[[File:Antonio Zucchi - Apollo and the Muses, 1767.jpg|thumb|right|320px|Antonio Zucchi, ''Apollo and the Muses'', 1767.]] '''Melomania''' is the intense attachment to music experienced by a music lover. Depending on the person, it can lead to exaggerated dependence. <ref name="MMMl">{{cite web|url=https://www.oed.com/dictionary/melomania_n|title=Melomania|website=Oxford English Dictionary|access-date=February 20, 2026}}</ref><ref name="MM">{{cite web|url=https://falconediting.com/en/blog/neuroscience-and-music-exploring-the-brain-s-response-to-music/|title=Neuroscience and Music: Exploring the Brain's Response to Music|website=Falcon Editing, FSE Editors and Writers, September 11, 2023|access-date=February 20, 2026}}</ref> This music lover is passionate about music, and it is generally the aspect of their life they are most passionate about.<ref name="MM"/>
==Music lovers== Music lovers are divided, among others, into two groups<ref name="ML1">{{cite web|url=https://dresszone.techinfus.com/en/manii/melomaniya/|title= Melomania: what is it and is it a disease?|website= dresszone.techinfus, Larisa Kurtmullaeva|access-date=February 20, 2026}}</ref><ref name="ML2">{{cite web|url=https://sonic-elevation.com/what-is-melomania-for-the-love-of-music/|title=What Is Melomania? – For The Love Of Music|website=Sonic Elevation, Dom, October 21, 2017|access-date= March 3, 2026}}</ref>: * There are those who love a specific style of performance or musical genre, * And those who connect with melodies (whether a cappella, instrumental, or from a complex ensemble) that they find magnificent, of any musical genre; these are, perhaps, the true lovers of music.
==Fusion of audiophilia and melomania== Melomania is the passionate attachment to and enjoyment of music, and audiófilia is the passionate pursuit and enjoyment of sound reproduction with the highest possible fidelity. The fusion of audiophilia and melomania occurs when technology becomes a transparent vehicle for emotion, allowing the listener not only to hear, but to experience the artistic intent, nuances, and soul of the music. Essentially, when the two merge, the listener stops worrying about how it sounds and becomes lost in what it sounds like, achieving a higher level of musical enjoyment.<ref name="AM">{{cite web|url=https://hifiauditions.wordpress.com/2025/05/31/when-melomania-meets-audiophilia-musical-obsession-and-the-pursuit-of-sound-quality/|title=When Melomania meets Audiophilia: Musical obsession and the pursuit of sound quality|website=Richard Varey, May 31, 2025|access-date=February 20, 2026}}</ref>
==Musical Hedonia== This is a term that describes the brain's ability to experience pleasure through music. There is even musical anhedonia, which refers to people who feel nothing due to a lack of sensitivity to reward or pleasurable responses to music, suggesting that musical hedonia is a strictly neurological process.<ref name="MH">{{cite web|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-72772-3|title=The impact of musical pleasure and musical hedonia on verbal episodic memory|website=nature.com, Gemma Cardona, Antoni Rodríguez-Fornells, Harry Nve, Xavier Rifá-Ros and Laura Ferreri, September 30, 2020|access-date=February 20, 2026}}</ref>
==Musical Neuroscience== Neuroscience applied to music demonstrates that listening to or playing music activates complex brain areas, including the auditory, motor, and emotional systems. Studies show that music modulates emotions, reduces stress by releasing endorphins, enhances memory, and improves brain plasticity.<ref name="NC">{{cite web|url=https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5618809/|title=Music and the brain: the neuroscience of music and musical appreciation|website=BJPsych International, Michael Trimble and Dale Hesdorffer, May 1, 2017|access-date=February 20, 2026}}</ref><ref name="NCM">{{cite web|url=https://academic.oup.com/book/26285|title=The cognitive Neuroscience of Music|website=Oxford Academic, Isabelle Peretez and Robert J. Zatorre, July 10, 2003|access-date=February 20, 2026}}</ref>
==See also== {{Portal|Music}} * Cognitive neuroscience of music * Psychoanalysis and music * Psychology of music * Music and emotion
== References == {{reflist|2}}
{{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Melomania}} Category:Music psychology Category:Music theory