Washington: Ever wonder why is it that when you are listening to music, you feel pleasantly captivated and peaceful? A recent study has tried understanding the logic behind this phenomenon.
According to their findings, published in the latest issue of ‘Scientific Reports’, a listener’s engagement decreases with repetition of music, but only for familiar music pieces. However, unfamiliar musical styles can sustain an audience’s interest, in particular for individuals with some musical training.
“Across repeated exposures to instrumental music, inter-subject correlation decreased for music written in a familiar style,” said Lucas Parra, lead author of the study suggested. “What is so cool about this is that by measuring people’s brainwaves we can study how people feel about music and what makes it so special,” says Madsen.
In addition, participants with formal musical training showed more inter-subject correlation and sustained it across exposures to music in an unfamiliar style. This distinguishes music from other domains, where interest drops with repetition. —ANI
