Music can affect people's emotions through its tone, which has been noticed as early as the ancient Greek times. They believe that the key of E is stable, the key of D is warm, the key of C is harmonious, the key of B is sad, the key of A is high, the key of G is impetuous, and the key of F is lustful. The ancient Greek philosopher and scientist Aristotle praised the key of C, believing that the key of C is the most suitable for cultivating sentiments.
However, scientific research on the impact of music on animal behavior and human physical and mental health has only been conducted since the 18th century.
As for the impact of music on people's emotions, someone once selected 290 famous songs and tested them on 20,000 people, all of which caused emotional changes in the listeners. The magnitude of emotional changes is directly proportional to the subject's appreciation ability. However, music can only cause abstract emotions, such as anger, fear, jealousy, etc.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Helmholtz, the famous German physiologist and psychologist, and some later scientists conducted in-depth and detailed research on the effects of sound on the auditory organs and auditory nerves. They discovered that an auditory nerve fiber only receives and conducts sound of one corresponding frequency. The physiological effect of music first begins through the effect of sound on people's auditory organs and auditory nerves, and then affects the activities of muscles, blood vessels and other organs throughout the body. Some research suggests that sound can increase muscle strength. Fast and enjoyable music can eliminate muscle fatigue. Others find that pulse and breathing speeds increase when the tone is in complete harmony or when the intensity of the music suddenly changes, and when a tune is about to end. Some people have also studied that sad music slows down the pulse rate, while cheerful music makes the pulse rate faster.
Because music can affect people's physiological activities, especially emotional activities. Therefore, people can use music to improve and adjust the physiological and psychological functions of the human body, thereby achieving the purpose of treating diseases and improving health.
The term "music therapy" officially appeared in the 1940s. In the 1950s, for the first time in the United States, there were diplomas for "music therapists." Modern music therapy uses music as a kind of activity therapy, that is, to obtain therapeutic effects through specific music activities. This treats music not only as an art, but also as a science. Music therapy is a pathological treatment rather than a pathological treatment. It focuses on the whole person rather than any one part. By adjusting the whole person and even the living environment to achieve harmony, psychological and physical morbidity can be eliminated. For people, music is not only a simple sound, but also a combination of sounds with a certain meaning. It is a tool for communication between people. Therefore, in the process of music therapy, not only the efforts of the music therapist are required, but also the patient's subjective initiative is required. Only through the cooperation of both parties can the therapeutic effect be achieved.
In recent years, music therapy has been widely used in European and American countries. Many hospitals, nursing homes and rehabilitation institutions use music therapy. Clinical practice has proven that patients with hypertension can lower their blood pressure by 10-12 mmhg when listening to a violin concerto; allowing mothers to listen to music can relieve their irritability and facilitate delivery. The dental treatment room of Cambridge University in the UK also used music instead of anesthetics to successfully extract diseased teeth for more than 200 patients. Music is widely used in the treatment of melancholic and manic mental patients.
When you are feeling down, listen to music.