does music tell us how to feel?

We all know that music can effect our moods, but does it tell us how to feel?

If we see a love scene in a film, a euphoric moment of bliss, the happy ever after; some lovey dovey music instantly victimizes our ears, we a programmed from that moment on to believe that they have found their fairy-tale ending.

If we see a chase scene, the music is instantly knocked up a notch and the tempo makes us feel as if we are in the driving seat. Our adrenaline rushes and we reach for fifth gear until we realize we are sat in a cinema seat and not the driving seat of a BMW.

Sad moments...dun dun dun, sad music, we know we are meant to feel sad now, so we do.

Just look at the clip above, (ignore the fact that I know that dance down to the ground) we know from the moment salt and pepper step up to the mic that we are in the presence of friends.

But are we being guided into believing something that isn't really there? just a note, but, the brunette is sleeping with the blonde's fiance...not such a pally scene now huh!?

We do this because we are cognitively programmed into thinking of a mood, some salient details, the gist of a story and not what really happened. We live in a euphoria, for three minutes of a song, one hundred and twenty four minutes of a film, until the lion roars its last roar and the credits start to roll and poof, welcome to reality.

B x