| Abstract | Music and theatre have been utilized in conjunction with each other for thousands of years, dating as far back as 35,000 years ago. In the western hemisphere, the first implementation of music in theatre can be accredited to the ancient Greeks and their tragedies. The utilization of orchestras and instrumentalists enhanced the dramatic effectiveness of the tragedies being performed. The practice of using music to manipulate an audience's emotions in Greek society laid the groundwork for Western Europe, and North America's implementation of music in theatre. From musicals and straight plays to movies and TV shows, this unique and unlikely duo of music and theatre has been interwoven into our daily lives and become the cornerstone of American media. In this paper, the phenomenon of musical emotional manipulation will be analyzed through the lens of neuroscience, focusing specifically on how a western culture of music has impacted theatre and media's emotional manipulation of audiences via music. |
