Psychology of Music

Aesthetic perception of music has been extensively researched in the last decades. Numerous studies suggest that listeners find a piece of music more or less pleasant according to its complexity. Experimental results show that complexity and liking have different relationship according to the musical genre examined, and that these two variables are also affected by other factors such as familiarity to the music and expertise of the listener. Although previous experiments have examined several genres such as jazz, pop, rock and bluegrass,
surprisingly, no study has focused on contemporary music.

In this paper, we fill this gap by studying the relationships between complexity, liking, musical training and familiarity in the case of contemporary music. By analysing this genre – which is usually underrepresented in music cognition – it is possible to shed some light on the correlation between liking and complexity in the case of highly complex music. To obtain data, a multifactor experiment was designed in which both music experts and novices had to provide scores of subjective complexity and liking for four 30-second long excerpts of contemporary music with different degrees of complexity.

Empirical results suggest that liking and complexity are negatively correlated in the case of contemporary music and that listeners’ expertise does not influence the perceived complexity of musical pieces, but it can significantly affect liking. This possibly indicates that experts have the musical knowledge needed to appreciate extremely complex music, while novices do not.

A fundamental purpose of this study was to test whether theories and principles of music cognition and perception derived using western music can be applied to other styles of music, in this case, Carnātic music. Previous investigations showed that listeners use culture-specific and low-level sensory cues to comprehend familiar music, whereas they relied mainly on sensory cues and schematic knowledge gained from listening to music of their own culture to understand unfamiliar music. Research also shows that listeners hold mental representations of the hierarchical ordering of notes in musical scales of one’s culture which they readily access when listening to familiar and unfamiliar melodies. The existence of such representations has been demonstrated in real time using behavioral and neuroimaging techniques. The goals of the present study were to 1) behaviorally track listeners’ responses to two types of modulation as they developed over time in Carnātic music and 2) identify the various cues that listeners, familiar and unfamiliar with the music, utilized in order to perceive the modulations. The purpose of Experiment 1 was to obtain baseline profiles of four rāgams (modes) and compare these against profiles of modulating excerpts containing the same rāgams in Experiment 2. Carnātic and western music teachers heard brief Carnātic excerpts in one ear while in the other ear they heard a continuously sounded probe-tone. The probe-tone was one of the twelve chromatic notes of an octave. Participants judged continuously how well the probe-tone fitted with the melody. Results showed that western teachers’ responses matched those of the Indians on rāgams that had structures similar to the western scales but differed considerably when the rāgams were unfamiliar. Also, there were differences in the two groups’ responses to modulations. These discrepancies were primarily due to the influence of culture. The findings supported previous research and identified three types of cues: 1) culture-specific cues, which included theoretical knowledge of the rāgams and familiarity with the excerpts in the study, employed by Indian teachers, 2) basic psychophysical cues of duration and frequency of note occurrence employed by both Indian and western participants, and 3) transference of schematic knowledge of western music by western participants.

In the present paper, we intend to investigate the musical choices of Brazilian teenagers. We present the theory that support our thinking, that is based in concepts of identity and musical identities. For the purpose of this investigation, 76 teenagers from a Brazilian countryside region, with age varying from 13 to 16 years old and gender difference of approximately 60% male and 40% female young ones, filled out a questionnaire. With a quantitative approach, we analyzed the answers given to the questions "Do you listen to music? Which gender? Where?". Our data showed that all participants declared that they listen to music, and they do it in a variety of places, but with a significant amount of teenagers saying they usually listen to music at their homes - which comprehend all the answers given that surrounded this context, such as family, home and bedroom. As to the type of music they listen to, we perceived that the mainstream music is their usual choice, with genders such as forró, axé, pop music, [brazilian] funk, among others. We also stress out some particularities in the end of the paper and, to conclude our study, we try to outline the musical identity(ies) of the young people from Ceará's.
Key words: music, youth, identity, Ceará, Brasil.

