7 fascinating ways music can affect your emotions

This was originally published in Tone Deaf.

Music has power. It can alter your mood in ways that are sometimes beyond control. Whether that means switching from happy to sad, angry to calm or nonchalant to nostalgic – there is no doubt that music affects you.

While you probably know the impact music has on your moods and emotions, there are many other areas of our lives where those sweet sounds play a role.

Music psychologist and Program Director of Psychology at Swinburne Online, Nikki Rickard shares some little known ways that music shapes the way we behave. Nikki has become a leading researcher in music psychology and in 2014 was appointed President of the Australian Music and Psychology Society, the peak professional body for music psychology in Australia.

Music is better than sex, drugs and money

Who needs sex, drugs and money when you have rock and roll? That’s right – playing your favorite tracks can make you feel like you’re having exceptional sex, have just come into a pile of cash or are on an extreme high.

So next time you’re looking for a bit of excitement in your life, save yourself the drama and spend a night in with your favorite tunes pumped up.

You can calm yourself with ‘extreme’ music

Whether you love Slayer, Escape the Fate, Bring Me the Horizon, Parkway Drive or even a bit of Iron Maiden you might be surprised to know that the anger you feel isn’t coming from that thudding drop d.

Research indicates that music classified as ‘extreme’ (metal and punk to you and I) can actually make you calmer. Listening to ‘extreme’ music will make you feel calm because it’s an emotional regulator. When you use it in this way, it connects with your negative emotions and processes them to make you feel positive.

Music from adolescence has a unique place in our minds