Avraham Fried, Gad Elbaz, Mordechai Ben David, Yaakov Shweki, Michael Streicher, Yaniv Ben Mashiach, Haim Israel, Meidad Tsa, Farhi Miami, Yishai Lapidot, we love to listen to all these people. They are talented singers, and the music they produce is pleasant to our ears.
But what is still unclear is - why do we like to hear them?
What do you mean, because we enjoy listening to music?.
But why do we enjoy listening to music? What is it about music that makes us enjoy it? Why don't we enjoy the noise of a drill, a tractor, a running engine? Have you ever thought about it?
It turns out that the study yielded a number of answers that are not necessarily identical, and they may teach us something about ourselves.
Belonging
Music makes us feel like we belong to something. It puts us together with an element bigger than ourselves, and that feeling of being part of a group, a collective, is pleasant to us.
The proof for this argument is expressed in the fact that every country has its own anthem, and that many people belonging to a certain group in the population have the same taste in music.
How many of us or our close friends prefer black music over Shweki's new record? Who of us or our friends would prefer to hear a hip-hop band on Simchat Torah night instead of going to the Chabad village for a second round?
The connection to emotions
Music connects us to the emotions we are experiencing at that moment. When we are sad we speak slowly and in low tones. When we are happy and full of energy our speech is higher pitched and has high tones.
Mournful songs – soul songs or songs of terror as they are called, are characterized by low, slow tones. They associate us with our state of mind.
This is why after terrorist attacks we ask to hear those sad, mournful songs on the radio. This is also why in the doctor's waiting room, the place where we should be calm, quiet, relaxing music is played.
At weddings, sporting events, elections, or in the gym, the music, on the other hand, is loud and fast. At these times, we strive to hear high-pitched, energetic sounds.
All math
Our brains love to recognize patterns. That's why [simple] math exercises are easy for us and we enjoy solving them. So is a logic puzzle.
When we listen to a song, we try to guess probable [Or to anticipate a twist in the plot, that is, in the poem. We try to identify a pattern.
This is why songs without a regular pattern are less popular with us. It's also why it's commonly said that to enjoy a new record, you have to listen to it several times.
Why? Because then we recognize the pattern of the song, and our brain receives the pleasure it is programmed for.
So why do we enjoy it the first time? Because the surprise and effort to recognize the melody's pattern is pleasant to us.
Stations in life
Music brings us back to the stations in our lives, even if this is done unconsciously.
For example, we love the music we used to listen to in yeshiva. This music reminds us of those days and makes us relive those experiences.
Wedding music reminds us of the last happy event we attended, as does upbeat gym music.
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