I chose to write about negative music and its effects on human behavior. I will trace the history of this type of music and discuss some studies that highlight the effects of listening to it. What is negative music? Negative music is music that has a negative effect. A form of negative music is music used to express or stimulate negative emotions. A Viennese classical composer named Arnold Schönberg was the first person to openly create negative music in the early 20th century. His music was rejected by European concertgoers of the time and sometimes caused near riots. Based on discordances, Schönberg's music caused discomfort and irritation in listeners. However, he became the seminal composer of the early twentieth century and is today considered one of the greatest composers of that century. The music ushered in an era of negative music in Western classical music that lasted for over fifty years. His theory was eventually accepted by composers throughout the Western world and was taught in the best music schools. The result of all this has been the incorporation of negative music into TV shows and movies. Negative music is used to create emotions of suspense, terror, anxiety and fear. It's the music that accompanies crime shows and horror films. The same kind of music that concert audiences rejected because of the feelings it evoked became standard television programming, and for the same reasons (5). I had never thought about the idea that scary, suspenseful music was a break from the norm. It is obvious, however, that people's behavior changes. Watch a horror movie with a friend. You will both know when something horrible happens. Behavior learned from the musical stimulus ranges from sliding backwards in the seat to covering oneself and closing one's eyes. Music tells you something bad is coming and you know how to respond. Western classical music was the first musical style to incorporate negativity. The next step in the evolution of negative music was its introduction into rock music in the late 1960s. The first hard rock and heavy metal music was produced by the rock group called Blue Cheer around 1967. Their music was angry and had a noticeably heavy beat. Around this time, the Rolling Stones' music also became harder and angrier. , with a negative accent.