Music and Emotion: Theory and Research

That music has an incredible power to move us emotionally is without question. Whether performing music, listening to music, or creating music, this bond with our emotions is always there. The nature of this relationship is clearly complex however, and emotional aspects of music have received surprisingly little attention in the 45 years since the publication of Leonard Meyer's classic work 'Emotion and meaning in music.' During that time, both 'music psychology' and 'emotion' have developed as vibrant areas of research, and the time is fitting therefore to try and bring together this multidisciplinary interest and take stock of what we now know about this powerful relationship. A new volume in the Series in Affective Science, Music and Emotion: theory and research brings together leading researchers interested in both these topics to present the first integrative review of this subject. The first section reflects the various interdisciplinary perspectives, taking on board views from philosophy, psychology, musicology, biology, anthropology, and sociology. The second section addresses the role of our emotions in the composition of music, the ways that emotions can be communicated via musical structures, the use of music to express emotions within the cinema. The third section looks at the emotions of the performer - how do they communicate emotion, how does their emotional state affect their own performance. The final section looks at the ways in which our emotions are guided and influenced while listening to music, whether actively or passively. A state of the art account of the subject, Music and emotion is a book long overdue, one that will fascinate psychologists, musicologists, music educators, and philosophers.