I studied abroad in Prague, Czech Republic last spring, and one of my professors posed a very interesting question.  The class focused on the subcultures of Eastern Europe, so we studied hippies, the punk movement, graffiti, drugs, and a few other funky stuff.  On the day we learned about drugs we examined their relationship with music.  Our professor asked “do people do drugs to enhance the music or go to concerts to enhance the drugs?”

If you listen to EDM music, you know when the bass drops.  It is that moment in time when the whole song changes.  At shows, it makes people go crazy and everyone moves at the same time.  This article explains a study done by researchers at the McMaster Institute for Music and the Mind that monitored the brain activity of 35 people.  The scientists “played them a series of low and high-pitched piano notes at the same time.”  Participants positively recognized when the notes went off beat into a lower tone.  Next, they asked participants to tap their finger to the beat, and when they changed the beat the participants “were more likely to modify their tapping to fall in line with the low-pitched tones.”  Finally, the scientists used the same tests on a digital model of the human ear.  The computer analysis found that it is the ear that has a natural liking for lower notes not the brain.

What can we deduce from this study?  The study found that human ears naturally prefer low-frequency, “bassier” pitches.  So, scientifically it makes sense that we like it when the bass drops.

But that could be said for almost every other type of music.  The study tested piano notes; I’m sure people went wild when Beethoven dropped the beat in his 9th symphony.  So, what is it that draws our generation to this EDM culture?

MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy or Molly, is a huge part of the EDM culture.  According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, MDMA is a stimulant amphetamine and a hallucinogenic and the effects last from three to six hours but users usually take a second dose.

“It produces feelings of increased energy, euphoria, emotional warmth and empathy toward others, and distortions in sensory and time perception.”

MDMA enhances one’s experience and the sound of the music and lights at an EDM show.  I wonder if there is a science to it?  Do DJs simply make their song to sound good or do they make their songs to sound good on drugs?  Would every song sound better if you listened to it on MDMA?

People have been going to pubs for hundreds of years to drink alcohol and listen to music.  In the 1960s people took LSD with rock and roll.  Hip hop and rap music are associated with crack/cocaine.   And today, it’s MDMA and EDM concerts.

Drugs and music are most definitely correlated, but I wonder what causes what.  Do drugs cause someone to like the music more or does music cause someone to like the drugs more?

I recognize that this is a difficult question to answer, and it is possible the answer depends on each individual person.  I also recognize it wouldn’t be ethical to do a double-blind experiment in this situation.

I found this interesting article titled “Music Therapy: The Science Behind the Life Changing Effects of EDM.”  It explains the allure of the EDM community and what it can do for people.  Music and shows are a way for people to escape their anxiety, depression, suffering, and pain in everyday life.  It discusses four different aspects of the EDM community that are directly connected to human happiness.  The shows promote peace and less stress.  They promote induce love and acceptance, and EDM unites people from all walks of life.  The environment creates a general understanding of respect.

This article introduces a few third confounding variables to my original question.  Environment, community and life style have a strong impact on one’s relationship with music, so it seems there is more to all of this than just a correlation between drugs and music.

No one can deny the relationship between drugs and music, but my research tells me it is more complicated than I originally thought.  If I could talk with Bassnectar or Pretty Lights I would ask them if they use science to create their music specifically to enhance the effects of drugs.  Besides that, I can’t think of a way I could continue to research this relationship without considering the lifestyle and culture surrounding it.  Music and drugs are not new.  EDM and MDMA are simply our generation’s version of it.

“It’s a revolution”~ Diplo