Music and Emotions - My Take

RGV in his recent post he wrote about the effect of background scores in the movies and his experiences with music in movies. 

http://rgvzoomin.com/2009/07/25/the-psychological-aspect-of-background-music/

This takes me back to a discussion I had  with one of my roommates  (non Desi) back in Oakland about what makes music effect our emotions. Is it something that is hard wired in our genes or is it some thing that is learned and our brain is trained over the years. 

I think it is a learned emotion. Whenever I hear 'Sare Jaha Se Achcha', 'Vandemataram' and 'Jana gana mana', some kind of patriotic fervor captures me. Whenever I hear 'Suprabhatam' or 'Jai Jagadeesh Hare', I will be a peace. The popular telugu movie dance numbers like 'Bangaru Kodi Petta' or 'Chikubuku Raile' makes me tap my feet. I wouldn't think some one from an alien culture would feel the same emotions. It's not the specific numbers, but the emotions become associated with the instruments, the ragas, the vocals associated with the numbers that had impacted our emotions. 

This was evident when I was listening to some of the melodies by Indian female singers like Lata, Asha, Chitra and the likes whom we consider to have very soothing and melodious voices, my non desi roommate found them to be shrill and harsh. May because our emotions are shaped by some of their older songs which might have become memorable for a number of reasons including the instrumentation, the lyrics, the movies they were part or any other reason. 

It works the other way to, I for once can not appreciate the hard rock and find it cacophonous and disturbing, while an old colleague of mine listens to the music while at work and claims it makes him productive.

To be sure, there is some music that encompasses cultures, but I think it might be because of the sharing and borrowing of these elements across the cultures. I am now a big fan of Eminem's rap music, but would it have happened with out Baba Sehgal or Rahman's 'Peta Rap'? Or would I have liked Lionel Richie (I know :) ) without the listening to his tunes in the memorable 'Maine Pyar Kiya' ? 

Would a piece of music bring in the same emotions to people who are brought up in different countries and cultures if they are listening to a new kind of music alien to all of them?