Literacy could be elevated through innovative and one of the unique and unparalleled approach amongst the children and though music has already been proved influential in many ways towards life, therefore it could even be used in promoting literacy. Researchers have found that learning through music alleviates learning subjects and enhances skills that children inescapably could rise in other areas as well. Musical experience in children could help them in achieving more liberal way of learning. Children are naturally attracted towards sound and rhythm and therefore music can play an important role in literacy promoting. Further in my research paper I shall be elaborating on how helpful and beneficial would music be in promoting literacy in children.

It has been argued, in view of the social evolutionary origins of music and the social deficits found in autism, that individuals with autism will be emotionally unresponsive to music. However, a recent study of high-functioning adults with autism has shown that they appear to have a range of responses to music similar to typically developing people, including the deliberate use of music for mood management. In examining why these responses appear unaffected in autism, we explore possible mechanisms for musical mood induction in listeners, hypothesizing that the simulation theory of empathy may illuminate current controversies over the nature of emotion in music.
Drawing on these ideas, we put forward suggestions for
using a simple associative learning process between musically induced emotions and their cognitive correlates for the clinical treatment of alexithymia, a disorder that is common in autism and characterized by an absence of cognitive insight into one’s emotions.

Few activities fully engage the brain. Listening to music is one of them. Hearing your favorite song activates sensory, emotional, motor, and creative areas of the brain simultaneously. This book provides a broad introduction to the scientiUc and psychological study of music, exploring how music is processed by our brains, affects us emotionally, shapes our personal and cultural identities, and can be used in therapeutic and educational contexts. Why are some people tone deaf and others musical savants? What do our musical preferences say about our personality and the culture in which we were raised? Why do certain songs remind us so strongly of particular people, places, or events? How can music be therapeutically used to help those with autism, Parkinson's, and other medical conditions? The Science and Psychology of Music: From Beethoven at the O<ce to Beyoncé at the Gym answers these and other questions. This book provides a broad and accessible introduction to the fascinating Yeld of music psychology. Despite its name, music psychology includes a number of Yelds, including neuroscience, psychology, social psychology, sociology, and health. Through a collection of thematically organized chapters, readers will discover how our brains recognize elements of music, how music can affect us and shape our identities, and the many real-world applications for such information. Features Explores a topic that is of great interest to both psychology students and the general public through accessible and engaging content Provides a conceptual framework for readers and through a multi-part format allows them to focus their attention on their particular areas of interest Furthers readers' understanding of how music can affect our wellbeing as it includes both our physical and psychological health Re?ects the subject knowledge of contributing experts in a wide variety of academic disciplines Other Titles of Interest © 2020 ABC-CLIO, LLC.

This report evaluates the impact of live music in two hospitals in Nottingham, UK, as provided by Wellspring Music CIC. Observations and surveys showed positive responses among patients, which were also in line with what staff and visitors reported. The staff reported increased wellbeing as a result of the music sessions, and similar patterns were found among visitors and family members. The results suggest that music can create a space for patients in hospital to interact, connect and ease their anxiety and stress, and that such music activities can also support healthcare staff in their working environment by providing entertainment, relaxation and help bringing a level of normality and everyday life into the hospital wards.

This essay is about a phenomenon that, paradoxically, both disrupts mind wandering and accounts for its spontaneity: distraction. It is more about one of the mechanisms underlying mind wandering than its phenomenological content. However, following acknowledgements that mind wandering has positive and negative consequences for task fulfilment (Mooneyham & Schooler, 2013), this essay attempts to recuperate distraction, configuring it in terms of ‘drag’ in order to analyse it as more than merely bad or failed listening. Dragging the listener back onto her body, distraction emphasises an indeterminacy that, although covered over by the traction generated by regular and consistent listening, is always already embodied within the materiality of musical sound. This essay is about the impact of distraction upon the listener in the audience and the extent to which distraction forces her to recalibrate her activity as a hybrid of ‘listening despite distraction’ and ‘distracted listening’; a separate essay would be required to consider the quite different ways in which performers deal with distraction.

The present study examined the relationship between music preferences, values and musical identities in a sample of 606 Greek college students in the three institutes for higher education in Thessaloniki (Greece). Students indicated the importance of their music preferences in defining and evaluating themselves and their values on an abbreviated version of the Schwartz Value Survey (1992). The questionnaire included 26 musical genres resulted from an exploratory research.

