Music can evoke both pleasant and unpleasant memories, serving as a therapy tool in their wake.
Many songs that evoke romantic feelings are about love. They may serve as a reminder of a lost romance or as inspiration for future ones.
If you love a song, give its artist some love – this will show that you care and make their day!
It’s Magic
Music has the incredible ability to inspire and elicit emotional responses in people from both positive and negative contexts, be they good or bad. Music can uphold and motivate; or relax, soothe, rejuvenate and revive us; love is tied tightly with music so it should come as no surprise that so many songs celebrate this emotion through song.
Magic by Kylie Minogue is one of the most beloved songs about love and music. This energetic track celebrates the magic of music and imagination and was released as the fourth single from her Level 3 album in 2013. A mix of dance-pop and synthpop genres, its catchy melody will keep you grooving all day long!
There are many songs that pay homage to music’s power, like I Put A Spell On You by Nina Simone and Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic by The Police. These tracks use music as a medium for conveying feelings of love, longing, desire, longing and other forms of emotional release; serving as an outlet to share experiences and emotions across cultures while uniting us as humans through shared experience and emotion exchange. Such songs serve as great testaments of music’s transformative potential in today’s society!
Another magical quality of music lies in its reflection of life’s rhythms. Music mirrors this evolution by continually evolving and changing – which serves as a beautiful metaphor for our own lives as well. For instance, in a Punjabi folk song known as Paar Chanaa De (which translates to “Across the River Chenab”) the singer tells the tale of two lovers who meet and fall in love at once but then are parted apart due to war; yet their mutual affection remains eternal.
Music is unlike any other art form because its impact is so intimately tied to our emotions and experiences, making it truly magical. Listening to music triggers internal neurological processes which unlock various emotional experiences – including romantic love. According to research at McGill University, listening to music may cause the brain to release dopamine (known as “feel-good chemicals”) while also increasing production of oxytocin (known as the “cuddle hormone”). These findings explain why we feel such a deep emotional bond with music.
It’s Rhythm
One emotion that unites all music lovers is rhythm. We yearn for its steady pulse in songs of love, loss and longing; when dancing with significant others or listening in the car with our children. That is what makes Plain White T’s song “Rhythm of Love” timeless.
Though different songs may have greater emotional effects than others, music’s connection with our emotions has long been established. A McGill University study demonstrated how listening to music can trigger dopamine release – known as the feel-good chemical. Singing songs even increases this release by inducing oxytocin production known as the “cuddle hormone,” further reinforcing positive associations associated with musical experience.
Fleur Bouwer, a neuroscientist from University of Amsterdam, has conducted extensive research into how humans perceive rhythm. She found that humans recognize it regardless of musical training (i.e. music lessons) or focus (e.g. focused attention). Recognizing these underlying patterns may be an evolutionary adaptation that allows us to form bonds by creating shared rhythms – whether singing along to pop tunes in our cars or clapping back and forth at football stadiums.
It’s Familiar
Music has long been used to convey feelings of love, sadness and joy. No matter whether it be platonic love, romantic romance, familial affection or any other form, experiencing love is something most people share and long for – music captures this emotion beautifully through melodies, rhythms, tunes and lyrics that tell a love story that many songs tend to center around this subject matter.
Liam Payne and Colombian singer J Balvin’s song, ‘Familiar’ is an intimate love song inspired by being in love with someone that makes you feel as if no other has. Released as a bonus track on his debut studio album LP1, “Familiar” was produced by Mike Sabath with additional writing from LunchMoney Lewis, Balvin, Sean Douglas and Mike Sabath; its music video premiered four months later directed by Mark Klasferf.
According to a study published in Scientific Reports, familiarity plays an essential part in our enjoyment of listening to music. Researchers asked participants to rate their enjoyment from listening to a short extract of each song on a scale from 1-10 when listening to familiar extracts and decrease when exposed to unfamiliar extracts. When familiar extracts increased significantly while unfamiliar ones decreased dramatically.
Though certain songs elicit more feelings of romance than others, music and emotion do have an inextricable link. A McGill University study demonstrated this correlation, with specific music leading to increased levels of dopamine and oxytocin release from brain regions which increase feelings of love.
It’s Life
Since time immemorial, musicians have used music to help us express the full range of human emotions through rhythms, tunes, melodies and lyrics. Music has been there when we need comfort or are laughing or crying or simply feeling romantic love – not surprising since many songs exist about it!
Music provides us with a way to remain grounded and remember what matters in life – something music does wonderfully. Music transports us instantly to another time or realm, helping us escape life’s hardships for an instantaneous relief – just for one song at a time! In return, musicians receive an intimate connection between themselves and their audience that keeps them coming back for more!
Music’s power cannot be denied, yet not everyone finds its romantic resonance immediately appealing. Research demonstrates its impactful presence in our lives from making babies bond with their mothers to altering spending patterns – there’s much we have yet to uncover with music as an art form. John Powell dives deep into decades of research in order to reveal just how it impacts daily lives through Why You Love Music, his book detailing all these ways music affects lives daily.