Abstract

Music has existed for millennia, for at least as long as language, but music’s effects are often felt to be immediate, rather than historical. The effects that specific music can generate are generally kept between the music and the person listening. When an individual listens to music, one would expect for their music choices to reflect the mood they are in or their musical and artist preferences. But what about emotions? Can an individual experience varying intensities of emotions from listening to music? In addition to the differences in intensities, what are some factors (e.g., lyrical content, melody or harmony, live or recorded performance) that determine or explain these emotions? The aims of this study are to determine if music affects the intensity of emotion and empathy with the artist. This manuscript will describe a proposed study to specifically examine the differences between emotion and empathy when listening to a live performance as compared to a recorded performance of the same musical piece. Through questionnaires assessing the performer and participants, this study will compare the emotions the performer intended with what was received from their audience. It is posited that in the live performance there may be greater empathy with the performer, whereby the performer can potentially influence their audience to experience the emotions they are feeling in performing their music and trying to convey through that song. This proposal concludes by discussing future studies that can explore how music influences emotions and the role of empathy in the experiences of musical performances.

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