It’s Now Scientifically Proven That Seeing Bands Live Makes You Happier
“I’ve had enough
There’s a voice in my head
Says I’m better off dead
But if I sing along
A little fucking louder
To a happy song
I’ll be alright”
Could it be that there’s more fact and truth to this lyrical sentiment than we might assume? Does singing along to happy songs literally make us ‘be alright’?
A study completed earlier this year collected evidence that proved what all concert-goers already know:
Live music makes us happy!
The study explored ‘the connection between habitual music engagement and subjective wellbeing’, this means they asked people to rank how happy they felt and noticed whether that ranking changed in people based on how they had interacted with music.
1000 people were interviewed for the study, and it was found that connecting with music by dancing or attending musical events was associated with greater happiness than for those who did not engage with music in these forms.
The study highlights the importance of being immersed in music in the company of others, as opposed to music enjoyed solo, and is an important study showing the real-world benefits of music, as opposed to seeing benefits of music therapy in a lab.
So there we have it, science is telling us to get into the pit for the sake of our own happiness. Oli Sykes was clearly onto something..
Written by Kel Burch