Throughout the marvelous highs and maddening lows, music can easily manipulate mood. When genre, the general feel of a sound, is especially taken into consideration, it is easy to see the correlation between emotion and music. Upbeat music leads to happiness, while darker music can lead to more negative emotions—it’s pretty simple. But what type of genres specifically can overlap and complement one another for all of life’s emotions? This overlap and also the depth to which music influences the body and the brain are important to consider as more complexity is added to this introspective look into the relationship between music and moods.

The genres that create a more positive array of emotions include any music that is useful for focus, like classical music, any music that naturally gives you an energy boost, like rock n’ roll, dance, or pop music, or any music that just naturally makes you feel calmer, like reggae and the blues, and any music that serves as an instant pick-me-up, like Broadway music or Latino music. Though each of these types of correlations are distinctly unique, there is one common way in which they all unite. As mood and energy boosters, these genres generally lead to a set of emotions that helps people overcome exhaustion and negative emotion in order to find the strength to improve their overall happiness.

Similarly, another related set of emotions can quickly define different types of mood that fall under the more negative side of human feelings, including sadness, anger, anxiety, and more. For instance, classic love songs are not the best to listen to after a break-up… evidently, the contrast to how you’re feeling and what the music portrays is pretty much a conflict of emotions. Additionally, listening to country music has sometimes been linked to depression, so if you’re not feeling your best, perhaps there are some better options.

In the middle, we have music that can go either way in its influence on mood. More specifically, rap and hip hop music definitely can lead to a contrast of emotions. While some types of music from this genre can promote anger and violence, others have been known to be relaxing. Comparably, the intense sound and aggressive messages of heavy metal music can evidently have negative effects on mood, but at the same time, there are people that find this genre to be “their jam.” It’s all dependent on what you like and how you react to certain types of music. Each reaction and each emotion will probably be unique to an individual’s tastes and thoughts at certain moments in time.

Music has become an integral part of our culture, but studies have shown that it’s also an important way to boost overall health, positivity, and happiness. This falls right in line with those genres that lead to positive emotions. By boosting mood and perpetuating these positive emotions, music allows people to start to build minds and bodies that have the potential to be more at ease, full of more energy, and brimming with positivity.

Not only is music just a way to express oneself and connect with others, it’s also a way to help the body heal. For centuries, music therapy has existed as one of the simplest types of treatments out there. When soothing rhythms of music are utilized, it can let heart rate slow down, making it easier to breathe. It’s important to take this time to relax at some point in your day through music or in another way no matter where you are and what you’re doing.

Finally, music has many benefits in the way it allows people to be creative, and in the way it allows others to feed off of that creative energy. This creativity, therefore, can have a positive effect on both the creators and the listeners. Whether you are on the creative end, the listening end, or both, remember to choose the music that will be best for you in the long run that can lead to good moods, positive vibes, and a happier, healthier lifestyle.

Citations:

Boothby, Suzanne. “How Music Affects Our Moods.” Healthlines RSS News. Healthline Media, 17 May 2013. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.

Mamiverse Team. “How Types of Music Genres Can Affect Your Mood – Mamiverse.” Mamiverse. N.p., 16 July 2014. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.