Music, Meaning and Emotion

Hannah Jefferies

Name: Hannah Jefferies Main Subject: Classical Flute Research Supervisors: Ines de Avena Braga, Research Question: How can elements and features from psychology and philosophy illustrate what is fundamental to our emotions, in what way can these concepts be represented within and expressed by the flute repertoire, and how can we incorporate and convey these understandings as performers to create music meaningfully and be of beneficence to others? Summary of Results: This research sets out to contrast and evaluate diverse standpoints from psychology and philosophy to discuss firstly how emotions can be defined, whether music creates real emotions in us, and what capacities we possess to be both receptive and conveying of emotion within music. During my discussion, I incorporate examples of excerpts from the flute repertoire, consider the harmonic language used and function of musical structures, and balance this against the resulting emotional response from us. This initial discussion is in support of a questionnaire which I conducted in order to gather results from respondents of their perceived emotional response and valence when presented with differing musical excerpts, both upon an initial and second listening. I aimed to gauge and qualify their reaction to musical traits which have been connected more strongly than others to specific emotional states, and additionally I was interested to find if there was a connection between memory of a piece of music, and emotional valence due to this familiarity. Finally, having demonstrated the emotive strength it is possible for music to hold, I investigate how as artists we can harness and emphasise certain functions of music to create performances which are highly engaging and positively affecting for listeners. Additionally, this research then leads us to an understanding of the impact of integrating the effects of emotion and music, and suggests how this combination can be beneficial and utilised in and for the wider society, namely in the field of music therapy. Biography: I am currently a second year masters student from the UK studying classical flute at the Koninklijk Conservatorium with Jeroen Bron and Dorine Schade, having recently completed my Bachelors degree at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. During my studies I have been very lucky to have had the opportunity to perform as part of ensembles including Asko|Schönberg, New European Ensemble, European Youth Wind Orchestra, and Amadeus Orchestra Academy. Outside of performance, I greatly enjoy being part of outreach and community music; a highlight was working with the Manchester Camerata Orchestra, delivering music therapy to people with Dementia.

Chapter One

Introduction

This research results from the interest I have in the complex ways in which music relates to our emotions, and how I have seen this used to enormous benefit to listeners and participants of music. Music has long been thought of as the “language of emotions(1)” and has been used historically in shamanic tradition(2), been noted in Greek philosophy to improve health, and in the Middle Ages music was used to treat both psychological and physical problems(3). Today, music tied together with emotion is part of our everyday lives; we experience sadness in response to film, annoyance towards advertising, joy at a childs’ school performance and nostalgia when an old song plays on the radio, yet, exactly how music evokes such strong emotions and has the ability to “move” us is not always clear,

Through the course of this research thesis, I am interested in the correlation and interconnection between music, memory and our emotions, and I aim to investigate and evaluate these topics through diverse standpoints from psychology and philosophy. Firstly, to discuss how emotions can be defined, whether music creates real emotions in us, and what capacities we possess to be both receptive and conveying of emotion within music. Questions arise such as whether real emotions exist within music, and if they do, how we are receptive to this. How are our musical emotions different from other types of emotions, and what are the evolutionary physiological mechanisms which allow us to be receptive to music and have it trigger emotions in us? In this discussion I continue to investigate which mechanisms within music allow it to be expressive to us, and the role that this has to play in our emotional experiences. Through dialogue of evaluating how the role of memory and personal identity works in collaboration with emotion, we come to considerations of how music can be utilised for the beneficence of the wider society, and the social benefits which the connection to others through music can reward us with, specifically when applied through music therapy.

Integrated into my discussion, I also present and evaluate my own research which I conducted in order to gather results from respondents of their perceived emotional response and valence when presented with differing musical excerpts, both upon an initial and second listening. I aimed to gauge and qualify their reaction to musical traits which have been connected more strongly than others to specific emotional states, and additionally I was interested to find if there was a connection between memory of a piece of music, and emotional valence due to this familiarity.

Within this dialogue, I also incorporate examples of excerpts from the flute repertoire, consider the harmonic language used and function of musical structures, and balance this against the resulting emotional response from us to demonstrate how we as performers can utilise techniques for performance to increase the intensity of emotive works, make music hyper-meaningful to a listener, and utilise the therapeutic values that music can hold.

1- Cooke, 1959

2- Moreno, 1988

3-Boxberger, 1962

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