Psychology of Music

Developing musicians typically engage in self-regulated practicing during the time that passes between lessons with their teachers. An important aspect of self-regulated practice is the ability to identify and correct areas of development in performance in the absence of a teacher’s feedback, but the effort required to perform as well as monitor a performance represents a challenge for any learner. Videotaping the performance and watching it afterwards to fully concentrate on each task could constitute a solution to this problem. In our study, we verified how video feedback could affect the self-evaluation of intermediate-advanced musicians while practicing a new piece of music. To attain this objective, we analyzed and coded the self-evaluative comments of 16 classical guitarists while practicing. We then compared the number of coding entries in each category of a group of participants who used video feedback (n = 8) on four occasions over a period of ten practice sessions with those of a group of musicians who did not use video feedback (n = 8). Our results indicate that musicians who used video feedback modified the way they formulated their self-evaluative comments while practicing, and that these changes were more marked with higher-performing musicians.

Music can be used to enhance the pleasure derived from physical activity experiences through the selection of songs for each type and intensity of activity, which in turn can reduce negative physiological responses and improve adherence. Third- and fourth-year kinesiology undergraduate students completed a music questionnaire (N = 113, 63 females). Questions pertaining to whether the individual uses music while participating in exercise and/or leisure activities were asked, in addition to specifics on the purpose of listening to music and their demographic information. The data showed significant individual differences in regard to music preferences for each type of activity. Participants preferred music with a fast tempo for aerobic exercise, slow tempo for strength-training exercise, and slow tempo often in a major mode for leisure type activities. Sex differences were minimal. The results reinforce the idea that individual differences in music choices is an important concept for practitioners and researchers to consider in their future work.

This study explores exercisers’ use of self-selected music. Ten participants (seven female, three male) aged 26–58 years who exercised regularly took part in semi-structured interviews about their exercise and music use. Interviews explored how they sourced, selected and experienced music during exercise. The recorded data were transcribed and analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) to identify common patterns while also recognising individual experience. Four themes were identified: Taking control, referring to overcoming internal and external challenges through music; It’s all about me, involving self-identity and social positioning; Exercise-music literacy, concerning musical judgement and technological skills; and Embodiment, concerning body-music-hardware interactions and synchronisation. The results show examples of circumstances under which music provides exercisers with both positive and negative experiences. The findings contribute to understanding of the effects of music in exercise and demonstrate the individuality of preferences and usage.

The aim of this study was to examine whether the differences in personality traits of different groups of musicians are real differences or stereotypes. In our study we included string, brass and woodwind players, singers, pianists and music pedagogy students, namely, more groups of musicians than in previous studies. Participants were 182 music students (103 female) with average age 20.86 years (SD = 2.72). Using the BFI-10 personality questionnaire, the participants had to evaluate their own personality traits, and then the personality traits of six groups of musicians. Participants also had to evaluate themselves and six groups of musicians on three pairs of adjectives: masculine–feminine (MF), insensitive/not emotional–sensitive/emotional (EM), and averse to alcohol consumption–prone to excessive alcohol consumption (AC). Results of the Kruskal–Wallis (K–W) test indicated that self-reported personality traits and self-reports on pairs of adjectives of different groups of musicians were coming from the same distribution. Comparison of self-reports with in-group and out-group peer reports showed that there are stereotypes about different groups of musicians. The differences between self-reports and peer-reports were most pronounced for openness, agreeableness, and proneness to alcohol consumption.