The factor analysis revealed a typology of music preferences with five items: Sophisticated and Complex (e.g. jazz), Native-Greek Traditional (e.g. 'rembetika'), Sentimental and Sensational (e.g. pop), Established Rebellious (e.g. rock), and Non-mainstream Dissonant (e.g. punk).

Hierarchical regression analyses showed that values and perceived importance of music to self-definition (i.e. musical identities) contribute differentially in predicting the music preference structures (e.g. self-transcendence predicts Established Rebellious, conservation Sentimental and Sensational etc.).

The findings are discussed and interpreted in a social psychological framework as well as from the point of view of the sociology of music that has a long tradition in studying the musical taste and the factors that may have some influence on it. The chosen approach and point of view are based on the fact that during the last years it becomes more and more difficult to explain cultural consumption based on the "classical" demographic factors. As a result, there is an increasing interest to explore the common grounds between the omnivorousness hypothesis, developed by R. Peterson, and the homology argument, formulated by H. Gans and elaborated by P. Bourdieu.

This is the first study of this kind carried out in Greece, while the analysis of the relation between values and musical taste is not very common in the literature.

Music can be a powerful tool in the treatment of brain disorders and acquired injuries, helping patients recover language and motor skills. New music-based therapies can trigger neuroplasticity—fostering local connections and long-range pathways that compensate for impairments in damaged regions of the brain. The greatest benefits from therapy—cognitive, emotional and social—come from effortful engagement with music.

Full reference: Thompson, W.F., & Schlaug, G. (2015). The healing power of music. Scientific American: Mind, 26(2), 33-41.

Dieser Text zeigt am Beispiel der populären Musik, dass nicht nur Klang Emotionen übertragen kann, die für bestimmte Ideologien nützlich sind, sondern dass auch die Musikwissenschaft selbst als Erfüllungsgehilfe ideologischer Dogmen auftritt, indem sie kritische Beiträge unterdrückt oder sogar aktiv die Verteidigung unkünstlerischer und schädlicher Musikrichtungen betreibt.

A relationship between participation in musical activity and well-being has frequently been observed in recent research reports. Of these, some propose various well-being-related correlates of musical participation, but the varying samples and foci leave researchers without a reasoned appraisal of these correlates or a data-driven categorization of them. To address this lacuna, the current research reviewed of existing literature, identifying 562 benefits of well-being benefits perceived to be associated with musical participation. These items were used as the basis for developing a new quantitative measure to evaluate the perceived benefits of well-being arising from music participation. Principal axis factor analysis of data using this new, 36-item measure identified five discrete dimensions: mood and coping, esteem and worth, socialization, cognition, and self-actualization. The development of this well-being measure addresses a gap in the research and provides a tool for future research concerning musical participation.

Musik merupakan realitas yang terbangun oleh kemampuan berpikir kreatif sehingga menghasilkan karya-karya yang estetis. Dalam konteks pendidikan musik, kegiatan yang dilandasi aktivitas kreatif dan ekspresif juga menjadi aspek yang sangat penting. Artikel ini berusaha menguraikan peran kreativitas dalam pendidikan musik sebagai sebuah landasan berpikir dan operasionalisasinya dalam pendidikan musik. Literatur digunakan untuk mendalami masalah dan menyusun konsep mengenai kreativitas dalam pendidikan musik. Hasil analisis menyebutkan bahwa konsep kreativitas merupakan gagasan yang berpusat pada orisinalitas, berpikir imajinatif, dan berusaha menghasilkan ide atau gagasan baru. Kapasitas kreatif adalah sebuah modal utama dalam mewujudkan tujuan pendidikan musik melalui operasionalisasi konsep-konsep berpikir yang telah disebutkan. Kreativitas dalam pendidikan musik memiliki banyak dimensi seperti historis, sosiologi, ekonomi, politik, psikologi, filosofis, dan religius. Dialektika ant...

