mind_blown_gif

12 fascinating scientific studies about music that’ll make you nerd out

[GIF by: Popkey]

Science rules. And it rules even harder when it explains questions in the music world.

There have been studies on everything from why people hate Nickelback to what makes for good workout music to where your brain changes when you decide you want to buy a song.

Here are 12 scientific studies that show how nerdy rock can be.

1. Mosh pits act like atoms

Mosh pit GIF
[GIF by: Giphy]

There’s a little more science to an uncontrollable mosh pit than you might think. These researchers put together a module with different variables and studied mosh pit videos on YouTube, and discovered that there was a correlation between moshers and random gases. (You can even play with the module here.)

2. Heavy music makes you calmer

Calm GIF
[GIF by: Giphy]

This study showed that heavy music (i.e., emo, metal, hardcore screamo) enhanced positive emotions. “Results showed levels of hostility, irritability and stress decreased after music was introduced, and the most significant change reported was the level of inspiration [the subjects] felt,” the research said.

3. Men should avoid rock music when they play board games

Operation GIF
[GIF by: Giphy]

An oddly specific study, but potentially valuable on the next board game night? Maybe. In this study, men made more mistakes in the board game Operation when listening to AC/DC, when compared to their performance when listening to Mozart. Interestingly, music didn’t affect women’s board game skills. The one, possible exception? Gerard Way.

4. Plants don’t like rock music

Plant GIF
[GIF by: Giphy]

Plenty of researchers have studied how different kinds of music affect plant growth, and it’s been found that rock music had a negative effect on plants; the leaves were often smaller and the plants died faster when listening to rock.

5. Rock makes for good workout music (behind hip-hop)

Richard Simmons GIF
[GIF by: Giphy]

When it comes to working out, this study showed that tempo and rhythm response are the most important aspects of good exercise music. In a poll, 24 percent of college students use rock music for working out, second only behind hip-hop (27.7 percent of college students preferred this).

6. Why people hate Nickelback so much

Nickelback GIF
[GIF by: Imgur]

Everyone loves to hate Nickelback, and a Finnish researcher wanted to find why. Salli Anttonen read through reviews of the band’s music and said that the main issue people had was that it wasn’t authentic enough. “Overall, the descriptions imply that the songs are not genuine self-expression written willingly, but instead forced and made for commercial reasons,” the researcher wrote. Ouch.

CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

SaveSave

7. Your brain changes when you decide you want to buy music

Kid throws money GIF
[GIF by: Giphy]

While their brains were being analyzed in an fMRI machine, participants were asked to say how much money they’d be willing to pay for samples of music. And based on what areas of their brains lit up, researchers could make a guess on if they’d buy it or not. “There is actually a network of activity that predicts whether or not you're going to buy this music as you're listening to the music,” the researcher said.

8. Bass is the most important instrument in a band

Bass GIF
[GIF by: Giphy]

A study showed that people were more likely to tap their feet and find the rhythm when a sound was played in a lower tone, like a bass guitar.

9. Drummers have pretty unique brains

Drumming GIF
[GIF by: Giphy]

Drummers scored better on intelligence tests. They use a different internal clock. They were better at community building. Lots of studies exist on drummers’ brains, and many of them show the strengths of being a musician.

10. Live music reduces stress (duh)

Parkway Drive GIF
[GIF by: Giphy]

Like we didn’t already know this one—but the science is still pretty interesting. Scientists took saliva samples before and after participants went to a show, and the samples after showed lower levels of stress hormones.

11. Metal and classical fans have a lot in common

Conductor GIF
[GIF by: Giphy]

You wouldn’t think a fan of Beethoven would have a ton in common with a fan of Black Sabbath, but this research shows otherwise. “We think the answer is that both types of music, classical and heavy metal, have something of the spiritual about them—they're very dramatic—a lot happens,” the researcher said in an interview.

12. Simple music sells more

Simple Plan GIF
[GIF by: Giphy]

Looking at the “instrumentational complexity” (or, how unique a song is), this study showed that within a given genre, the bands that get the most album sales typically have decreasing instrumentational complexity. The study says, “This can be interpreted as music becoming increasingly formulaic in terms of instrumentation once commercial or mainstream success sets in.”

What others should be added to this list? Let us know in the comments!

SaveSave

Categories: