenced by our walking, if as fetuses, we recognized the gurgling, later, as walking. The heartbeat, during tranquile periods would also be a reference for rhythm. It certainly becomes significant, again, when meditating. His reference to the time travel is important, but in my view, as a warning to not abdicated our attention to be solely adrift in the past. Life happens my next breath, yawn, and cause for goosebumps.
    Im the past ten years I have experimented with being selective about when and how I hear music.
    Largely, I steer away from overly familiar pattern (in life) and music, so when I hear live original music, I drop everything to appreciate the random offering from the unfamiliar universe. When I hum, or perhaps chant, and it triggers my vegas nerve, and I convinced we sell our lives short, when we choose only to hear music. Like this guy says, there are certain sounds that trigger a compulsive reaction from others; like the occasional yawn.
    Spending months at a time in non-english speaking countries, seems to over the novelty of sound, becomes, a minor, but important conduit for maintaining an adventurous spirit.
    The learning of new sounds, associated with a unfamiliar language, is audibly pleasing to the brain and soul; once I embrace my slow learning curve.
    There has always been more to investigate and appreciate in life, other than competing in the rat-race that was all our parents knew of life...

  • @christophsproehnle2114
    @christophsproehnle2114 Рік тому +26

    As a guy who experiences Frisson pretty often, I`m glad it also got it`s part here. To be honest, I thought, that it wouldn`t be mentioned, which would`ve been a pitty. Thanks for the insights and explanations, it`s super interesting to watch !

  • @BongosMuscular
    @BongosMuscular Рік тому +4

    I am fascinated by music, im partly deaf on my left ear, so deep, booming sounds resonate within me. Over the years ive broadened my horizon and im extremely interested how do we develop our taste in music, i was a bassist once. Today i can tell that i cannot live without music, so many emotions and memories. It really is magical

  • @michaelgontaszewski6934
    @michaelgontaszewski6934 9 місяців тому +1

    I work within healthcare providing one 2 one care and activities for people with severe dementia and AD. I also worked with people with learning disabilities. In all these cases I use or have used mostly one tool - music and sounds of nature (woodland, ocean waves, and forest streams). I let some patients create music if they have the capacity. For people who were deaf or there was a risk of triggering epileptic seizures, I used SUBPAC (amazing gear) and Steel Tongue Drum so vibrations could be sensed by touch. I have seen how much GOOD music can bring and how deeply rooted it is in the human brain. A carefully selected playlist is my powerful tool.
    Great video!

  • @jinsouls_bead
    @jinsouls_bead Рік тому +6

    Ngl , I feel I have no existence without music .music is what helps me study and survive .It helps me beat myself and understand those laws of physics I can't get at first glance , makes me better at solving stuff and also helps me sit for longer .The music I listen to is also related to phases in my life .Plus , the joy certain kind of music provides me is immeasurable .Like I can't put down in words the feeling I experience when I listen to loona ,especially oec. It's something that trascends the boundary of earth and space , makes me be in places I yearn to be in and just realize the good times of my life .If magic exists , it's in music.

  • @rossmeldrum3346
    @rossmeldrum3346 Рік тому +9

    Music also has the ability to immediately remind you of past experiences or people you spent decades trying to forget or get over and your instantly back in that event, feeling or experience. Remembering every nuance and moment precisely as it happened years earlier.

  • @bobjeaniejoey
    @bobjeaniejoey 3 місяці тому

    I love listening to Michael Spitzer speak. I've recently experienced two Sudden Cardiac Arrest events in conjunction with a "widow maker" heart attack, from which I obviously survived.
    In other words, my heart stopped a couple of times for a while before being resuscitated.
    The process of resuscitation, with both defibrillation and CPR being applied, is an extremely violent, trauma-inducing event for someone to live through.
    Believe me, it just is.
    It's horribly upsetting, leaving lasting psychological, mental and emotional distress.
    As a result of those events, I've been suffering, among many other symptoms, an extremely high level of constant anxiety that no one in my life seems to be able to understand or evens cares that I'm suffering from it.
    I've been finding that are very few things left in life that can calm me down, at least to some degree.
    I discovered Michael Spitzer this evening.
    I also discovered some precious minutes of a bit of peace.
    Thank you, Michael.

