Classic Music Opinion #3: Old Musicals Will Stay For this Scientific Reason

The Endorphin Addiction to Musicals and Why It's Got Us In For the Long Haul.

Credit: 20th Century-Fox

As a child, I was hooked on musicals simply because they were catchy, and DVDs were spread all over my house. That one DVD I’m mentioning is The Sound of Music.

Looking back at the now 60-year-old classic The Sound of Music made me think of its historic longevity. We can’t get “My Favorite Things” out of our heads; Ariana Grande had to sample it, and The Sound of Music is always playing on TV the week before Christmas.

Research gave me the simple answer - our endorphins. When we listen to music, we already release the natural chemical dopamine - which is the basic reward that makes us happy. But when it comes to musicals, we open up even more euphoria.

Endorphins offer a more powerful release when watching musicals than music alone, despite the uncommon scientific research. Research by Robin Dunbar (2012) found that singing together (which we hear in musicals) can release endorphins and promote social bonding. It’s possible musicals put us on an endorphin high whenever we watch or singalong for the next 2 hours.

My theory is since musicals supply us with these chemicals; they live on forever. Think of endorphins as this drop of water. The music grows like an idea to the artist. Those musical notes turn into words, and then a full song, that then develops into a soundtrack of music. The more the music is played on film, it registers to the viewer's brain creating an earworm effect.

So that drop of water becomes an ocean of music. You’ve gained a lot of pleasure from the growth of that stream. Music that is played over and over again due to theater runs and streaming. Through time, the music appreciates like West Side Story - becoming a rebooted classic.

I think of Mamma Mia giving ABBA longevity. We can’t get “Dancing Queen” out of our heads for a reason. I also think of other earworms like “Time Warp” which pulls everyone in to see Rocky Horror at midnight. Science creates cult classics and musical legacies.

It’s an endorphin rush that never seems to go away when it comes to music. We can’t deny that we're addicted to musicals because they give us this satisfaction. It’s nostalgia in an instant melody.

For my generation, I think I can’t get HSM music out of my head. I can always sing “Breakin’ Free” and feel that same childhood nostalgia or tear up when I hear the final “High School Music” song in HSM3. Those pop culture posts keep agreeing with me.

For me, a great musical is not always about the genre, it's about what it makes us feel. Science has provided us with the answer to that. Sometimes, we need that endorphin rush to keep us going by watching a good musical. Turn on that old DVD or stream your favorite musical. Hey, find a good deal on Broadway tickets. Find joy in this type of film or theater production.

Just think of all the top-performing musicals in the last few years. The fact we’re not in the prime of musicals, but can still perform well them, says a lot of its staying power. I think of how we split Wicked into two parts or how the Michael movie doesn’t have a release date yet. The Beatles movie may break records and close out the decade in a frenzy.

These facts show that musicals will never die, they are instead expanding to a new Hollywood era. With AI improving, we can see even the music developing can threaten organic artists. Will we get the same endorphin effect? That is to be determined. It’s a matter of preference, but for now, music is always our endorphin release.

What do you think of my opinion?