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 Two

Definition of Emotion

“Emotions are relatively brief, intense, and rapidly changing reactions to potentially important events in the external or internal environment, which are often of a social nature and involve changes in cognition, physiological reactions, subjective feelings, and behaviour(4).”

Beginning, how can we define what our emotions are, and what are they for? In addition to the definition above offered by Juslin, other psychologists are also in concurrence with this. Emotions have been found to be typically short- lived internal responses to actual or imagined events which help us respond appropriately, in rapid succession to the event occurring. The outset of the process involved “cognitively appraises” a given situation to evaluate it for danger or threat, then, we instinctively and usually without conscious judgement have a “subjective feeling” towards the event, which is closely followed by “physiological arousals” such as our heart and breath rate increasing. Following this, often there is some form of “expression” in reflexive response to our feeling and arousal such as facial or vocal expressions. This then leads to an “action tendency”, such as the fight, flight or freeze response. All of these mechanisms occur in rapid succession and are designed to be a strong impulse to evoke a reaction from us to keep us safe. After the event and responses to it are over, there comes the “regulation” phase which can be conscious, subconscious or both, in which our parasympathetic nervous system is enacted to allow us to calm down and appraise the situation, our responses, and adapt this in our minds if such an event were to occur again(5,6,7). By this process then, we can see the defining element of the difference between emotions and affect or mood. Emotions are generally felt in response to an event, or perhaps a thought of a real or imagined event, and therefore “have an object” which they are about(8). Affect is more long lasting and not necessarily directly related to an event or situation(9). This having been established, how is something such as music and sound able to influence our physiological and psychological responses?

4-Juslin, 2005

5- Ekman, 1992

6- Johnson-Laird, Oatley, 1992

7- Scherer, 2000

8- Oatley, Jenkins, 1996

9- Frijda, 1999

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