Interview:

I do not think that music can make you do things or believe things by itself. Music does, however, enhance or dampen your mood. So if you have a spiritual experience, if you feel a sense of spirituality, the right kind of music can augment that feeling. I would imagine that other types of music would diminish that mood too. Furthermore, if you associate a piece or style of music with some spiritual experience, such as a tune one heard in church or heard during a profound prior spiritual experience, that music can evoke memories of that experience. In many ways, the various functions that music can serve with regard to romantic relations also apply to the spiritual realm – relations with the eternal and the unknowable. If you hear music that you really like, even if it excites you, it may also relax you. Centuries ago English playwright and poet William Congreve wrote: “Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast, to soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak.” When we are relaxed, we are open to appreciating that which is beyond ourselves, including spiritual experiences.

“The various functions that music has with regard to romantic relations also apply to spiritual experiences. For example, spiritual relations with the eternal and the unknowable.”
– Deena Weinstein, author of “Heavy Metal: The Music And Its Culture”