Notes

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
We’ve all experienced that feeling when a song comes on the radio that pulls on those teenage heartstrings and triggers memories and emotions from days of reckless abandon. The reason for this is that memories and familiar music from your adolescent years are integrated in a small part of our brain called the medial prefrontal cortex.
Teenage years are vital to self-discovery and filled with lots of emotional charge, which tend to be remembered better because of the arousal hormones released meaning that the two become strongly intertwined and stay with you for longer.
Sad Music Is More Emotionally Powerful Than Happy Music
Happy songs can put you in a great mood and truly lift your spirits, but more often it’s the sorrow-filled pieces that take our emotions. The overpowering feelings of sadness and melancholy that you get when listening to Jeff Buckley’s cover of Hallelujah or Johnny Cash’s cover of Hurt are amplified because they resonate with your feelings. Sometimes this is more meaningful to your growth or understanding than cheerful songs.