[JonnieCache]

My largely uninformed guess: Music is so massively rewarding because it trains/fuzzes our pattern matching engines, in a particularly effective and advantageous way that cannot be found "in nature". This is the same reason why jokes/humour are so enormously valued by the brain.

It also explains why only nerds like listening to breakcore.

[sageikosa]

I got to watch Udo Dirkschneider (from U.D.O. and Accept) live on his North American tour last week in Poughkeepsie, NY. One thing I realized about him (apart from the obvious fact his voice is perfect for heavy metal even at age 61), is that he really enjoys listening to the other musicians (the rest of the band!) he has on stage with him, and he has hand motions that show he is following and anticipating the music in his head.

[brador]

Or it might be because the beats and repetition help synchronize brain sectors. Allowing refined, less fuzzy, thinking.

[GuiA]

Sorry for my potential utter ignorance, but this sounds a lot like woowoo.

Do you have any source that refers to such a thing as "synchronization of brain sectors" that leads to "refined, less fuzzy thinking"?

[quesebifurcan]

I think Steven Pinker would agree: "...music is auditory cheesecake, an exquisite confection crafted to tickle the sensitive spots of at least six of our mental faculties" (How the Mind Works, p.534).

[Recoil42]

This is a cute description of what it does, but it doesn't really explain the why or how.