Influence of Tempo and Rhythmic Unit in Musical Emotion Regulation

This article is based on the assumption of musical power to change the listener's mood. The paper studies the outcome of two experiments on the regulation of emotional states in a series of participants who listen to different auditions. The present research focuses on note value, an important musical cue related to rhythm. The influence of two concepts linked to note value is analyzed separately and discussed together. The two musical cues under investigation are tempo and rhythmic unit. The participants are asked to label music fragments by using opposite meaningful words belonging to four semantic scales, namely “Tension” (ranging from Relaxing to Stressing), “Expressiveness” (Expressionless to Expressive), “Amusement” (Boring to Amusing) and “Attractiveness” (Pleasant to Unpleasant). The participants also have to indicate how much they feel certain basic emotions while listening to each music excerpt. The rated emotions are “Happiness,” “Surprise,” and “Sadness.” This study makes it possible to draw some interesting conclusions about the associations between note value and emotions

Computational musicology: An Artificial Life approach

Abstract — Artificial Life (A-Life) and Evolutionary Algorithms (EA) provide a variety of new techniques for making and studying music. EA have been used in different musical applications, ranging from new systems for composition and performance, to models for studying musical evolution in artificial societies. This paper starts with a brief introduction to three main fields of application of EA in Music, namely sound design, creativity and computational musicology. Then it presents our work in the field of computational musicology. Computational musicology is broadly defined as the study of Music with computational modelling and simulation. We are interested in developing A-Life-based models to study the evolution of musical cognition in an artificial society of agents. In this paper we present the main components of a model that we are developing to study the evolution of musical ontogenies, focusing on the evolution of rhythms and emotional systems. The paper concludes by suggesting that A-Life and EA provide a powerful paradigm for computational musicology. I

Chamber Music Explorations for Meditation

The thesis presents and examines my compositional process and creative methodology in producing three compositions for meditation purposes. The purpose was to compose three original pieces of chamber music that created a subjective musical picture that captured a mood and a depictive sound. For each work the author describes his intention for the composition and analyses the compositional elements such as melody, harmony, and thematic construction. A brief history and an overview of meditation is included, followed by an illustration on music and its elemental effect on meditation. This work examines the concepts of, and serves as an exercise in exploring, a variety of compositional techniques

Silver Linings Playlist: Exploring the Effectiveness of Music as an Emotion Regulation Tool

Music not only entertains listeners, but it also evokes emotions and facilitates emotion regulation (Gabrielsson, 2001; Krahe & Bienick, 2012). Specifically, music helps listeners to express their emotions and alter their mood through cognitive reappraisal (Chin & Rickard, 2014; Witvliet & Vrana, 2007). Listening to music also enhances relaxation and reduces physiological arousal after experiencing a stressful event (Yehuda, 2011). Stress often involves an influx of negative emotions, which when left unmitigated, may result in fewer positive emotions, increased depression, and maladaptive coping (Flynn & Rudolph, 2010; Lazenby et al., 2019). While music appears to be an effective stress management tool, less is known about how music impacts positive and negative emotions in the context of stressors. Thus, the current study examined the ability of different kinds of music interventions to reduce negative emotions and increase positive emotions after a stressful event. The study was conducted in two phases using undergraduate samples. Seven hundred and ninety-five students completed a music preferences questionnaire during Phase 1. During Phase 2, 63 students who participated in Phase 1 were randomly assigned to one of three conditions (Empowering Music, Calming Music, Control Group) following a stress induction task. Measures of positive and negative emotions and stress levels were administered three times during the experiment. A series of 3 (Time [Time 1, Time 2, Time 3]) x 3 (Condition [Control Task, Calming Music, Empowering Music]) factorial ANOVAs were used to determine the impact of the music interventions on positive and negative emotion scores. Regarding positive emotions, results revealed a significant Time x Condition interaction effect, where individuals in the Empowering Music group reported greater positive emotions compared to those in the control group. Results revealed a significant Time x Condition interaction effect for negative emotions as well. However, there were some methodological concerns which prevented me from clearly interpreting these findings. Results also revealed a significant main effect for condition at Time 3 stress scores, where individuals in both music intervention conditions reported significantly lower stress scores compared to those in the control group. These findings highlight the benefits of using empowering music to build positive emotions, which may help individuals find well-being, even in the face of moderately distressing events