  • @josephcameron3611
    @josephcameron3611 Рік тому +13

    I just finished my master's dissertation on the use of gestures to compose and edit melodies/sound effects through MIDI, and this video does a really good job of summing up a good chunk of my literature review! Great insight into the relationship between music and the human character.

    • @schuylersavage276
      @schuylersavage276 Рік тому +1

      Oh my gosh can you explain what this means?? What was your masters on in more simple terms sounds fascinating

    • @josephcameron3611
      @josephcameron3611 Рік тому

      @@schuylersavage276 It is fascinating indeed! I did my master's in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), so with this dissertation I was exploring and researching ways to create more meaningful interactions between people interested in music and technology.

  • @bparcej6233
    @bparcej6233 Рік тому +2

    Music is a form of meditation for me… when I focus on music it opens a flow of thoughtful insights

  • @NoahNobody
    @NoahNobody Рік тому +9

    I have real trouble focusing which is probably undiagnosed adhd, but music does a great job of getting me in the zone to do things that don't require me to listen.

    • @KarlSnarks
      @KarlSnarks Рік тому +2

      There's also special adhd study music. It's both calm and in the background, but at the same time has different time signatures in rythm and melody so it constantly changes, bypassing the attention issue while not making the sound disrupt whatever you're studying. It helped me too even if I don't have adhd (though I do have some symptoms, almost but not quite enough to warrant a diagnosis)

    • @KatarinaS.
      @KatarinaS. Рік тому +2

      @@KarlSnarks Can this special ADHD music be found for free on UA-cam, I'd love to check it out? Is there any that you can specifically recommend? Ever since I was a child I've found that music helps me to focus when studying or doing housework. I tend to use classical or "relaxation" type music, piano music, anything instrumental and at a slow tempo for activities that require my close attention. For mindless activities like housework I like to listen to upbeat music with words. The ADHD music sounds interesting.

    • @MementoTurtle
      @MementoTurtle Рік тому

      @@KarlSnarks please tell us what this music is, you have my and a fellow commenters interest.

  • @thelunarviolet
    @thelunarviolet Рік тому +32

    This is awesome! Before we even walked we heard the rhythm of our mothers heart beat in the womb. Natalie Angier’s book Woman has some lovely passages on how that experience informs the way we relate to music

    • @CynicalChinchilla
      @CynicalChinchilla Рік тому +1

      It is all about the heart beat. 🤘

    • @bhishekthakur1331
      @bhishekthakur1331 11 місяців тому +1

      @@CynicalChinchilla It ain't the speakers that bump hearts, it's our hearts that make the beat!

  • @kiyokhanna5896
    @kiyokhanna5896 Рік тому +10

    7:03 "Nobody dies in music"
    Travis Scott: "Hold my Autotune"

  • @greenskies1291
    @greenskies1291 Рік тому +3

    When im old n gone one of the thing ill miss is my music play list.

  • @reifenverlustdeluxe6936
    @reifenverlustdeluxe6936 Рік тому +3

    As Antiloop saying in one of his songs ''Sound'':
    ''Sound, its not just the air vibrating, sounds mean feelings. It refreshes our mind through our hearts, it can make us happy, sad or excited''
    Thats what I tell everybody when they ask me why are you so linked to music. Listening to music isn't just listening to music. Its often linked with memories, studying all the genres and getting deep into all sort of music, and its also part of our personality depending what you listening to. Meeting also new people by listening to the same genre. I could tell a lot though.
    A world without the music we have today, is a world without me.