Concerns have been raised that prolonged exposure to heavy metal music with aggressive themes can increase the risk of aggression, anger, antisocial behaviour, substance use, suicidal ideation, anxiety and depression in community and psychiatric populations. Although research often relies on correlational evidence for which causal inferences are not possible, it is often claimed that music with aggressive themes can cause psychological and behavioural problems. This narrative review of theory and evidence suggests the issues are more complicated, and that fans typically derive a range of emotional and social benefits from listening to heavy metal music, including improved mood, identity formation, and peer affiliation. In contrast, non-fans of heavy metal music-who are often used as participants in experimental research on this topic-invariably report negative psychological experiences. Our review considers a comprehensive set of empirical findings that inform clinical strategies designed to identify fans for whom heavy metal music may confer psychological and behavioural risks, and those for whom this music may confer psychosocial benefits.

Στα πλαίσια της ημερίδας για τα 250 χρόνια από τη γέννηση του W.A.Mozart, η οποία πραγματοποιήθηκε στο ΤΕΙ Ληξουρίου στις 17 Μαϊου του 2006, η παρούσα διάλεξη επιδιώκει να κάνει μια μικρή αναδρομή στις μέχρι τότε έρευνες και τα αντίστοιχα πορίσματά τους σχετικά με το "The Mozart Effect", να προβάλει τις διάφορες τεκμηριωμένες απόψεις τόσο υπέρ όσο και κατά της ύπαρξης του εν λόγω φαινομένου, να παρουσιάσει μια πρόσφατη πειραματική του διερεύνηση από το Πανεπιστήμιο του Sheffield και να θέσει προβληματισμούς αλλά και κάποιες προσωπικές απόψεις για την αλληλεπίδραση της μουσικής με την ψυχική, σωματική και νοητική κατάσταση του ατόμου..

Can simply listening to a music piece affect the harshness of a moral judgement? A priming experiment was run to answer this question. Participants gave moral judgements, after listening to musical pieces inducing certain emo-tions (Joy, Relax, Sadness, Annoyance). After reading some vignettes about moral transgressions and rating them, they were asked to fill in a self-report affect questionnaire concerning the emotions experienced during their listening, and a test assessing musical sensitivity. In accordance with Greene's dual-process moral theory, classic moral vignettes fell into two categories: “high emotional involvement” (HEI) vs. “low emotional involvement” (LEI). Results show that the two emotions with a negative valence (Sadness, Annoyance) worsened the overall harshness of participants’ moral judgements while the positive emotions (Joy, Relax) weakened it; in the most arousing ones (Joy, Annoyance) the effect was increased, and the annoyance condition determined the highest moral harsh-ness. This effect was stronger in the HEI moral questions, as predicted by the dual-process moral theory.

This chapter examines the question of whether everyday music listening influences internalizing
psychopathology. First, it offers a conceptual framework arguing that music listening may have influences on internalizing psychopathology because: music can involve emotion regulation and coping; songs may have social cognitive influences; and music can have psychotherapeutic effects. Second, it presents a review of the empirical literature according to seven basic methodological strategies (models) that can also be used to design future studies: risk factor; compensatory factor; common cause; mediator; moderator; protective factor; precipitating factor. In sum, more research could fruitfully address the question of positive and negative relationships between music listening and internalizing symptoms.

