Nicole Juarez

ENC 2135
Professor Boudreau
Instrumental vs Lyrical Music
Jack Lloyd:
Good morning and welcome to The Daily View on CNN. Im here with Dr. Pearson, a
leading expert in the music world who has experience playing and listening to the
art. She has conducted groundbreaking research that has proven instrumental to be
more effective to our emotions than lyrical music. Dr. Pearson its good to see you.
Dr. Pearson:
Thank you, Jack, its good to be here. Its taken a bit of time, but the evidence
pertaining to instrumental music being more effective on our emotions is
overwhelmingly strong.
Jack Lloyd:
Can you tell us what your research has discovered? Well actually, can you tell us the
process in which our brain listens to music? I understand there is a science to it all,
something to do with neurotransmitters or something along the lines of that.
Dr. Pearson:
Yes, Jack youre absolutely right. So, in order to understand this argument, we must
first understand how music is processed in the brain. According to Psych Central,
when we are born, the whole world we know is just a blur of colors and sounds. We
are already perceiving the sounds because of the frontal lobe of our brain, (British
Medical Journal. 2016). The frontal lobe determines if the sounds are harmful to us,
and when it is determined that they are not a threat, the brain switches to stimulate

the sound as pleasure, (Mohana, 2016). So, as we grow to learn words and
eventually learn what a song is and what they do, our brain is still stimulating that
pleasure. The brain begins to anticipate the next beat in a song subconsciously,
which makes us groove. Therefore, sometimes we dont realize we are tapping our
foot or bobbing our head to music. Through grooving to music, we open a path in
our brain that expects to hear the music and then react to it emotionally. This is
applied to both types of music; instrumental and lyrical.
Jack Lloyd:
Wow that is truly fascinating! So how we can compare the two types of music;
lyrical and instrumental? How can we grasp the idea of each? I understand that they
are similar. But when played out in situations, they are in fat different.
Dr. Pearson:
Here picture this. Say youre a girl who just got dumped in a public place, like a
ColdStone ice cream shop or something. Your makeup is running as tears are
pouring down your face. And your brain is asking a million questions a minute that
are triggering your emotions and making you cry, (Daves, 2002). You know like
how can Jimmy just dump you over ice cream? What kind of guy does that? That
sort of thing. When you get to your car, what the first thing youll do? Youll turn on
the radio. And what is the radio playing? Of course, itll be playing some sad song
from Adele. Take the song Someone Like You, for example. The first thing you do is
turn on the radio. So, you proceed to turn up the volume and belch out an off-key
sobbing version of the famous hit. The song makes you feel even worse and its
relatable so you find some strange comfort, correct? Thats the side of lyrical music

that we all know about. But that is all what most people see. They do not know how
instrumental music can influence us way more than words can.

Jack Lloyd:
Well I think any poor girl who got dumped in a Cold Stone should have every right to
relate to Adele. But instrumental music cannot make that girl feel better. Now what
if you took that same scenario and used instrumental music? How does it affect you
then?
Dr. Pearson:
Well Jack, in that same situation, lyrical music is going to give that feeling comfort
because the words are what your emotions are relating to. And lyrical music can be
powerful to the emotions, thats been proven, (Thompson, 2013). But instrumental
music has more power. And Ill show you how. Fast forward some weeks or months
into the future. Youre now in a dark movie theater watching The Conjuring. You
jump and spill your popcorn when the demon appears in the mirror with a loud bang
of music, (Juslin, 2001). When you go home, any little sound makes you cringe. Why
are you more affected from scary movie music than Adeles sad song? The answer
lies within the idea of instrumental music itself. We are sounded by music every day.
Jack Lloyd:
I dont think Im following you here. You mean to say that instrumental music is
consisted of what? Everyday sounds? How can that be?
Dr. Pearson:

Thats exactly what Im saying. A DJ uses everyday sounds and recreates them on a
synthesizer. When you play a string of sounds together, it creates a beat. Combine
enough beats and you have a song. Artists create original beats from their mind,
but where does the inspiration come? One might use the sound of a persons
footsteps or the steady breathing of another person for an idea in a song, (Winner,
2005). Because of how personal this process can be, it has been shown that
instrumental music penetrates the brain deeper than lyrical music. It is stimulating
innate impulses and reactions that biologically we have not used for hundreds of
years, (Galperina, 2016). It is affecting us subconsciously and consciously.
Therefore, many people will say that they have a greater emotional reaction to
instrumental music.
Jack Lloyd:
So, to the audience at home, how do you put this into terms that can be spread to
others? How do you reaffirm that instrumental is more influential on the emotions?
The other side seems to be credible enough.
Dr. Pearson:
Many people will often tell you that song with lyrics have a greater impact on your
emotions than instrumental music. We know this from the Adele example from
earlier. This song talks about how the singer realizes that love can hurt but shell
move on and find someone else who will be good for her. The lyrical aspect of music
is indeed very credible. The singer can display what could be gratitude for the
experience when she wishes her ex-lover well in his future relationships. Or she can
be expressing some sort of emotion that she felt she could not with normal words. It
is the demeanor and language that triggers emotions because many people can