  • @solk.posner7201
    @solk.posner7201 10 місяців тому +1

    I feel sad growing up as an Adventist deprived me of enjoying music, and especially being able to dance to it. Fortunately when I moved from America to Peru 2009-2016, I was immersed in that culture's love for dancing and music. I'll never forget me 14 being mighty nervous and pushed to an older cute girl to dance with, and the song made me move in ways I never thought I could do

  • @ozgurkaratas6803
    @ozgurkaratas6803 Рік тому +3

    Nutrution for the soul
    Although I was expecting a more detailed scientific dilation of how music affects brain.

  • @Sp3ctralJ
    @Sp3ctralJ Рік тому +2

    I use music to hold memories as I grew up certain songs were played or were just playing and now as an adult I can listen to that song and vividly remember everything

  • @Creetopia19
    @Creetopia19 Рік тому +6

    I love every single thing about this video. I am musically inclined. I can also play music by ear on the piano. I'll just figure it out. I love the connection with chills. I get chills when I hear a really good song. I had no idea that it was a connection like that.

  • @polymathpark
    @polymathpark Рік тому +6

    ayy I talk about frisson (goosebumps) on my own channel, it's also known as "positively-valenced parasthesia," that is, when it's sourced from something positive like a powerful song or movie scene. the same sensation occurs when we hear nails on a chalkboard, but because it's from a negative source, it's called "negatively-valenced parasthesia." we can also now consciously give ourselves this sensation by thinking about a powerful song, which is incredible, given that neurobiology has though that to be a purely sympathetic response.
    Biology is trippy.

  • @fredwood1490
    @fredwood1490 Рік тому +6

    In the jungle now, there are creatures called "Howler Monkeys" who sing a dawn chorus, sing it beautifully too, almost operatic. Then there are the Chimps who not only sing, often very operatic, and dance in something like Mosh Pit. I see no reason to assume that, when we lived in the trees also, we didn't also sing and dance. However, your theory of walking and music and dance explains why Human music differs so much from that of the other Apes. The walking cadence, the running cadence, stalking prey, even the dance of copulation all are part of our modern music and dance, and by modern I mean with in the last hundred thousand years. Returning from the hunt, even today Hunters talk about what they did, performing their actions would be appreciated as rare entertainment and make a double feedback. Women have long had seduction displays, dances and songs, pretty sounds, elegant motions to indicate their interest, as part of our mating rituals. I had wondered a bit about what you call "Mimesis", the urge, even need to dance or sing or march in sync with others. The evolution of society, from a very few to several members to many People in a village, making of friendships and the need to conform might have a hand in that. The present People who express this best are adolescent girls with adolescent boys competing for sexual dominance. While the boys are on the sports field, the girls are busy cheer leading, (Although, in the last fifty years those roles have mixed a bit). I don't see boys cheerleading at girl's sporting events.
    Human languages tend to be sung, an evolution of yodeling perhaps, yet music is a language all to itself, and dance an evolution of body language. The farther we go back in time, at least in my speculation, the deeper goes the connection between the development of the human brain and song and dance. The pace of the footfalls shaping truly Human music, as you say, the bounce of a limb with a dancing ape on it, celebration the rising of the Sun, in my speculation. Did you know that rats sing? I hear them in my walls sometimes, (I live at the edge of a forest) and they seem to play football on the roof some nights. There was a time when we were little more than rats, dodging the feet of dinosaurs. Makes me wonder how far back song and dance go in the development of Human Beings.

  • @lookaroundyou8108
    @lookaroundyou8108 Рік тому +1

    I tried music fasting and i never felt better, mentally and emotionally.. music is beautiful (I play 2 instruments) but we consume too much of it in our everyday life.
    If you struggle with mood swings or focus try to quit listening to music for 3 days or so and you'll be surprised.

  • @MrDestroys
    @MrDestroys Рік тому +96

    And yet I still sound like a dying cow when I try to sing

  • @jamalcayman589
    @jamalcayman589 6 місяців тому

    I love how he speaks about the power of music. So articulate and scientific but also so feeling/emotion based.