Background
Most research on correlates of music preference considers micro-level influences, such as personality and social positional levels (Rentfrow & Gosling, 2003; North & Hargreaves, 1996). However, it is important to consider macro-level influences, such as cultural norms and the effects of time and weather, as well. An interesting macro-level influence that is gaining research attention is the consideration of seasonal effects (Helmholz, et al., 2017; Krause & North, 2018; Park, et al., 2019). For example, Krause and North’s (2018, p. 89) research demonstrated that listeners preferred “arousing music for the warmer months, serene music for spring, and melancholy music for the cooler months”.
Aims
The present study is a replication-extension study of Krause and North’s (2018) research. The aims of the present study included:
1. Replicating their findings drawing on a larger, global sample (including non-western countries and those with varying weather patterns and at different latitudes).
2. Exploring the extent that proxies for country and seasons (latitude) modulate response patterns.
Method
A total of 2,140 participants from 47 countries across 4 continents completed an online questionnaire, which consisted of answering background questions and responding to a series of questions concerning the creation of music playlists. Importantly, as in Krause and North (2018), participants rated how well 24 adjectives (from three factors: Arousing, Serene, and Melancholy) describe preferred music for playlists (for each season); also, they indicated their favourite season, the season they were currently experiencing, and their country of residence.
Results
Addressing the first aim, an exploratory factor analyses was conducted on the participants' adjective ratings to replicate that reported in Krause and North (2018). The results indicated that the proposed three factor solution on each of the four seasons from Autumn to Summer does not fit the data well using either the Comparitive Fit Index (0.79, 0.79, 0.81, 0.83) or Tucker Lewis Index (0.83, 0.83, 0.84, 0.86). We posit this model fit incongrunacy is due to initial model specification choices. Nevertheless, we continued our planned analyses and considered the impact of the participants’ country of residence. We tested the hypothesis that preferred arousal levels in music fluctuate according to the ecological environment: could countries with warmer summers prefer higher arousal music for warmer (summer) seasons, and countries with colder winters prefer lower arousal (melancholic) music for cooler (winter) seasons? Using mixed effects models with random effects for country, we found that countries with more extreme latitudes (warmer summers) preferred higher arousal music (b = -0.05, p = .036) for summer. However, no significant effect was observed for latitude and low arousal (melancholic) music (b = -0.03, p = .11).
Conclusions
By examining the replicability of Krause and North's (2018) findings on a larger set of participants and countries, the present research contributes to the developing body of psychological research on music preference at the macro-level, focusing on contributing to our understanding of how broader factors play a role in music preference and everyday listening behaviours. Moreover, the findings will be considered relative to research concerning seasonal variations in other behaviours and experiences, which may have additional influences on areas such as financial behaviours, aggression, mental health, and mood.

ALVES, Anderson César. Domains of competence of an expert pedagogue in music performance. Dissertation (Ph.D. in Music).Language and Arts Center, Graduate Program in Music, Music School, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, 2021.

This qualitative exploratory research aimed to observe the pedagogical practices in musical performance to investigate the expertise in performance pedagogy, its attributes, and the process of acquisition of skills that characterize an expert pedagogue in music performance and, particularly, in clarinet. The researches of Dreyfus (1980), Berliner (1988), and the NBPTS platform (2002) provided the development of a framework of skills that would express the hypothesis  of  characterization  of  an  expert  teacher  in  musical  performance.  This  framework founded the protocols of observation of the pedagogical actions of expert teachers participating in the research. As a methodological observation strategy, simultaneous protocol analysis and semi-structured interviews with teachers and students were used. The triangulation between the protocols generated a body of data that made it possible to understand the participants' pedagogical approaches in depth. The discussion of results (1) provided a review of the initial competence framework of the musical performance pedagogy expert, validating and specializing it, and  (2) revealed  a  new  specific  field  of  expertise —not  focused  on  investigations  of  related areas —of  the  musical  performance  pedagogue  relative  to  the  consciousness  of  the  performance  corporeality.  I  believe  that the  in-depth  investigation  of  pedagogical  practices  under-taken by this study offers the academic community relevant data about the competencies that characterize an expert professor in instrumental performance and about the process of acquiring this expertise. Thus, the present study can contribute to the development of both performer and performance educator training processes, emphasizing the performance of high-level clarinetists. I also believe that this work has validated and enabled the development of a descriptive framework  of  the  domains  constituting  the  competence  of  a  music  performance  pedagogue compatible with the training reality of Brazilian performers.

Keywords: Music  Performance. Expert teacher  in  music  performance. Expert performance. Music performance. Pedagogical practices in music. Clarinet performance.

RESUMO

ALVES, Anderson César. Domínios de competência do pedagogo expert em performance musical. Tese  (Doutorado  em Música)– Escola de  Música,  Universidade  Federal  do  Rio  de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, 2021.

