Of course, there are lovers and haters of every genre of music. However, there are certain music genres that some people cannot live without, while for others, that genre becomes unbearable. Arabesque music is one of these genres. So, is this merely a difference in liking, or is there a psychological and neuroscience-based origin behind it?
The Relationship of Mirror Neurons and Arabesque
The first concept that helps to explain this situation is mirror neurons. Mirror neurons were first discovered in macaque monkeys by Rizzolatti and his team at the University of Parma in the early 1990s. Mirror neurons are nerve cells that cause us to imitate the feelings or actions of others in our brain “as if we were experiencing them ourselves.” In humans, this system works in a much more complex way and is particularly associated with the understanding of emotions and intentions (Pellegrino et al., 1992).
During the observation of emotions (watching someone cry), brain regions associated with empathy, such as the insula and anterior cingulate cortex, become active (Altınbaş et al., 2010). This system produces an empathetic response as if we are experiencing pain ourselves when we see someone else’s suffering. Additionally, it allows us to automatically respond to the other person’s emotions by reading cues such as facial expressions, tone of voice, and body language. In other words, our brain does not merely observe the existing emotion and image; it also experiences what we see.
Arabesque music is based on emotions such as pain, loneliness, deprivation, and helplessness. Emotions are conveyed at a bodily level through the lyrics, vocal tone, choice of instruments (especially the bağlama and clarinet), the unique slow tempo of the music, and the melodies. These elements activate the brain’s auditory, motor, and emotional empathy regions. In this way, arabesque music can lead the listener to involuntarily enter emotional resonance. In the process, the insular cortex in the brain recognizes internal emotional experiences (for example, the feeling of “I am suffering”). The anterior cingulate cortex begins to process emotional pain in a social context. The mirror neuron system also creates emotional resonance by mimicking emotional expressions (Pfeifer et al., 2009).
This system also comes into play when listening to Arabesque music. The sighs, the sorrowful tone of voice, and the lyrics in the song trigger empathetic responses. For example, when a person listens to a mournful vocal, the pain they experience is reflected through the activation of their mirror neurons. Tearful tones produce physical or emotional reactions in the empathetic system, such as a lump in the throat. Lyrics possessing deep melancholy activate the emotional interpretation areas of the brain, particularly the left prefrontal cortex. With a steady rhythm, the body slows down and the nervous system adapts to melancholy.
Why can’t some people tolerate this emotional extremism?
Some people cannot tolerate Arabesque music because their mirror neuron systems cannot handle intense emotional reflection. This is related to their levels of empathy or emotional regulation skills. First, let’s explain the relationship between empathy level and emotional regulation. Those with high levels of empathy but weak emotional regulation may feel discomfort while listening to Arabesque music. Arabesque creates a sensation similar to emotional overflow or emotional suffocation in these individuals. As a result, they develop behaviors such as avoidance, intolerance, or sarcastic distance to escape experiencing this feeling. Since these individuals also exhibit excessive empathy behavior in their own lives, they are in a constant state of feeling others’ pain. After a while, this can lead to empathy fatigue.
Another dimension is emotional defense mechanisms. Some individuals use coping mechanisms such as denial, devaluation, or caricaturization in their unconscious against emotional pain. When faced with Arabesque, these individuals may prefer to distance themselves by belittling it rather than confronting their own repressed pain. In these cases, suppression and denial are often used as coping mechanisms to deal with the pain and sorrow stemming from childhood. A person who does not want to confront their own pain does not want to carry another person’s pain as if they are suffering it themselves.
Mirror neurons, empathy, and the psychological and neurobiological structure generally explain the overall picture, but the cultural layer also stands out as a fourth dimension. The situation where a person who does not show much empathy in their daily life sees Arabesque merely as a preference can be explained by cultural context. While mirror neurons provide a biological basis, how they operate is also dependent on the individual’s cultural background. For example, a person who grew up with Arabesque or is familiar with it may find this emotional processing more meaningful. Conversely, for someone who did not grow up with this music, the expression of such pain may seem excessive or insincere. The identification of Arabesque music with subcultures (slum dwellings, poverty, migration from rural areas) can evoke a sense of class distance in some individuals. This allows for an explanation of intolerance not only from a psychological and neurobiological perspective but also with cultural resistance. At this point, the brain does not connect empathetically and even hinders emotional resonance.
Is not loving Arabesque a choice or an escape?
Arabesque music is a meeting of emotions at a neurobiological level. When you start to carry someone else’s pain through the mirror neuron system, this experience can lead to emotional overflow (catharsis) in some individuals, while it causes avoidance through defensive reaction in others. For this reason, Arabesque is not just a genre of music; it is like a litmus paper for our empathy thresholds, emotional regulation skills, and repressed experiences.
In addition, intolerance is often not against a feeling itself, but against the reflection that feeling creates in us. Some of us share in the pain by listening to Arabesque music. Others flee from that music precisely to avoid confronting this possibility of sharing. Tolerating Arabesque music is, in fact, tolerating the emotion. We don’t have to like this music, but when we are disturbed by it, perhaps we should ask ourselves this question:
“What does this music touch in me that disturbs me so much?”
If you are labeled as someone who cannot tolerate Arabesque music by your surroundings, you may want to reconsider the possible reasons mentioned above. Who knows, perhaps the situation is not merely a difference in preference or taste; it could actually be a necessary escape that leads you to become intolerant. Maybe your brain is trying to protect you from the pains you will endure.
References
Altınbaş K, Gülöksüz S, Özçetinkaya S, Oral E. Biological Aspects of Empathy. Current Approaches in Psychiatry. March 2010;2(1):15-25.
Di Pellegrino G, Fadiga L, Fogassi L, Gallese V, Rizzolatti G. Understanding motor events: a neurophysiological study. Exp Brain Res 1992;91(1):176-80.
Pfeifer JH, Dapretto M. “Mirror, Mirror, in My Mind”: Empathy, Interpersonal Competence and the Mirror Neuron System. In: The Social Neuroscience of Empathy. (Eds J Decety, W Ickes) MIT Press, London, 2009; pp.196-210.