# Music and movement

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-and-movement/308405>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 15, 2005, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-and-movement/308405 "2005-06-15T17:17:37Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Detonation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cc9497/32.png) [@Detonation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Detonation)\
**Post date:** [June 15, 2005, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-and-movement/308405/1 "2005-06-15T17:17:37Z")

</div>

Why do some songs make me irresistibly want to move (or move some bodypart) to some degree? Is it understood why brains do this yet?

And conversely, why do some songs make me want to scream? Puzzlingly, I’ve noticed this over some time in many people that a particular fairly well-known song, like Hotel California, or Sweet Child o’ mine, or Stairway to heaven, or Bohemian Rhapsody - mine is American Pie - absolutely curdles blood. But clearly not in the majority? 😕

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![groman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@groman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groman)\
**Post date:** [June 15, 2005, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-and-movement/308405/2 "2005-06-15T18:03:35Z")

</div>

> [@Detonation](#):
>
> Why do some songs make me irresistibly want to move (or move some bodypart) to some degree?

Alcohol.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Quasimodal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/57b2e6/32.png) [@Quasimodal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodal)\
**Post date:** [June 15, 2005, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-and-movement/308405/3 "2005-06-15T20:16:31Z")

</div>

> [@Detonation](#):
>
> Why do some songs make me irresistibly want to move (or move some bodypart) to some degree? Is it understood why brains do this yet?
> 
> And conversely, why do some songs make me want to scream? Puzzlingly, I’ve noticed this over some time in many people that a particular fairly well-known song, like Hotel California, or Sweet Child o’ mine, or Stairway to heaven, or Bohemian Rhapsody - mine is American Pie - absolutely curdles blood. But clearly not in the majority? 😕

Rhythm in music and life I think is intertwined in us due to many cultural customs. In the past music has been used as force to unite people and to co-ordinate action. Many songs used rhythm as a way of organizing labor for example slave work songs that coordinate a certain action or songs that organize rowing patterns for boat propulsion.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![TJdude825](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@TJdude825](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TJdude825)\
**Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-and-movement/308405/4 "2005-06-17T00:22:23Z")

</div>

I’ve heard that living with a heartbeat pounding in your ears for nine months\* prior to birth has something do with it.

\*Or, you know, nine months minus how long it takes for you to develop ears.