Work on the human brain has indicated how different parts are centres of activity for different skills, feelings, perceptions and so on. It has also been shown that the left and right halves, or hemispheres, of the brain are (1) …….. for different functions. While language is processed in the left, or analytical hemisphere, music is processed in the right, or emotional hemisphere. (2) …….. of music like tone, pitch and melody are all probably processed in different parts of the brain. Some features of musical experience are processed not just in the auditory parts of the brain, but in the visual ones. We don’t yet fully understand the (3) …….. of this.

The tempo of music seems to be (4) …….. related to its emotional impact, with fast music often (5) …….. as happier and slower music as sadder. It is the same with the major biological rhythm of the body: our heart (6) …….. quickens when we’re happy, but slows when we’re sad. Military music may have (7) …….. from attempts to get us ready for (8) …….. by using fast drumming to (9) …….. our hearts into beating faster. Music is perhaps one of the most complex experiences the brain (10) …….. with and it has become an absolutely (11) …….. part of our rituals and ceremonies. It has power beyond language to (12) …….. mood and co-ordinate our emotional states.