The study of the effects of listening to heavy metal music on females is a rather rare study to have conducted. The study used below is "The effects of listening to heavy metal music on college women: a pilot study" by Milton Becknell et. al. This chart represents the findings using electrodes to measure tension in the muscles of the face and forehead, the Masseter muscle being on the side of the jaw, and the Frontalis being the muscle on the forehead. The presented values correspond to the amount of electrical signal received on the specific muscle per test.
Table 1 Group Differences Between Silence and Music Conditions for the Frontalis (EMG 1) and Masseter Muscles (EMG 2)
Condition n Minimum Maximum Mean SD
S1 (EMG 1) 18 10.56 77.74 29.56 22.10
M1 (EMG 1) 18 12.00 97.72 37.20 24.91
S2 (EMG 1) 18 5.95 48.50 18.82 10.37
M2 (EMG 1) 18 7.60 44.36 20.99 11.35
S1 (EMG 2) 18 15.79 161.65 59.53 32.88
M1 (EMG 2) 18 27.59 242.02 86.65 55.57
S2 (EMG 2) 18 10.10 117.76 52.50 28.60
M2 (EMG 2) 18 9.37 157.09 57.91 37.87
Note. EMG1 = surface electromyography at frontalis muscle; EMG2 = surface electromyography at masseter muscles; S1 = first silence condition; S2 = second silence condition; M1 = first music condition; M2 = second music condition.
The table presents the information in amount of electromyography--amount of electrical activity on skeletal muscles. There is very little change in electric signals between the exposures to music and during silence. The whole of the reactions were recorded in the Masseter muscles, the muscle group that connects one's jaw to one's skull. These muscles are responsible for most of the motion in the jaw and are split up into two groups: the superficial portion and the deep portion. This muscle is known best as the muscle of chewing, lateral movement of the jaw. Electric signals sent through this muscle generally show contraction of the muscle as to clamp down one's teeth or to grate them side to side. The problem with this subconscious clenching of the jaw is a condition called bruxism, and in a more severe form, temporomandibular joint disorder.
These, of course, are the names for the reactions presented in the study. When looking at the causes of bruxism, the best known cause is stress. If the music would be stressful to listen to, the subject's muscle would then react the same regardless of count of exposure to the music. However, seeing that the numbers drastically decrease at the second exposure to the music, it can be inferred that there is another cause for those who reacted so strongly the first time. Another common cause that could lead to these results is anxiety, the patients gradually became less anxious over time with how the study was going. So a better fitting explanation of the data would be to say the patients were mostly anxious in the study and their feelings of unrest led them to clench their jaws. Another possible explanation that better explains the clenching of the jaw is an earache.
The patients were randomly subjected to music, not knowing what it was going to be, and the music they hear is loud, harsh and overall violent sounding. This can be unpleasant to someone not expecting to hear thrashing music. This initial shock of the hard music could provide a better explanation for the electrical signals running through the muscles, as one can see a drastic decrease between the first and second trials of the music. It is also unpublished as to whether or not the patients had a predisposition to bruxism such as depression or jaw problems. Any conditions in this range can also be causes of the signals through the jaw muscle.
This fact can also be confirmed by the actions of the frontalis muscle. If the music were to be causing stress or unpleasant thoughts in the patients, they would have a similar reaction in the frontalis muscle as there is presented in the masseter muscle. If the patients were thinking violently or were caused stress by the music, in addition to clenching their jaw, they would as well move their eyebrows to express discontent. However, the study shows a decrease of signals to the muscle leading to say that any expressed discontent is not in the thoughts of the subjects, it is more a response to the sounds of the music. This study then further proves the point that listening to heavy metal music does not cause violent thoughts or actions; moreover, the listener is what matters when it comes to music.
Women also take in the music much differently than men do. In a separate study called "Coping with Stress: The Effectiveness of Different Types of Music", the authors look at the links between listening to different types of music and the moods associated with them. According to this study, with women, listening to heavy metal music can actually relieve stress and calm the patient down from an anxious state of mind with time. This result is in direct accordance with the factors above seeing that the music over time took out the violent or stressful thoughts and calmed the patients down. This was the result most found consistent with the female subjects. Women, then, in general, take time getting used to metal music, but when they get used to it, it can reset their moods and even relax them.
These, of course, are the names for the reactions presented in the study. When looking at the causes of bruxism, the best known cause is stress. If the music would be stressful to listen to, the subject's muscle would then react the same regardless of count of exposure to the music. However, seeing that the numbers drastically decrease at the second exposure to the music, it can be inferred that there is another cause for those who reacted so strongly the first time. Another common cause that could lead to these results is anxiety, the patients gradually became less anxious over time with how the study was going. So a better fitting explanation of the data would be to say the patients were mostly anxious in the study and their feelings of unrest led them to clench their jaws. Another possible explanation that better explains the clenching of the jaw is an earache.
The patients were randomly subjected to music, not knowing what it was going to be, and the music they hear is loud, harsh and overall violent sounding. This can be unpleasant to someone not expecting to hear thrashing music. This initial shock of the hard music could provide a better explanation for the electrical signals running through the muscles, as one can see a drastic decrease between the first and second trials of the music. It is also unpublished as to whether or not the patients had a predisposition to bruxism such as depression or jaw problems. Any conditions in this range can also be causes of the signals through the jaw muscle.
This fact can also be confirmed by the actions of the frontalis muscle. If the music were to be causing stress or unpleasant thoughts in the patients, they would have a similar reaction in the frontalis muscle as there is presented in the masseter muscle. If the patients were thinking violently or were caused stress by the music, in addition to clenching their jaw, they would as well move their eyebrows to express discontent. However, the study shows a decrease of signals to the muscle leading to say that any expressed discontent is not in the thoughts of the subjects, it is more a response to the sounds of the music. This study then further proves the point that listening to heavy metal music does not cause violent thoughts or actions; moreover, the listener is what matters when it comes to music.
Women also take in the music much differently than men do. In a separate study called "Coping with Stress: The Effectiveness of Different Types of Music", the authors look at the links between listening to different types of music and the moods associated with them. According to this study, with women, listening to heavy metal music can actually relieve stress and calm the patient down from an anxious state of mind with time. This result is in direct accordance with the factors above seeing that the music over time took out the violent or stressful thoughts and calmed the patients down. This was the result most found consistent with the female subjects. Women, then, in general, take time getting used to metal music, but when they get used to it, it can reset their moods and even relax them.