International Music Day

6 November 2025

More than a Feeling: The Importance of Music on Emotional Wellbeing

What music do you like? What is it about music that that brings you joy, tears, nostalgia or calm? Whether it be pop, jazz, rap or instrumental music that elevates our favourite movie moments, music is everywhere and it can impact us more than we may realise. Try typing the following songs into YouTube, give them a listen, and find one word or more on the emotions wheel for how it makes you feel. You could also get a friend, sibling, parent or carer to do the same and see how different music can sometimes bring out different emotions for different people.

Songs:

I Giorni – Ludovico Einaudi

All by myself – Celine Dion

Dancing Queen – Mamma Mia!

Test Drive – John Powell

Why does this happen?

Rhythm and beat can have a positive impact on our emotional wellbeing in many ways as music is something we are attuned to from birth. As one researcher put it, “starting with hearing the heartbeat in the mother’s womb, children have a natural ability to move to beats and rhythms”.

If music is a natural part of each of us from birth, it makes sense that it can change our emotions too as we know that emotional and physical feelings are linked. For example, when stressed you might feel sweaty or when anxious you might feel your heart start to race. Studies have found music has the power to calm your heart rate and regulate your breathing, bringing us back into a relaxed state.

Rhythm is central to music therapies which have been found to reduce social anxiety. When listening to music, your hormones may also change. ‘Oxytocin’ (a feel-good hormone) increases, while ‘Cortisol’ (the stress hormone) can decrease.

Music Lyrics and Empathy

Writing lyrics can be a creative output for many, but did you know it can also make you more empathetic? Listening to pop music with prosocial lyrics such as “where is the love?” by the Black-Eyed Peas can make you feel more empathetic and even buy more fair-trade products. Furthermore, music in the classroom has been found to not only evoke calm, creativity and motivation in individuals but listening to the same rhythm with others can also create group harmony. This can stimulate discussions and help us complete tasks, building social bonds with the people we spend time listening to music with.

Music and Memory

It is important to note the role that music can have with our memory. Have you ever noticed how when you hear a certain song you are transported back to a time with your friends or to a favourite summer holiday? Music can trigger our memories and cause us to feel emotions that are tied to the event we are remembering. This is because music, emotion and memory are all well linked in our brains, making music a natural memory cue. One way that we know music and emotion are closely linked is by what our brains do when we are playing an instrument. One study showed that people who deliberately played the piano emotionally versus people who tried to play with no emotion at all led to different areas of the brain being activated.

How can we use music to help us?

With all this information on how music can impact our lives, it only makes sense to use music as a tool for our day-to-day emotional wellbeing. Share music you like with others and use it to connect. Listen to music to process difficult emotions or to feel a sense of calm. Learn or play an instrument. Listen to music to help you study or build a playlist for when things feel difficult and you need to step back to focus on yourself.

The reason we turn to music in times of trouble is because music produces more than a feeling in each of us. It triggers memories, calms our bodies and even activates different areas of our brains. The power of music on our emotional wellbeing really is amazing, so to finish, why don’t you go and spend 15 minutes listening to your favourite music before you start the next part of your day 😊.