Questions about music and why we like it...?

Question

Why do we like music better than regular sound? Do our brians really think it's better, or do we just think it is because that's what we're told? Why do I like some types of music better than others? Can animals appriciate music; do they're brains tell them it's music? Can anyone explain this whole thing to me, or direct me to a site that can?

Wow thanks Jaxon. Good answer.

Answer 1

Great Question Coastal
Our brain attempts to process every single sensory event in our lives on a continual 24 hour a day basis.

We tend to like music better than most regular sounds because regular sounds tend to be non patterned and hard to identify, catagorize and process. Music is usually rythmic and patterned, which is easier for our brains to identify and process.
Some music is easier for your brain to process than others because the notes exist at a frequency that is easy for your brain to recognize and transfer through its "pipeline".
Music is a very personal experience because the atomic processing systems of each person is unique.
Certain frequencies will affect each person differently.

There are many other factors involved in music being deemed enjoyable, such as associative relationships. (what was happening to you while the music played, what memories are evoked while the song is playing. etc..)

Scientifically speaking, our Physical sense of pleasure from music, without taking into account any other factors, will be the result of the compatibilty of our processing system with the frequency being processed. (What frequencies of energy, or combination of frequencies of energy, are easiest, or most satisfying for our existing energy sensing system to process.)

Example-1
Too much heat energy through our touch sensory system in our fingers will cause the atoms in our fingers to absorb too much energy and swell, possibly to destructive levels. We perceive this as a burn. Some people however can handle much more heat energy than others before feeling pain.

Example-2
Too much audio energy at an uncumfortable level,(air horn siren), will do the same thing to the atoms that transfer the sound energy after it is converted to electrical signal.
Every person has an optimal range of audio energy processing that is different from everyone else. We tend to listen to the
type of energy that is the easiest for us to process.

Animals can probably appreciate the difference between soothing comforting energy levels and assaultive painful ones.

A lot of info, but I hope this helps.
Keep asking the good questions.

Answer 2

Music is a stimulus. Remember, not everyone likes music. I love opera, but rap makes me feel violent. It seems to be a whole brain experience. There is something primal to a lot of our response to music, but there is also an intellectual side to it also. Studies have been done to determine animal response to music with varying results.