Photography And Half-Thoughts By Mitchell Hegman

...because some of it is pretty and some of it is not.

Sunday, September 7, 2025

Sweet Tune, Sweeter Chocolate

Apparently, chocolate tastes even better if you pair it with the right soundtrack. That’s not just me talking — that’s science.

Dr. Natalie Hyacinth, a music-loving mastermind from the University of Bristol, has spent a lifetime studying how sound lulls the brain. Her conclusion: silky piano notes make chocolate taste creamier, lush strings add extra sweetness, and sharp tones crank up the bitter bite. (Fast beats, meanwhile, are best reserved for drive-thru cheeseburgers.)

To prove it, Galaxy Chocolate — a brand of chocolate products made and marketed in the United Kingdom — hired her to compose Sweetest Melody, a 90-second track designed to melt in your ears while the chocolate melts on your tongue. Think piano for sweetness, strings for silkiness, and a harp to keep things smooth.

Turns out the brain does a party trick called “multisensory integration,” where senses mingle. In other words, your ears and your taste buds are willing to clasp hands and skip along together. Music really does mess with your experience. One engineered track (Weightless by Marconi Union) has been proven to drop anxiety by 65%. Meanwhile, neuroscientists swear Bach’s Goldberg Variations can flip your brain into deep-focus mode — like Pavlov’s bell but with harpsichord.

So yes, your playlist matters. Sweet chocolate, sweet song. Bitter chocolate, maybe crank up some Metallica.

Posted below is a brief video featuring the song Sweetest Melody, composed by Dr. Natalie Hyacinth. Grab a bar of chocolate and take a listen.

—Mitchell Hegman

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIeD03OGPv8

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