  • @raymondtendau2749
    @raymondtendau2749 Рік тому +5

    Music inspires emotions.

  • @sagar.r
    @sagar.r Рік тому +13

    Congratulations on 5 Million 🎉

  • @PrimalMisfit
    @PrimalMisfit Рік тому +2

    Love it when smart British people explain common things on the level this guy does. They make what they are explaining sound appetizing, and this guy make music sound appetizing

  • @rohanpoddar2562
    @rohanpoddar2562 Рік тому +2

    i have a question: what happens when music becomes an addiction ?

  • @Screamo_RC
    @Screamo_RC Рік тому +4

    Music is all about the emotion the song provokes. The song has to make you feel what you want to feel in order to even listen to it.

  • @USAF-AMMO-461X0
    @USAF-AMMO-461X0 Рік тому +1

    All I know is I felt euphoric when I heard Peter Frampton sing… do you feel like I do… hooked on classic rock ever since…and I’m 63 play it daily… Zepplin, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Boston Bob Seger ….the list is endless..AC/DC to zztop

  • @samjohnson1818
    @samjohnson1818 Рік тому +20

    “It’s almost as if music is violence without the danger” Love that

    • @user-go8mz8qc6y
      @user-go8mz8qc6y Рік тому

      Nice words, I guess. I wonder how would you define violence, what is your concept of violence? Thanks in advance for sharing, and for helping me grasp.
      P.S. This is extra: personally i think of violence as either a burst of energy and emotions that is relieved physically as an automatic impulse; or as a conscious (or pseudo rational) human or animal response made concrete in order to archieve something, when other potential responses are not an option (or not as viable in terms of time availability, probability of success, and so on).
      I'm curious to hear other interpretations of violence :)

    • @rea280
      @rea280 Рік тому

      I would define it as an invasive, unconsenting action against another. Which is what music does?

  • @flamencoprof
    @flamencoprof Рік тому +1

    Excellent stuff! UA-cam has been a fantastic mind-expanding experience for me. As a 70+yo I had a long experience of listening to and playing music and a very short experience of dance before I got into YT rather late around 2014. Since then I have found and enjoyed so many genres, so much musical history, and so many kinds and styles of dance, from all over the world, that I have gone a bit mad with creating playlists. I favour finding live vids, then you see who can come up with the goods.
    I say all this because I have no doubt I am a musical animal, as were my father, mother, uncle, aunt, nephew, and grandfather, and are my brother, niece, daughters and grandchildren.

  • @xtanpx
    @xtanpx 8 місяців тому +3

    I guess, I am weird. Because I dont really enjoy music as much, infact I find it a bit irritating.

  • @prajnachan333
    @prajnachan333 Рік тому +1

    This clip is absolutely wonderful. It expresses exactly my thoughts and feelings about music.
    I started learning music very young, playing a black flute like in this video, then trumpet, violin, and bass in the orchestra.
    I got a record player at 13. My first records were: Creedence Clearwater- Born On The Bayou; Santana I;The Beatles- Rubbersoul; The Doors. Not a bad start for my brain (and heart!)
    My mother took me to the S.F. Symphony and Opera (!) And she played us to sleep on the piano with Chopin, Beethoven and Mozart.
    I have played electric guitar and bass for many audiences, and the interaction has been miraculous. A blessing to be sure.
    So my life has been absolutely flooded with music 🎶 of every kind!
    Thank you for this video, bravo!

  • @Zerej89
    @Zerej89 Рік тому +4

    Music is the greatest thing we’ve ever invented. 🙌🙌🙌

  • @jasonchiu272
    @jasonchiu272 Рік тому +1

    If I remember correctly, music is amongst the last things an Alzhimer's patient will forget. They will most likely forget how to eat and breathe properly before forgetting the music.