relate to this, (Packlalen, 2008). This is all fine and dandy, however, we now know
that instrumental music has a greater effect on emotions because of how it deep it
runs within our brain, (Galperina, 2016). It is more prominent in our lives than lyrical
music. Much of what we hear around us is instrumental; whether it be at
restaurants, in movies, or inside elevators. We dont realize that the sounds and
vibrations created by music are consistently affecting our brain as it absorbs the
music and processes the sound, (Mohana, 2016). Have you ever listened to a scary
movie with the sound off? The result is that you are not scared. Most of the
soundtrack playing in the background is what causes the mind to scare itself. The
music has great volume contrasts and timbre to create a certain feeling, (Cho,
2014). Specific chords will make you feel uneasy, sad or want to cover your ears.
And these chords are going to those innate parts of our brain like I said before, so
the evidence is all there.
Jack Lloyd:
I know you have shown us the facts and evidence from the multiple studies you
have done and provided us with. But do you, Dr. Pearson, have any experience with
taking away the soundtrack to movie like you just stated?
Dr. Pearson:
In high school, my band director used to make us watch movies when he had to be
absent from school. We would watch them twice. Once with sound and once
without. This would teach us how to appreciate and evaluate the music we were
hearing. He said that if we wanted to grasp the idea of emotions through the
instrumental music we produced in band class, we needed to apply it to other parts
of our daily lives. The easiest way to do this was through turning the sound off. In

my experience doing so, I had to rely on the quality of the actor in the movies wed
watch without the soundtrack. And let me tell you Jack, some of these people are
godawful actors. And it just doesnt feel right without the music. You need that extra
help in knowing how to feel. Words arent always enough. The music would help set
the tone if a character was sad, or if there was a big fight scene between the good
guys and the bad guys. I used to think it was hilarious watching Fast and Furious
with awkward silences in between each explosion. I got a kick out of that. But my
band director was right. It helped show me the real value and effect of instrumental
music.

Jack Lloyd:
I cant imagine how silly those actors in Fast and Furious must have looked trying to
act all tough walking away from a burning car without a song playing in the
background. Given that you brought up watching movies without music, is there any
movie you have seen or know of that uses only instrumental music to convey its
message? Is there any way that music can be the sole communication of emotions
without lyrics or dialogue?
Dr. Pearson:
Oh of course. An example of this is the science-fiction movie Metropolis. In my junior
year of high school, my English professor made us watch Metropolis, which is a
silent science fiction movie set to an 80s instrumental soundtrack. It was about a
man falling in love with a woman, but he lived in a dystopian society that would be

taken over by a robot that looked like the woman he loved. We had to use the music
in the background as context clues to figure out what was happening. The main
character would be falling in love for example, and the music would turn soft. When
the robot went on a rampage, the music would get louder and more aggressive.
Throughout the whole movie the class had to rely on the music. We had to describe
what we were feeling from the music playing in the background and then portray
that onto the main characters. It was very simple in that fact that you let your
emotions tell you what to think.
Jack Lloyd:
Considering that the movie is a bit old and out dated, is there any modern instances
where one can rely solely on instrumental music to determine emotions?

Dr. Pearson:
Well of course. A big this occurs is through orchestral and symphony music. The
Four Seasons, by David Vivaldi is his depiction of what each season sounds like. If
you listen to them, spring makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside whereas the winter
depiction makes you feel harsh and alone. Other great composers like Mozart or
Beethoven, they do the same as Vivaldi. They take what they believe an idea or
concept would sound like, translate that into orchestral music to try to make you
feel what they felt when they wrote it, (Bowman, 2016).
Jack Lloyd:

The work youre doing Dr. Pearson is truly outstanding, I never would have
considered instrumental music to have such a big part of my emotions. Are there
any last comments youd like to make?
Dr. Pearson:
Well Jack, Id like to say thank you for having me on this morning. Its been a real
pleasure. I hope you and the people at home now look at instrumental differently
now. Its so much more powerful than hearing words. In fact, the songs that have
words in it are nothing without the instrumental part. Its all around us, and we
cannot escape the emotions we receive from it, so we should embrace it.
Jack Lloyd:
Thank you for being here this morning Dr. Pearson. Well see you next time on the
Daily View.

Works Cited
Bownman, Casady, and Yamauchi Takashi. Perceiving Categorical Emotion in
Sound: The Role of Timbre. Psychomusicology; Music, Mind & Brain 26.1
(2016): 15- 25. Academic Search Complete. Web. 01 Oct. 2016.
Cho, Mikael. "What Music Does to Your Brain." Crew Backstage. Crew Backstage, 24
Jan. 2014. Web. 03 Oct. 2016. <https://crew.co/blog/the-magic-of-music-andwhat-it-does-to-your-brain>.
Daves, Stephen. Profundity in Instrumental Music. British Journal of Aesthetics
42.4 (2002): 343. Academic Search Complete. Web. 05 Oct. 2016.

