Music is just layered simple patterns and our brains LOVE IT.
Sound is pressure waves, musical notes are a specific pattern of pressure waves. Melodies are repeated musical notes. Songs are repeated melodies following standard structure.
Our brains love trying to decode and parse all these overlapping patterns.
Maybe not really a shower thought and more wild speculation.
Interestingly there is a body of research that suggests enjoyment of music comes from having exactly one of two things, never both:
Familiarity and predictability
If it’s neither familiar nor predictable, it is inscrutable and therefore discomforting to listen to
If it is both familiar and predictable it is boring
If it’s familiar but unpredictable, it feels like a journey through known emotions
If it’s predictable but unfamiliar it feels like ‘logical discovery’ and is fun and satisfying
A bit reductive but I love this idea
I’ve heard that before, but isn’t this easily defended by the fact that people who listen to the same song over and over again exist?
I can listen to Ado music over and over, it gets better every time. So then there is familiarity and predictability (since I know that piece of music rather well by then).