  • @kimberknutson831
    @kimberknutson831 Рік тому +31

    Wow. That was brilliant and profound. I listened and watched once. Then I got a pen and paper and planned to write down highlights and ended up writing down almost every word. The connections that are made throughout are just stunning, and connection is really the point, isn't it? That this professor teaches at a university in Liverpool was not lost on me. Hah! : ) I am American and a retired English Literature teacher who knows more about British History than American history because I always found it more interesting. If complexity is simply measured in years, then Great Britain certainly "wins." Perhaps my preference for British history was just a reaction to the "compression" of American history. Hard to say. America is the world's sick "Poster Child" for the evils of slavery, but let us not forget who is the sick "Poster Child" for the colonial enterprise itself, right? That is finally dying, thank goodness. That QE2 died recently seems apt in terms of symbolism. To return to the matter at hand, I want to thank this professor, all of the people involved in producing this truly excellent video, and Big Think itself. This made certain connections for me individually and personally that I appreciate more than mere words can adequately express for reasons outlined herein. I happen to be a retired professional intellectual, but I had the great fortune of living with Billy Hunt for 4 years while I was in high school. He was my step-father and happened to win a Grammy in 1964 for his solo performance of Days of Wine and Roses while he was playing with Woody Herman and the "Swingin' Herd." He is the most humble person I have ever known. I never knew about the Grammy when I lived with him and my mother during those 4 years. He taught me many things, but the most important thing he ever taught me was how to feel, which he did through music. I never knew he was doing this at the time, of course. Only in recent years did I realize it. Thank goodness again that I realized it in time to thank him before he passed after having lived a good, full life. Thanks again, Professor Spitzer and Big Think. So Damn good. : )

    • @blookolla
      @blookolla Рік тому +4

      What are you talking about?

    • @tupi9999
      @tupi9999 Рік тому +2

      @@blookolla Just let my mans talk

  • @a.duncan6791
    @a.duncan6791 Рік тому +1

    "Violence, without the danger." I wish I'd experienced this mini-tutorial the day before I started piano lessons as a youngster. It is, without a doubt, the most revelatory explanation of why I (and of course we) love music as much as I love anything, for a life without music would be no life at all.

  • @paulhardy8245
    @paulhardy8245 Рік тому +3

    Mothers in bat colonies also have the ability to distinguish the unique squeak of their pups amongst the squeak of tens of thousands of other bat puppies. If, for some reason, the mother does not make it back to the colony, the pup will die of starvation because the mothers will feed only their own offspring. Nature and the results of evolution are so fascinating.

  • @Yorkie111
    @Yorkie111 Рік тому +1

    Music helps me put my feelings into words and helps me process my emotions

  • @entrugion8548
    @entrugion8548 Рік тому +4

    I more closely associate the rhythm of music to the heart beat, but an association to movement and steps also makes sense. It kinda reminds me of the perspective Dune takes when it comes to movement.

  • @midis_touch
    @midis_touch Рік тому +1

    I've always said I use music to 'store' memories in a certain time when I'm going through something

  • @annfarmer9704
    @annfarmer9704 Рік тому +4

    If you want to experience the hair standing on end with goosebumps listen to the song hi-ren by Ren. In my 52 years on this planet and an extremely ecclectic music lover, I have never had such a deep emotional and physiological reaction to any song like I had with this one. I wasn't able to talk for a few moments after.....I felt all haywire for a bit after and then I settled into being in complete awe. Have a listen, it is worth it.

    • @thundershirt1
      @thundershirt1 Рік тому

      Many, many thanks for turning me on to that.

    • @annfarmer9704
      @annfarmer9704 Рік тому +1

      @@thundershirt1 you're welcome. I hope you enjoyed the experience. I have now discovered that the mind blown thing isn't just attached to that song. for some reason I thought I would become insured to that, at least a little bit, I was happily wrong!