Galperina, Elizaveta, et al. Study On Systemic And Informational Processes In The

Brain While Experiencing Musical Emotions. International Journal of
Psychophysiology 108 (2016): 163-164. Academic Search Complete. Web. 07
Oct. 2016.
Juslin, Patrik N. "Psychological Perspectives on Music and Emotion." Series in
Affective Science. New York: Oxford UP, 2001. 77-104. PsychNET. Web. 01
Oct. 2016.
Mohana, Malini. "Music & How It Impacts Your Brain, Emotions." Psych Central.
Psych Central, 17 July 2016. Web. 17 Sept. 2016.
<http://psychcentral.com/lib/music-how-it-impacts-your-brain-emotions/>.
Packaln, Elina. "Music, Emotions, and Truth." Philosophy of Music Education Review
16.1 (2008): 41- 59. JSTOR. Web. 01 Oct. 2016.
The British Medical Journal. "Music, Emotion, And Mutism." The British Medical
Journal 2.2867 (1915): 866. JSTOR. Web. 30 Sept. 2016.
Thompson, Stephen. "The Good Listener: What's More Important, Lyrics Or Music?"
NPR. NPR, 30 May 2013. Web. 01 Oct. 2016.
<http://www.npr.org/sections/allsongs/2013/05/29/187168874/the-goodlistener-whats-more-important-lyrics-or-music>.
Winner, Ellen. "Effects of Instrumental Music Training on Brain and Cognitive
Development in Young Children: A Longitudinal Study." Dana Foundation.
Dana Foundation, June 2005. Web. 04 Oct. 2016.
<http://www.dana.org/Media/GrantsDetails.aspx?id>.

Self-Reflection
I like to think that my paper reflected my passion for music, but I wasnt a
fan of writing this paper due to the length of it. Honestly, I had no idea what I
was doing for paper two. I had spent so much time learning how to create a
dialogue for paper one, and then we had to go back to regular for paper two
and I was just a mess. My first draft was okay, and I hadnt exactly set a topic
or picked a solid topic. I surprised myself because I had lots of trouble trying

to narrow down the topic and looking for something surprising. I ended up
switching my topic in one of my drafts after the conference and surprised
myself with how much research I was able to find. A lot of my old sources still
applied to the overall theme, but there was still a lot of data out there. I
found that instrumental music triggers the brain more because of our innate
impulses we have in our biology which was way cool to read about. My
research question changed because I had started with a basic statement that
music affect our emotions, and it didnt really go anywhere with that. When I
switched over to arguing that instrumental music has a stronger affect than
lyrical music, I found my work to be more effective in surprising my
classmates during peer review. Also, I think my audience will change
immensely too. All the genres I am using are targeting all audiences that read or
see them; but there also very specific audiences for each one. The audience for the
sculpture will be people who listen to popular music on the radio. The audience for
the painting will be to those who listen to instrumental music. And for the collage,
the audience will be for everyone who listens to any music and can begin to
understand each side of the argument. Besides my initial struggle with the

topic, I also struggled with count and how to make the argument flow in a
continuous direction. I decided to evolve the paper a bit and create an
interview. I had a lot of data at this point and personal experience to add to
the argument, so I decided to make up characters and explain my argument
that way at the suggestion of one of my classmates. My initial sources
werent that great except for the 5 that I was able to keep. After switching
my topic, my sources became more effective in conveying different
information and I was able to analyze the results or facts of the sources
better than before. For Project 3, I was thinking of using visuals and 3D art. I
would like to create a sculpture of some kind to represent the lyrical music
aspect of my project and accompany it with the written portion of Project 3. I
will also paint a portrait of something to represent the instrumental music
side of the argument. Some people cannot understand solely off arguments
and numbers and facts. The way I will communicate will change. These genres will
become a more in depth way to communicate. Some people cannot understand
solely off arguments and numbers and facts. This is a more emotional and

mental way to communicate ideas. My purpose is to emotionally make

people understand the argument by triggering the creative side of their brain
through different the three different genres. And going back to what I said
earlier, each genre has a different audience, meaning that each genre has a
different aspect of project 2 so that I can get my point across fairly well.
Going into depth; the sculpture will be in resemblance of a singer and have
lyrics painted on it. The writeup will explain what the lyrics mean and where
they came from. The painting will be of several instruments in a concert hall
to depict the meaning and depth of how instrumental music has a bigger
effect on our emotions. The collage will focus on bits and snippets of

information that can logically be convincing if a person doesnt get swayed

by the emotional side of my project 3. Im still interested in what Im writing
about, but Im more excited for project 3 and the way we can freely express
our argument through creativity. I love art, so this will be enjoyable for me
versus a lengthy paper.