GabyWhen we hear an unpredictable, striking musical passage, its chords can feel like they resonate in our heart. But when a melody is predictable, it tends to affect the stomach.
A new study from Tokyo and Hiroshima Universities finds that music triggers physical responses throughout the body.
What Scientists Discovered
Researchers wanted to understand how musical themes and individual chords produce specific bodily sensations and emotions. The team recruited 527 participants. After listening to eight melodies, volunteers indicated which areas of their bodies were affected by the music.
Each melody contained a sequence of chords with varying degrees of uncertainty and surprise. When participants heard an unexpected chord and the melody felt novel or eerie, listeners reported sensations in the heart. When the chord sequence was predictable, the study found that listeners reported sensations in the stomach.
Heart sensations were closely linked to aesthetic appreciation and feelings of pleasure, and those sensations coincided with reduced discomfort and anxiety. Stomach sensations, triggered by predictable chord sequences, were associated with calmness, satisfaction, and nostalgia.
Professor and pianist Tatsuya Daikoku of the University of Tokyo commented on the results: “Our study shows that certain chord sequences evoke similar bodily sensations in specific organs, especially the brain, heart, and abdominal cavity.”
He said music is not just something we hear with our ears — it is a sensation of the whole body. That whole-body sensation, he added, helps define music.
Because the study links music to bodily sensations, music could be used to relieve stress and improve mental health.
That’s the view of the study’s authors; the results were published in the journal iScience.