  • @TenToAceStudios
    @TenToAceStudios Рік тому +1

    nothing I love more than having a song with a rythem that is in perfect time with my strides. it's so satasfying. I guess now I know why

  • @AndreideLosSantos
    @AndreideLosSantos Рік тому +4

    Music is your only friend until the end

  • @invox9490
    @invox9490 Рік тому +2

    I'm happy that almost everyone listening to music in this footage is wearing headphones. 😊

  • @willow7753
    @willow7753 Рік тому +4

    Im 55 and from the first time i heard heavy metal i was die hardfan.its in my blood! The last 17 years however i listen mostly melodic-deathand sferic-black metal.i have a preference for sad melodies for sure but also im a mysticus with great interest in quantumfysika and this music has many songs about other dimensions and nature and energy.also i have had a terrible live filled with misuse and abuse but metal always kept me going! Very greatfull.question:who knows how many mhrz melodic-deathmetal is?im also very interested in numbrrs and their energy

  • @ethereallydreaming
    @ethereallydreaming 8 місяців тому

    "Music is an excellent way of tagging memories, remembering the past, expressing your deepest emotions and your identity, which can't be captured by language, because music is far too precise for words." Idk why but I'm gonna cry

  • @tomorrowstrat
    @tomorrowstrat Рік тому +4

    There's an issue here worth looking at: pleasant/unpleasant sounds is a dualistic framing. So does learning to abandon preferences and enjoy all the sounds change the brain's response in the related parts? And if so, how? What are the longterm effects of repeatedly doing this?

    • @evamkaushik5392
      @evamkaushik5392 Рік тому +1

      Anecdotally, 'learning to abandon preferences' shouldn't change your favorites. You will still love the songs you created an association with, but by experiencing other sounds, you're not filtering to your preference. It's like when you go at a buffet and you try a bit of lots of different dishes but that doesn't change the fact that hash browns are still your favorite

    • @ghosttownreview1531
      @ghosttownreview1531 Рік тому

      One of the first lessons I learned getting my degree in music was to forget about the immediate response of "liking / disliking" music, or sounds. It's irrelevant to the process of learning, analyzing and performing a piece of music. Most musicians getting paid to play professionally in a symphony will find something in every piece they enjoy and also something they don't - either way, it doesn't affect the quality of the performance. For a musician who is not performing, but listening, Evam's points are absolutely true!

  • @JonSnowIII
    @JonSnowIII Рік тому +1

    I was glued to this.
    A very beautiful explanation!

  • @Shervin86
    @Shervin86 Рік тому +3

    I really would love to hear music from an entirely different species; extraterrestrial to be precise. I wonder if it will just sound like noise to us or if the basis of Rhythm, Harmony, and Melody are truly universal.

  • @Abbaswaz
    @Abbaswaz Рік тому +2

    so what are the disadvantages of music because everything with an advantage has a disadvantage

  • @commonsense2697
    @commonsense2697 Рік тому +4

    Ardi from Ethiopia.

  • @laurentpk
    @laurentpk 8 місяців тому +1

    I've experienced "Frisson" many times in my life listening to various types of music... wonderful...❤

  • @raddude4826
    @raddude4826 Рік тому +1

    Started tearing up hallway through just because he verbalized my love for music so well.

  • @siennaprice1351
    @siennaprice1351 Рік тому

    Music is my number 1 passion. I have Septo Optic Dysplasia and CPTSD, and I have such a strong love for music. I’ve been a music lover my whole life. I listen to music, and I play music. I even do music therapy, which I love deeply. There isn’t enough words for me to express how much I love music.

  • @malpal1213
    @malpal1213 Рік тому +3

    “Music is violence without the danger” that’s the best line I’ve ever heard. Beautiful

  • @midnightkitty8172
    @midnightkitty8172 Рік тому +1

    Christopher Lee said that he likes Heavy Metal because it's a very powerful form of music.
    Now I can see why.
    Thank you very much for explaining this phenomenon.

