music – Success Across Cultures

Music holds a unique position in the human experience.

It transcends language and culture to evoke emotions that resonate deep within us.

A recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences examined music’s impact on our bodies and emotions and investigated its universal appeal and divergence across different cultures.

Mapping Sensations Across Borders

Music has long been recognized for its ability to elicit emotion and bodily responses, from foot tapping to goosebumps.

But what exactly drives these sensations, and are they consistent across cultures?

Drawing participants from both Western and East Asian cultures, the study included a range of musical preferences and sensitivities.

By analyzing responses to a curated selection of songs, researchers sought to uncover patterns in bodily sensations and emotional experiences evoked by different types of music.

The study revealed striking similarities as well as divergent experiences in the way individuals from distinct cultural backgrounds responded to music.

Despite differences in musical preferences and exposure, participants reported consistent emotional experiences and bodily sensations across various genres and styles of music.

Amidst this harmony of emotions, a notable discrepancy emerged concerning familiarity with the music.

As one might expect, Western participants exhibited a greater familiarity with Western songs, whereas East Asian participants demonstrated a stronger connection to music from their own cultural sphere, reflecting the influence of exposure and upbringing on musical preferences.

Visualizing Musical Effects

Through the use of bodily sensation maps (BSMs), researchers were able to visualize how different musical attributes, such as tempo, rhythm, and melody, influenced participants’ subjective experiences.

Sad or tender melodies elicited sensations primarily in the head and chest regions, with Western participants particularly experiencing the haunting effects of melancholic tunes in their gut.

Conversely, danceable and joyful melodies induced sensations distributed across the body, with a concentration of effects in the limbs, reflecting the infectious energy of upbeat rhythms.

Notably, music categorized as aggressive triggered sensations pervading the entire body, with a heightened intensity in the head region.

This visceral response underscores the profound impact of music on our physiological state, eliciting a holistic bodily experience that mirrors the emotional intensity of the composition.

East Asian participants exhibited more consistent activation in the head, legs, and arms across different musical categories, suggesting a nuanced sensitivity to the varied aspects of music.

Conversely, Western participants reported a more uniform sensation concentrated in the chest area, particularly pronounced in response to melancholic or tender melodies, reflecting cultural differences in emotional expression and bodily awareness.

Despite these variations, the study revealed a remarkable convergence in the association between musical features and emotional dimensions across cultures.

Musical attributes such as slight harmonic changes, low roughness, and clear keys were consistently linked to emotions of tenderness and sadness, while complex rhythms and unclear keys evoked feelings of scariness or aggressiveness.

Implications and Future Directions

Whether it’s Beethoven’s symphonies or traditional Chinese melodies, the language of music speaks to us all in ways that defy cultural divides.

These findings not only underscore the universal language of music but also highlight its profound impact on our emotional and physical well-being.

By understanding the connection between music, emotions, and bodily sensations, we can gain deeper insights into the human experience and potentially utilize the therapeutic power of music to promote healing and connection across communities.

When talking about culture, this is the 10 Cultural Universals category that first jumps to mind.

Art, music, literature, sport, and any other vivid representation of culture falls under the category of cultural expression.

As one of the loudest and most dynamic parts of culture, expression is the paint pallet that brings the picture to life.

Art.

Where would Mexican muralism be without “the big three” – David Alfaro Siqueiros, Diego Rivera, and José Clemente Orozco?

The Mexican Revolution spurred artworks with a political and social message. Beginning in the 1920s, the Mexican muralism movement lasted more than fifty years.

Artworks were often commissioned by the government, itself, and were mainly large and colorful storytelling pieces, celebrating Mexico’s rich history, coupled with the moral degradation of imperialism, dictatorships, and war.

This form of cultural expression illustrated the importance of history and politics to the Mexican people in this era of change. The bold colors and lines of their pieces also showcased the artistic and cultural aesthetic.

Music. blog53-1 Flamenco music and dance in Spain is one of the liveliest representations of an already lively culture.

The dance, which is one full of controlled movement, intense facial expression, and dramatic costume, experienced its golden age from 1869 to 1910 but is still very popular today.

Along with evocative singing, the Spanish guitar, hand drums, and the Flamenco clap, known as Palmas, the experience of Spanish music and dance draws the emotions of the performers and the audience into one powerful crescendo.

Literature.

Nikolai Gogol. Anton Chekhov. Leo Tolstoy. Fyodor Dostoevsky.

The Russian soul is best expressed in the works of its greatest writers.

Literature is a canvas of cultural self-reflection. Many of the greatest authors of any given time or place know just how to record and express what their culture is in that moment…and across the ages, as well.

Dostoevsky said the Russian soul was a dark place, and Alexei K. Tolstoy captured that place in one beautiful quote:

“It is sad, yet joyful, on a silent summer’s night, in a voiceless wood, to hear a Russian song. Here we find unlimited sadness without hope. Here, also is unconquerable strength and the unalterable stamp of Fate; here, also is iron predestination, one of the primitive foundations of the Russian national identity, through which much can be explained which seemed inexplicable in Russian life.”

The great literary masters are able to articulate the very essence of what it’s like to be Russian.

And if that isn’t the power of cultural expression in a nutshell, then I don’t know what is.

Creative expression is the living and breathing spirit of a culture. It breathes life into society, explodes onto the canvas, and serves as a monumental representation of who we are as one.

Tag: music

The Universal Language of Music: A Study of Shared & Divergent Emotions Across Cultures

10 Cultural Universals: Cultural Expression