Live music speaks to the soul.
Recent research suggests that live musical performances have a profound impact on the brain, surpassing the effects of listening to recorded music. Lead researcher Sascha Fruhholz, a professor of cognitive and affective neuroscience at the University of Zurich, explained that live music triggers stronger and more consistent activity in the emotional center of the brain, known as the amygdala, compared to recorded music.
Fruhholz emphasized that live performances stimulate a more dynamic exchange of information throughout the entire brain, indicating heightened emotional and cognitive processing. While previous studies have shown that recorded music can evoke emotional and imaginative responses, it remained uncertain whether live music elicits a distinct brain response.
To investigate this, researchers conducted MRI brain scans on 27 individuals while they listened to a pianist performing live music. The pianist adjusted the performance to intensify the audience’s emotions based on the MRI feedback. Participants also listened to a recorded version of the same music by the same musician.
The study revealed that only live music exhibited a strong and positive correlation between the musical performance’s features and brain activity in listeners. Live music also fostered a robust synchronization between the participants’ emotional experience and the auditory brain system, responsible for evaluating music based on its acoustic qualities, a synchronization not observed with recorded music.
Based on these findings, the researchers concluded that the experience of attending a live concert cannot be replicated by listening to recorded music at home. Fruhholz suggested that this preference for live music may stem from humanity’s evolutionary relationship with music, as people seek the emotional journey offered by live performances.
Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, this study sheds light on the unique neurological effects of live musical experiences, underscoring their significance in human emotional and cognitive processing.
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