Tuned to the mood of the music

One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain . — Bob Marley

I've heard many times how music transports you to different places, reminds you of someone or brings you to other times of your life.

During the last few years, I've been listening to all types of music and it has always surprised me the effect it can have on your brain, particularly your mood. Ever happened to be hooked with your headsets on, at a coffee bar, listening to your playlist and suddenly have this urge to start singing the current song? — Well, it happened to me many times :)

Talking to friends I found that some people are very sensitive to style, for example, listening to electronic music for working or classical music for studying which helps with concentration. Whichever style of music lift you up or take you down is very subjective, but, in the end, there is no doubt about its effect. Other people have a stronger situational reaction, it takes them to different place or time, reminds them of something and makes them feel like they felt when listening to those tracks in the past.

I've come to realize that the influence of music works two way. Let say you might have been going through a bad moment in your life and while you were in the struggle you listened to a playlist that made you feel a bit better. Maybe some years later, you are in a completely different (better?) mood but listening to those songs again brings you a little bit to this past moment which disrupts your current feelings.

I call this effect anchoring, effectively using music as a bookmark to take you to moments in your life when you were happy (or sad). This activates all type of reactions of different degrees, bringing you memories and situational feelings — a powerful tool to free yourself from a current state of mind that you want to change.

Music is definitely one the most positive hacks to our minds that we have invented.