Music & Emotion
-
Emotional reponses to music: The influence of lyrics
The ability to recognise basic emotions in music, such as happiness and sadness, is a universal skill that does not always depend on previous exposure to the musical style (Fritz et al. 2009). There is growing recognition of the variety of emotional states that music can express (Zentner et al – see my previous blog on complex musical emotions) and the speed at which we can correctly identify these states (as quick as 500ms!) We know that the structures within music help to communicate happiness and sadness: Sad music = soft dynamics, legato articulation, soft tempo and minor mode Happy music = staccato articulation, louder intensities and major mode A…
-
Pitch black: Music without vision
This week I had a musical experience that I must share with you, dear reader. To make things even more interesting the event in question led me to spend some of my spare time this week investigating an area of music psychology about which I knew almost nothing – what is it like to listen to music when you are blind? A few weeks ago I had a very kind invitation from the Southbank Centre in London to attend a night at the London Jazz Festival called ‘Phronesis: Pitch Black’.The event was to feature the talents of London-based jazz trio Phronesis, which comprises Copenhagan-born Jasper Høiby on bass, Ivo Neame…