Arousal imagery has been used to help performers regulate performance anxiety in order to perform well. Music performance anxiety research has been dominated by relaxation imagery and despite positive results, methodological limitations prevent causal conclusions regarding its efficacy. Further, arousal imagery strategies incorporating high arousal have helped performers in closely related performance domains, and these strategies might benefit musicians. In addition, emotion regulation models raise concerns about the efficacy of relaxation imagery. In light of these issues, understanding whether and how musicians use arousal imagery in their own practice is an important, yet understudied area. Building on earlier work, we developed the Musician’s Arousal Regulation Imagery Scale (MARIS) to measure musicians’ intentional use of different arousal imagery strategies in three samples of musicians with varying levels of expertise, who reported performing different musical genres and instruments from different musical families. Participants completed the MARIS and a musical background questionnaire. Results suggest that the MARIS has excellent psychometric properties and that it captures two broad classes of arousal imagery. Further, findings suggest that musicians use arousal imagery containing varying levels of arousal. Implications of the present study, limitations, and suggestions for future research are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to collect consensual stereotypes about traditional and popular music instruments and roles and to measure the effects of stereotype content priming on gender-role associations with fourth and fifth grade students. In the first experiment with traditional band and orchestra instruments, fifth grade students (N = 126) perceived every instrument to have a gender and chose instruments that aligned with their sex. Affecting stereotype content by priming students with pictures of both boys and girls playing each instrument had a small effect on gender-instrument associations. In a second experiment with popular music instruments and roles, fourth and fifth grade students (N = 376) perceived every instrument and role to be prescribed for a particular gender and chose instruments and roles that aligned with their sex. Affecting stereotype content by priming students with pictures of only girls in each role or only boys in each role had large significant effects. In the condition with only pictures of girls, boys appeared to experience stereotype threat while girls appeared to experience stereotype lift. Conclusions are drawn from social role theory as to how classroom stereotype content influences future role choice. Implications are made for thoughtful classroom interventions.

This research explored both social context and personal characteristics in relation to being saddened by sad music when in a sad mood. Overall, 1686 respondents (aged 12–16 years; 44% female; 68% vocational training) answered questions about their background, social context (family climate, bullying issues), personal characteristics (depressive mood, self-esteem, social comparison style), and the degree to which they were saddened by listening to sad music. About 17% of the participants reported saddened mood as a consequence of listening to sad music when sad. Multivariate linear regression results revealed that female respondents and those who reported elevated levels of depressive mood and negative social comparison to peers were more likely to feel saddened. These young people further showed strained peer relations, as indicated by being bullied on social network sites and the Internet. Harsh family climate and low self-esteem correlated with the saddened mood-inducing effect of sad music, although they were not significant in multivariate analysis. This pattern of person and context relations with saddened mood was identical for girls and boys. Adolescents generally seek music that is mood-congruent; however, this research questioned whether adolescents with problems should dwell on music that reflects their unhappy state, as this may worsen their mood.

In music, we “feel the beat” through rhythm. During successful social interactions, individuals establish an interpersonal rhythm through back-and-forth exchanges. Consequently, these two disparate domains share a common reliance on rhythm. This study investigates whether our sense of musical rhythm relates to our social competence. Ninety-eight undergraduate students (M = 20.9 years, SD = 2.8 years) participated in a rhythm reproduction task and completed Riggio’s Social Skills Inventory to examine whether the two skills are related. Scores on the rhythm task predicted participants’ scores on one part of the inventory – the Social Control subscale – which measures how well individuals can adjust and adapt to different social exchanges. Critically, performance on the musical rhythm task did not correlate with every social subscale but only with that related to social exchanges. The results suggest that a core rhythmic ability might underpin performance in both musical and social domains.

This study explores imagery evoked by Guided Imagery and Music’s (GIM) ‘Nurturing’ programme (seven classical orchestral compositions) and relates it to Jung’s Eros principle (passive and nurturing). Participants’ statements during 23 GIM sessions were recorded, transcribed and categorised by five coders into seven sub-categories, three of which belonged to Jung’s Eros (Flora, Fauna, Feelings), three to his Logos (Events, Structures, Actions), and one (Characters) that mixed Eros and Logos. The same categorisation was applied to 23 randomly selected fairy-tales from different cultures as a comparison. We predicted that participants’ imagery would be mainly Eros, corresponding to the choice of music. In fact, categories Structures(Logos), Flora(Eros), Fauna(Eros) and Feelings(Eros) occurred significantly more often in participants’ imagery than in the fairy-tale comparisons. These categories are plot-static: they do not generate active relationships between characters. Events(Logos), Actions(Logos) and Characters(Eros/Logos) occurred significantly less often. We conclude that music of the ‘Nurturing’ programme elicits mostly the Eros type imagery. It has the psychological function of creating an emotional-scenic background, but does not drive the narrative plot. In this sense, it may be misleading to describe the music of ‘Nurturing’ as a kind of virtual narrative or as having narrative structure or function.