For some, music is life.

For others, it’s just background noise.

And then, for some strange people, music is the worst thing ever (see my article on Freud).

But whether you love it or feel nothing at all, your brain is still wired to move to the beat. A team of researchers from Concordia University (Canada) challenged a fundamental assumption about musical enjoyment:

It’s just science

The researchers tested 148 participants, including 17 people with musical anhedonia (people who feel zero pleasure from music but enjoy other things like food and sex). Participants listened to 54 computer-generated beats — no catchy lyrics, no nostalgia triggers, just raw rhythm. The goal was to isolate the groove without the bias of lyrical or emotional associations.

Then, they were asked two questions:

1. How much do you like this?

2. How much does it make you want to move?

Move first, enjoy later.

When it came to pleasure ratings, the anhedonic group predictably scored lower. They weren’t getting the usual dopamine rush from music itself.

But here’s where it gets interesting. Even people who feel nothing for music still had the same urge to move as everyone else. Their brain were still trying to get them to groove.

Now, here’s the real kicker: moving to the beat actually triggered enjoyment. For them, it wasn’t the music creating pleasure — it was the act of movement itself. The correlation between movement and pleasure was insanely high (r = 0.939 for the anhedonia group, r = 0.914 for music lovers).

Translation: If you move, you feel good.

Fun side fact: The best beats were the medium-complexity rhythms — just the right mix of predictability and surprise

What does this mean for you?

First, you don’t have to love a song to find pleasure in dancing. Just move, and your brain will reward you anyway. Your brain might not react to the sound, but it will reward you for movement.

If movement alone can generate pleasure, think of people struggling with depression, neurodegenerative diseases, or motor impairments. It might benefit more from movement-based interventions than passive listening.

If a groove alone can trigger pleasure, it could be a game-changer for mental health.

So, even if you think you have two left feet, your brain still wants to dance! If you give in to the groove, you might just enjoy it.