The Effects of Musical Tempo and Dynamic Range on Heart Rate Variability in Healthy Adults: A Counterbalanced, Within-Subjects Study

Music therapists often use music to facilitate changes in physiological functioning. In order to better inform the selection and creation of such music, this study explored the influence of tempo and dynamic range on heart rate variability. Two guitar improvisations were digitally recomposed to create fast and slow (90 and 60 beats per minute) as well as narrow and wide dynamic range conditions, while all other elements of the recordings were held constant. It was hypothesized that faster tempo and wider dynamic ranges would cause an increase in physiological arousal, indicated by decreased heart rate variability. It was also predicted that participants (N = 32) would perceive selections with slower tempos and smaller dynamic range as more relaxing. No significant differences were found in heart rate variability for either condition. The narrow dynamic range condition produced an elevation in average heart rate, contrary to expectations based upon previous clinical recommendations. Participants did not perceive any condition as more relaxing, but perception of relaxation level weakly correlated to increased heart rate variability. The results from this study suggest that wider dynamic range is not necessarily contraindicated for music for relaxation, and that participant input is important in choosing music for relaxation

Musical Contour Regulation Facilitation (MCRF) to Support Emotion Regulation Development in Preschoolers: A Mixed Methods Feasibility Study

Title from PDF of title page, viewed on July 7, 2015Dissertation advisor: William EverettVitaIncludes bibliographic references (pages 216-236)Thesis (Ph.D.)--Conservatory of Music and Dance and School of Education. University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2015Emotion regulation (ER) is the ability for a person to maintain a comfortable state of arousal by controlling and shifting his or her emotional experiences and expressions. The emergence of maladaptive ER occurs in childhood and is one characteristic often shared by several disorders. Maladaptive ER can significantly affect multiple areas in child development, such as the ability to learn in school, form and maintain healthy relationships with peers and adults, and manage and inhibit behavioral responses. Interventions for children at-risk for developing maladaptive ER skills are limited and need further exploration. Based on limitations noted in existing treatment options, this study provided a preliminary examination of the utility of using a music-based approach. An embedded convergent mixed methods research design was used to explore the feasibility of a Musical Contour Regulation Facilitation (MCRF) intervention. The MCRF intervention was developed to improve ER abilities in children by providing opportunities to practice real-time management of high and low arousal experiences. Typically developing preschool-aged children (n = 8) participated in 11 MCRF sessions over four weeks. Data to assess ER skills and related behaviors was collected pre- and post-MCRF treatment; current regulatory levels were assessed and self-reported at the beginning and end of each MCRF session. In addition, parent and teacher interviews and questionnaires were conducted post-treatment. Grounded theory-based qualitative analysis results suggest that most parents and both teachers noted emotional changes in the children following MCRF treatment. Perhaps more importantly, all interviewees believed in the importance and helpfulness of music on developmental outcomes even if they did not note changes in the children or they recognized that other factors may have contributed to perceived changes. Quantitative data analysis results indicated clinically significant improvements in ER skills in the children following MCRF treatment. Convergent mixed methods analyses results further support the efficacy and acceptability of the MCRF intervention. Together, these findings endorse future normative and clinical study of the MCRF intervention as way to facilitate ER development, especially as this medium is highly desired by parents and teachers and can be easily integrated in a preschool setting.Introduction -- Emotion regulation and musical contour regulation facilitation in theory and practice: an integrated literature review -- The effectiveness of MCRF in facilitating emotion regulation: methodology for a feasibility study -- The effectiveness of MCRF in facilitating emotion regulation: mixed methods results -- The feasibility of MCRF in facilitating emotion regulation development in preschoolers: discussion, implications, and recommendations -- Appendix A. Musical contour regulation facilitation (MCRF) intervention manual -- Appendix B. MCRF intervention pilot assessment -- Appendix C. Recruitment materials -- Appendix D. Informed consent and child assent -- Appendix E. Study measure