Musical Training and the Perception of Positive Music Listening Emotions as Medicine for the Brain

Abstract

Although much research has been conducted on the benefits of the music-listening experience and neural responses to music listening, no previous study has examined the potential congruency of the experience of listening to music and the perception of emotional responses to music listening. Two hundred individuals participated as respondents in a survey on the experience of music listening, its impact on mood, and perception of emotions associated with music listening. Survey participants were categorized as nonmusicians and musicians, or musicians with < 7 years of experience and musicians with > 7 years of experience. This study hypothesized that a greater percentage of musician respondents would associate music listening with positive emotions in comparison to nonmusicians due to benefits of musicianship on the brain as described in the literature. A Google Form survey was used to collect responses. Pie chart analyses of survey data revealed that, in comparison to nonmusicians, there was greater variation between musician responses to questions asking about the association of positive emotions (e.g. confidence, comfort) with listening to music, and that a greater percentage of musician respondents associated negative emotions (i.e. anger) with listening to music in comparison to nonmusicians. Furthermore, a smaller percentage of musicians with more years of experience associated listening to music with positive emotions (i.e. comfort) in comparison to musicians with fewer years of experience. These results add to previous studies that indicate music can improve well-being and that musicians generally have a more developed recognition of emotions.