  • @mpv9866
    @mpv9866 Рік тому +12

    I would've like to hear him touch on synesthesia, and more on sound frequencies. Also would've loved to hear our very first ancestor who accidentally learned how to whistle, and felt that joy alongside them . My hairs are erecting just thinking about it 😂

  • @QuietTheWinterHarbor
    @QuietTheWinterHarbor Рік тому +1

    With out realising it when I’m walking and listing to music I always end up walking with the Rhythm of it

  • @AlbertKimMusic
    @AlbertKimMusic Рік тому +4

    music truly is far too precise for words

    • @dysanospa
      @dysanospa Рік тому +1

      off topic but your soundtracks are hella dope

  • @Mrwubz420
    @Mrwubz420 Рік тому +1

    Music saves my life, have to listen to something while working

  • @FaithfulFumoFan23
    @FaithfulFumoFan23 Рік тому +2

    I want to be able to "go in" to a song. Turn it into a complete audio visual experience. Imagine a rollercoaster where you can literally ride the sound waves of a song.

    • @danlightened
      @danlightened Рік тому

      Interesting! What genres do you usually listen to?

    • @andymayneau
      @andymayneau Рік тому

      make it happen

  • @ThomasGilmore-fi6gb
    @ThomasGilmore-fi6gb 2 місяці тому

    Music tells me things that words could never express.

  • @rikurodriguesneto6043
    @rikurodriguesneto6043 11 місяців тому

    Great example of explaining things not making them harder to appreciate, but easier

  • @picklerick7953
    @picklerick7953 20 днів тому

    Music for me is a way to travel back in time and relive the emotions and the state of mind i was in while listening to these songs when they came out its like the preservation of my mind at different points in time.

  • @jessebob325
    @jessebob325 Рік тому +3

    I have a brother-in-law who says he's never liked music. He says he doesn't get it. Other than that he's a good an easy going man. 😐☕

    • @greatexpectations6577
      @greatexpectations6577 Рік тому +8

      Please, report him to the local authorities. Thank you.

    • @maryrosekent8223
      @maryrosekent8223 Рік тому +1

      🎶What a strange, strange boy🎶

    • @GGoAwayy
      @GGoAwayy Рік тому +1

      4% of people are born with amusia and can't hear melodies.

  • @stclair2012
    @stclair2012 Рік тому +1

    Music is honestly not that complex. It is as simple as the sound of the wind and the crackle of a fire. From the perspective of a musician, music is just another language. No one taught us as children how to speak, we just started doing it. Music is part of us in this very same way.

  • @FatalShotGG
    @FatalShotGG Рік тому

    Mimesis. It's why I feel such empathy for animals. I put myself in their shoes constantly.

  • @grantsmythe8625
    @grantsmythe8625 Рік тому +3

    Very insightful.

  • @eduardovelazquez9297
    @eduardovelazquez9297 Рік тому +2

    Music is the Universal Language

  • @prometheanevent
    @prometheanevent 11 місяців тому

    I’ve always been intrigued - amazed - that the thoughts and feelings of a person long deceased can be resurrected on a stage by musicians whose brains are causing them to move and bring a dormant composition back to life. All the intermediate steps, a score, conducting, performing, waking a composition. A piece of music has a personality from another time and place that we can interact with in the here and now - ‘ Truly amazing.

  • @lmohammed81
    @lmohammed81 8 місяців тому

    The prignant woman at the end gaving her son music . Is something that you cannot explain by words.

  • @markberman6708
    @markberman6708 Рік тому +2

    This was a fantastic description of music and the role is plays within us. Wonderful video.

  • @andrewtee
    @andrewtee Рік тому +1

    That's why iPod / Sony walkman was so successful. Music connects people.
    The key word of all successful social network. "Connecting people".

  • @Tedatk
    @Tedatk 4 місяці тому

    Editing team need a raise.

  • @Will-xl7xp
    @Will-xl7xp Рік тому +1

    That’s what our ancients did since the dawn of time. Gather together and chant. Make sounds together