Chapter 1: What Is Music Psychology?

Observing a rock band rehearsing in a basement, one would observe physical actions,
cognitive strategies, social interactions, and emotional responses playing out throughout
their rehearsal. “​Music psychology is a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary study of
music in the human experience”.​ It is one way to attempt to understand the constant
intertwining and possibly even colliding/conflicting behaviors, thoughts, and feelings of
each individual seated in this environment.

Hodges and Sebald state that all human societies throughout all moments of history
engage in musical behaviors. This is true to the extent that “many consider music to be
a species-specific trait (e.g., Blacking, 1973).

According to Quantum Physics,​ everything that exists, exists in a state of vibration.

Some vibrations are recognized as sound (between 20-20,000 cycles for human
beings), while others as music. The model by Charles Eagle (pg. 4 Fig 1.1) shows us
that music can be considered from a number of disciplines and an interdisciplinary
standpoint. More formally, ​music psychology is a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary
study of music in the human experience.

A Brief Tour of the Model of Music Psychology

Expanding on the continuously progressing definition of music psychology, we can take

a tour around the model, expanding and further clarifying the involvement of other major
disciplines involved.

Sociology
● “Each individual has the potential to respond to music of the surrounding culture”.
● Age, race, gender, mental/physical state, or socioeconomic status does not
prohibit one’s involvement or ability to have a musical experience.
● Music and sociology are cohesive, because together they have the ability to play
a role in business/economics, politics, religion, youth culture, and
entertainment/media.

Anthropology
● Music dates back to the beginning of humanity. The field of anthropology
contributes that ​“all people in all times and in all places have engaged in musical
behaviors”.
● Archaeologists - find evidence of ancient musical practices
 ● Ethnomusicologists - document the role of music in all the world’s cultures
Biology
● Musical experiences affect the body.​ Understanding these effects requires one to
investigate biological responses in the “brain, hearing, vision, emotions, motor
mechanisms, and physiological responses, such as heart rate changes”.
● BioMusic - “a term used to study animal sound making, such a birdsong, and the
relationship this has with human music”.

Philosophy
● Philosophers concerned with the study of music will focus on “the nature and
meaning of music, the understanding of beauty, and our emotional responses to
music”.

Physics
● Acoustics is the branch of physics most related to music. ​Acoustics is the science
of sound, and provides an understanding of the sonic aspect of music.
● A sub-branch of acoustics leads to psychoacoustics; ​how the mind interprets
musical sound.
● Applications of acoustics in physics are found in architecture and engineering,
and utilizing physics to create musical instruments.

Psychology
● “Psychologists from each of the major approaches contribute unique
understandings of musical experiences”.
● ​The cohesiveness of psychology and music focuses on the perception and
cognition of music.
● Other important topics: musical personality, development of musicality,
performance anxiety, affective responses to music, aptitude, teaching/learning.

Education
● Lowell Mason convinced the Boston School Board to accept music as part of the
curriculum of the American educational system in 1838 (Birge, 1928).
● The National Standards for Arts Education​ (1994) specifies what a student
should know and do in music.
● The No Child Left Behind Act (2001) specifies that music (arts, to be broad), are
a Core Academic Subject.
● There are many ongoing and future research opportunities concerning the role of
music in a broader educational context (SIG, AERA).
Music
● Music theory explains the structural elements of music and its influence on our
perceptions
● Musicology - music history are synonymous. Musicologists are expanding into
sub-fields such as “comparative musicology”, “evolutionary musicology”, and
“cognitive musicology”.
● There are a variety of specific motor skills that must be acquired to continue to
progress to learn and play music effectively.
● Music therapists capitalize on the role of music in a variety of client populations
(cognitive/physical impairments)

Carl Seashore(1938), father of modern music psychology (Thaut, 2009) believed that
proper study of musical behavior should not fail to collaborate with the studies of
physics, biology, physiology, psychology, anthropology, philosophy, and metaphysics.