Esta pesquisa de caráter qualitativo exploratório teve por objetivo observaras práticas  pedagógicas em  performance  musical,  a  fim  de  investigar  a  expertise  em  pedagogia  da performance, seus atributos e o processo de aquisição das competências que caracterizam um pedagogo expert em  performance  musical e,  particularmente,  em  clarineta. As  pesquisas  de Dreyfus e  Dreyfus (1980),  Berliner  (1988)  e  a  plataforma  NBPTS  (2002)  proporcionaram o desenvolvimento de um quadro de competências que expressaria a hipótese de caracterização do professor expert em performance musical. Este quadro fundamentou os protocolos de observação das ações pedagógicas de professores experts participantes da pesquisa.Como estratégia metodológica de observação utilizou-se a análise simultânea de protocolo e entrevistas semiestruturadas com  professores e  alunos. A  triangulação  entre  os  protocolos  gerou  um  corpo  de dados que possibilitou compreender com profundidade as abordagens pedagógicas empregadas pelos participantes. A discussão de resultados (1) proporcionou a revisão do quadro inicial de competências do expert em pedagogia da performance musical, validando-o e especializando-o, e (2) revelou um novo campo de competências específico —não enfocado em investigações de áreas afins —do pedagogo em performance musical relativo à consciência da corporeidade da performance.Creio que a investigação em profundidade de práticas pedagógicas empreendida pelo presente estudo oferece à comunidade acadêmica da área dados relevantes acerca das competências que  caracterizam  um professor expert em  performance instrumental e  sobre  o processo de aquisição dessa expertise. Isto pode contribuir para o desenvolvimento dos processos de formação tanto do performer quanto do pedagogo em performance, com ênfase na performance de clarinetistas de alto nível. Acredito também que este trabalho validou e possibilitou o desenvolvimento de um quadro descritivo dos campos constitutivos da competência de um professor de performance musical, compatível com a realidade da formação de performers brasileiros.

Palavras-chave: Performance musical. Professor expert em performance musical.Performance expert. Práticas pedagógicas em música.Performance na clarineta.

The human physiology is tuned to the musical patterns. The paper reviews the effects of musical patterns on the human physiology. Musical patterns therefore developed as a separate discipline, endeavoring to incorporate the legitimate use of music with human physiology in context to medical framework. It has been reported that music has beneficial effects on cardiovascular parameters, whereas heavy metal or techno are without healthy effects. Research has shown that music may influence central physiological variables like blood pressure, heart rate, respiration, EEG measurements, body temperature and galvanic skin response. Music influences immune and endocrine function. The existing research literature shows growing knowledge of how music can ameliorate pain, anxiety, nausea, fatigue and depression. This paper argues more extensive communication and collaboration between the methods developed within the musical patterns, on human physiology, that could lead to a better understanding of the place of musical patterns as a tool, both in regard with its efficacy and its limits.

"This thesis investigates the role of music in office-based workplace settings. While many studies in the past have examined the effects of researcher-selected music on work performance, fewer studies have taken into account the effects of self-selected music and situational aspects. No studies to date have explored office workers’ music listening patterns. Music at work is a multidisciplinary topic of research, yet the topic is rarely conceptualised as such and there is a lack of integrated literature that takes into account the various disciplines involved.

Adopting a multi-disciplinary approach and utilising mixed methods, three empirical studies were carried out, with a sample of over 300 employees. A survey investigated current listening practices, a field experiment examined the effects of a listening intervention on work appreciation, and semi-structured interviews were used to explore contextual aspects influencing the listening experience at work.

Music listening in offices is characterised by employees balancing internal needs (motivations for listening) and external requirements (situation-specific considerations). When employees consider these two aspects, they practice “responsible listening”. Listening practices were coloured by desires to control the auditory environment and to influence subjective well-being, inspiration and concentration. Music selections were varied, often made at random and derived from home. No main effect of music on work performance and well-being was found; music had positive as well as negative effects for different individuals in different situations. Employees avoided imposing music onto others or listening in an unsuitable way by modifying their listening behaviour (through listening technology, music styles and volume). No specific policies on music listening were found, and music was often conceptualised as a “grey area”. Music in offices can be considered as blurring the boundaries between private and public, and as a way to bring private habits into work for the purpose of regulating personal wellbeing in public spaces."

The short narrates about the foundational interpreteation of music as a vast cognitive link between humans and between mind and body.
The short is based on life experience and takes a personal approach to the matter through the example of one of the legendary music bands of the 80's.

