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.

Research Proposal

Questions and Issues To Be Discussed.

The research I have undertaken raises many questions surrounding the subject of music and emotion. Through the course of this thesis, I investigate how emotions have become central to our understanding of our selves, the world, and music. I discuss current theories suggesting how we are able to perceive and understand expressed emotion conveyed by others, and how through evolution we have become receptive to this and are able to use emotion as a communicative tool. I question how expressions of the voice lead us to be able to apply expression to our instruments, and though this, perform with emotion and underlying meaning. Following, through understanding of how we perceive emotions, this then leads to challenges in understanding in what ways this can be applied to music, and further, we look at compositional techniques and musical mechanisms which can be incorporated into works, which mirror those communicative mechanisms we understand to be expressive, thereby arriving at understandings concerning how music can be capable of expressing and eliciting real emotion in us.

This then leads to a debate whereby the role of felt and expressed emotion in music is challenged; what benefits listening to music which expresses emotion brings us, and a discussion follows in which how music can be an agent for change in us. This leads to an analysis where the question of memory, and how our memory’s role in our musical and emotional experiences is important to us in many ways, and subsequently how the effects this has on our memory leads to changes in our development, personality, and identity as individuals.

Following, my research study is presented, which investigates the emotional valence which individuals hold for music due to the memory of a specific piece. I was interested to observe if I could find any correlations between emotion perception, memory, and liking of a piece of music, and present the findings of a questionnaire study in which participants responses suggested answers to these questions. The findings from this, incorporated with the discussion which comes before allows us to analyse specific pieces of music from the flute repertoire, and see the importance of each of the factors previously discussed, in the resulting emotions felt, and meanings we hold from this.

Finally, all of these ideas incorporated, I look to how music and emotion can further be applied, and look to the topic of music and health, and music therapy to explain how the functions and mechanisms in both ourselves and musical constructions once understood from this emotional level, can be designed to bring out positive benefits for us, both physically and psychologically. Concluding, I reach outcomes in how finding meaning in music comes from this understanding of emotion, which in turn allows us to feel connected to ourselves and others, and how this is fundamental for us.

To Who is this Research Relevant For and Why?

The topics of emotion, memory, personal identity, and understanding how the theories and approaches behind these can be applied to music theory, and altogether utilised to bring out meaningful musical experiences for an audience or individual is relevant to all musicians; composers, teachers and performers. Ideas underpinning many theories I use in my discussion can be applied to performance, but also to teaching, and in the field of music and health.

Additionally, In knowing and understanding how harmonic structures, articulation and dynamics etc can affect people’s emotions towards a piece of music and their emotional understanding of it, this informs personal performance practice and interpretations of pieces, such as those above. Through this, it is possible to make informed decisions about how to interpret a piece to make it more emotionally meaningful by utilising the functions which elicit emotion, thereby potentially creating a more meaningful performance for an audience. Through understanding the emotional meaning and purpose behind a composition, in collaboration with others, sharing these same ideas together as a group can create a stronger sense of connection within an ensemble.

From the research that I conducted, I also wanted to test if having memory of a piece of music makes us like it more, or changes the type of emotion we feel in connection to it by associations from the past to be able to apply this to teaching, especially with teenage or adult students. If a person likes the music they are learning, they may have more motivation to study and improve. Alternatively, the results of this discussion may inform my decision in choosing pieces for a concert. If a performance has a particular target audience such as in an elderly people’s home or in a hospital, then having prior knowledge of this audiences’ preferences could help myself or others decide what kind of music, or from what era to choose music from, to provide an enjoyable and meaningful experience.

Through the discussion, we can see how the the applications and how the usage of this theoretical knowledge can help us to be able to make these informed decisions in situations such as these, and how music can be put into practice to be of great meaning and benefit to others through emotion.

Research Methods and Investigation.

I have investigated many of these issues through a written discussion incorporating many varying standpoints from psychology, philosophy, and music theory to ultimately be able to apply the ideas considered to analyse how individual pieces of music from the flute repertoire can be seen as emotionally expressive, and therefore more meaningful by this, and further apply these conclusions to consider how they can be applied back to performance, and be of benefit to other people.

My own research into the effect of memory on musical valence, I conducted using a self- report questionnaire technique, and I present the findings quantitatively and further analyse the results in relation to musical examples and the previous discussion. I then further relate the findings of my study to those conducted by others.

Research Outcomes and Presentation.

I present my written work in a thesis. The main body of work is a written analysis of relevant theories and discussion which relates to, and leads towards my own research topic. I compare and contrast many different viewpoints from a wide scope of authors, and make correlations of these to musical examples from the flute repertoire specifically, to lead towards presenting and understanding the context and outcomes of my study questionnaire, and further applications of this.

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