Does the song “Shallow” (from the movie “A Star is Born”) give you heartache, arm chills, or something else?

When we hear music, we’re not just getting hit by sound waves in our eardrums.

We feel it in our bodies.

But that’s a broad generalization.

People from different cultures might feel the music in different parts of their bodies. Perhaps Chinese listeners feel “Shallow” more in the gut, while Americans feel it more in the chest.

Do these patterns exist for every culture, or do we all feel music similarly?

Global beats, universal feel?

Researchers from several universities in Finland and China joined forces to figure out if music stirs up the same bodily sensations and emotions across different cultures.

Researchers gathered 1,938 participants from the West (i.e., Europe and North America) and East Asia (i.e., China) and made them listen to different types of music — happy, sad, and the whole emotional spectrum. These songs were both from the East and West so everybody got to experience familiar and unfamiliar songs throughout the study.

Then, they had to color in human body silhouettes to show where they felt changes while listening to these tunes. This could include feelings of increased warmth, tension, relaxation, or other physical sensations. The coloring task was done using the emBODY tool, a validated method for mapping bodily sensations.

Think of the game Twister but with music and feelings.

So, did they color different parts of the body or the same ones for each mood?

• Happy and danceable songs got people feeling it in their arms, legs, and heads — a full-body sensation.
  Songs used for happiness: Pharrell Williams’ “Happy” and Katrina and The Waves’ “Walking on Sunshine.”
  Songs used for danceable: Mark Ronson’s “Uptown Funk” featuring Bruno Mars or “Get Lucky” by Daft Punk.

• Sad or tender tunes were felt more in the chest and head, like a heartfelt ballad.
  Songs used for sadness: Adele’s “Someone Like You” or Sam Smith’s “Stay With Me”.
  Songs used for tenderness: Norah Jones’ “Come Away With Me” and Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect”.

• Scary or aggressive tracks had a strong head focus.
  Songs used for scariness: the theme from “Jaws” by John Williams and Bernard Herrmann’s “Psycho” theme.
  Songs used for aggressiveness: Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” and Rage Against The Machine’s “Killing in the Name”.

Sadly, they didn’t provide specific correlation figures for each emotion.

However, look at this.

Responses ranged from 0.80 to 0.91 between Western and East Asian participants which means music was perceived very similarly across cultures.

It’s amazing how consistent music is in moving us.

What does this all mean?

First, we’re able to map different emotional qualities of music with very distinct bodily sensations. There’s a certain pattern in how our bodies respond to each emotional category of music.

And it’s a universal map, not culturally dependent.

Second, this information can be used to elicit specific emotional and bodily responses for therapeutic purposes. Music therapists can use specific tunes to help people deal with their emotions or stress, knowing that these effects are pretty universal.

Third, what we consider as a universal language (music) might have a deeper biological root than we thought. Music affects us in a similar way whether we come from an Eastern or Western culture.

But musical reactions not only transcend our cultural background.

They go beyond our personal tastes as well. It seems we’re wired to react to music in similar ways. It’s a common emotional thread for all human beings!

It’s a shared human experience that we can draw from to connect with others no matter how different they are from us.

Final thoughts

Music always finds a new way to amaze us.

In this case, the study reveals that everyone, no matter where they’re from, speaks the same emotional language when the music hits.

People from totally different cultures feel the emotions of music in the same places in their bodies.

And we get to see that visually.

We thought of music as a universal language, but now we see it goes beyond mere communication.

It’s a universal tool for eliciting concrete body sensations paired with specific emotions. Music resonates with us on a biological level. Music feels like math at this stage, like a deeply rooted aspect of life.

It’s the ultimate global unifier of human emotions.