Listening to music while working is by no means a new innovation. Songs, for a long time, helped people synchronise their movements and made the day go quicker. In the 1930s, recorded music was often used in factories to improve productivity and reduce boredom and fatigue. Today, technology has made it easier to listen to your own music at work. Many employees have access to music through mp3 players, smartphones and via the internet, and can make choices about what to listen to
that previously would not have been possible.

Based on Dr Anneli Haake's PhD research at the University of Sheffield, totaljobs created ‘The Sound of Productivity’, a tool meant to encourage people to discover if music could boost their productivity at work. After assessing their personality, taste and work environment through the tool, users learn whether listening to music could help or hinder their productivity and what factors have an impact on their focus.

The findings demonstrate that the majority of people (79%) would benefit from listening to music at work, and that some workspaces tend to hinder people’s productivity.
However, not all professions and sectors allow for music listening. The Foo Fighters, Drake and Kendrick Lamar were
among the top artists users listen to at work. People born in the 1990s-2000s require more demanding music
to focus than people born in the 1950s-1980s (45% vs 29%). 99% of people working in open-plan spaces would
benefit from listening to music at work. 84% of those who said that they cannot listen to music at work would benefit from it.

Insurance, Banking, Accountancy and Customer
service are the least music-friendly industries (57% on
average are not allowed music). Computer programming,
Data analytics, Advertising and Marketing are the most
music-friendly industries (67% on average are allowed to listen to and choose their own music). Those working in Marketing are interrupted by surrounding noise more than other sectors (40% vs 20% on average).

It is hoped that the findings will encourage debate on what
makes people not only more productive, but also happier
in the workplace.

In this paper I address questions of continuity and process building in
Mozart’s string quintet K.516. I attempt to show that this work, probably more than any other Mozart composition, exemplifies the concept of an overall structure, crossing the borders between the individual movements. I further argue that, allowing for a metaphorical interpretation, the G minor String Quintet may be viewed as a representation of grief process as described in modern psychology.

Music has cognitive, psychosocial, behavioral and motor benefits for people with neurological disorders such as dementia, stroke, Parkinson’s disease and Autism Spectrum Disorder. Here we discuss seven properties or ‘capac- ities’ of music that interact with brain function and contribute to its therapeutic value. Specifically, in its various forms, music can be engaging, emotional, physical, personal, social and persuasive, and it promotes synchroniza- tion of movement. We propose the Therapeutic Music Capacities Model (TMCM), which links individual properties of music to therapeutic mechanisms, leading to cognitive, psychosocial, behavioral and motor benefits. We re- view evidence that these capacities have reliable benefits for people with dementia, stroke, PD and ASD when employed separately or in combination. The model accounts for the profound value that music affords human health and well-being and provides a framework for the development of non-pharmaceutical treatments for neu- rological disorders.

Are there universal patterns in musical preferences? To address this question, we built on theory and research in personality, cultural, and music psychology to map the terrain of preferences for Western music using data from 356,649 people across six continents. In Study 1 (N = 284,935), participants in 53 countries completed a genre favorability measure, and in Study 2 (N = 71,714), participants in 36 countries completed an audio-based measure of preferential reactions to music. Both studies included selfreport measures of the Big Five personality traits and demographics. Results converged to show that individual differences in preferences for Western music can be organized in terms of five latent factors that are invariant (i.e., universal) across countries and that generalize across assessment methods. Furthermore, the patterns of correlations between personality traits and musical preferences were largely consistent across countries and assessment methods. For example, trait Extraversion was correlated with stronger reactions to Contemporary musical styles (which feature rhythmic, upbeat, and electronic attributes), whereas trait Openness was correlated with stronger reactions to Sophisticated musical styles (which feature complex and cerebral attributes often heard in improvisational and instrumental music). The patterns of correlations between musical preferences and gender differences, ethnicity, and other sociodemographic metrics were also largely invariant across countries. Together, these findings strongly suggest that there are universal patterns in preferences for Western music, providing a foundation on which to develop and test hypotheses about the interactions between music, psychology, biology, and culture.