Paulina Modlitba

801209-5603
2F1213 - Musical communication and Music technology

Communication of musical emotions

In this text I will comment and discuss the contents of the articles Expression,
Perception, and Induction of Musical Emotions: A Review and a Questionnaire Study
of Everyday Listening1 and Communicating emotion in music performance: a
review and theoretical framework2, both written by Patrik N. Juslin. In addition, I
will try to broaden the focus of the text by including some personal reflections and
adjacent theories.
Research concerning music and emotions is still relatively limited at this day
in age. One of the main issues in this research area, the strictly inadequate
understanding of the human brain and mind, actually concerns all disciplines related
to psychological and cognitive mechanisms. Hence, still today we do not know much
about how and why people tend to react in certain ways and exactly how the human
brain perceives and processes information.
Within the field of musical emotions there are many questions that have
remained unanswered. These questions concern several different aspects of musical
communication: How do musicians express emotions through music? Are there
specific and universal cues or codes? And how are the emotional cues perceived and
induced in the head of the listener? How accurate is the communication of musical
emotions between the musician and the listener, i.e. the congruence between encoding
and decoding the emotional information? Juslin and Laukka try to answer some of
these questions in their articles.
A central aspect of studying and understanding musical emotions is to
understand the very nature of emotions. There are many different theories in this field
of which none is known to be more accurate than the others (Juslin & Laukka, p.
218). Some researchers view emotions as discrete categories, some consider them as
different states on a continuous spectrum or scale. Yet, apart from these uncertainties
one aspect seems to be more or less agreed upon: there are a number of basic
emotions (happiness, anger, sadness, tenderness and fear) that are easily expressed
and perceived. It is worth pointing out that the same emotions have also occurred in
the expression marks of musical scores [Juslin, p. 315; Juslin & Laukka p. 224].
The concept of basic emotions can also be applied to other nonverbal
communication channels, e.g. facial expressions, as shown by Paul Ekman3.
According to Ekman the basic emotions have distinct and universal expressive
characteristics. Hence, these expressions are perceived in the same way irrespective of
culture and social context. Our ability to express and perceive emotions partly seems
to be of evolutionary origin. The theory of biological emotions is however inadequate
when it comes to more complex and nuanced emotions that may vary between
cultures or social groups. To clarify the nature of these emotions Juslin presents the
idea of social learning, i.e. specific memories. According to Juslin social learning is
a life-long process that begins with the socialization of emotions [Juslin, p. 322].
These emotional memories can explain several complex aspects of musical
communication, such as why there are individual differences between performers and
why the utilisation of cues is inconsistent (Juslin, p. 323). My personal theory about
emotional communication corresponds to Juslins in many respects. Yet, there is one
particular aspect of social learning, not mentioned by Juslin, that I would like to
1

Patrik N. Juslin and Petri Laukka, Journal of New Music Research, 2004, Vol 33, No. 3, pp 217-238
Patrik N. Juslin, Music and emotion. Theory and research, Oxford University Press, 2001
3
http://www.paulekman.com/
2

Paulina Modlitba
801209-5603
2F1213 - Musical communication and Music technology

emphasize; since our individual brains set the conditions for learning it seems to me
that even learning should be considered having an evolutionary origin.
In both articles mentioned above, Juslin presents a modified version of
Brunswiks (1956) lens model as an accurate model for describing the
communicative process. The lens model illustrates how emotions are encoded and
decoded by the performer and the listener respectively based on expressive cues [p.
324]. The cues are probabilistic in the sense that they are not wholly reliable
indicators of the intended expressions [Juslin, p. 324]. Listeners therefore have to
combine several expressive cues in order to attain a reliable interpretation of the
intended expression. The correlation and redundancy of these cues have both positive
and negative effects. On one hand, the redundancy leads to the uncertainty being
reduced. On the other hand, it reduces the information capacity of the emotional
communication channel as well (Juslin p. 325).
One rather different yet relevant theory that can be applied to musical
communication and emotions is the well-established theory of flow, whose
originator is Dr. Mihly Csikszentmihly. Flow can be described as an emotional state
of intense emotional involvement, satisfaction and timelessness that comes from
immersive, challenging and goal-oriented activities.
[Flow means] being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The
ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows
inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved,
and you're using your skills to the utmost.4
In one of his first books on the topic: Flow. The psychology of optimal experience5,
Dr. Csikszentmihly has dedicated a chapter particularly to Flow in music. In this
chapter he explains that listening to as well as creating music can help us reach the
state of flow. According to Csikszentmihly music satisfies a basic human need; it
helps us organize our mind and therefore decreases the mental entropy and prevents
boredom and anxiety. However, it is only when we actually concentrate on the music
that we can attain flow (Csikszentmihly, p. 318). In other words, it is not hearing but
listening that conveys this particular feeling of satisfaction. This particular aspect of
experiencing music is also pointed out by Juslin and Laukka, yet from another point
of view and without really presenting an explanation:
At the same time, given the emphasis on emotional responses to music in this
article, we should perhaps note that music does not always arouse emotional
responses in listeners. Often, we may listen to a piece of music without feeling
anything in particular. [Juslin & Laukka, p. 224]
Further, in the section discussing arousal potential, Juslin and Laukka describes:
According to Berlynes (1971) influential theory listeners will tend to prefer
music that gives them an optimum level of arousal: if the arousal potential of the
music is too high, listeners will reject the music; if the arousal potential is too
low, listeners will also reject the music. [p. 225]
4

http://hotwired.wired.com/collections/web_development/4.09_csik_pr.html
Mihily Csikszentmihly, Flow. The psychology of optimal experience (New
York, Harper & Row, 1990)

Paulina Modlitba
801209-5603
2F1213 - Musical communication and Music technology

This approach is completely in line with the theory of flow: finding the appropriate
level of challenge leads to the consistent feeling of satisfaction we so often strive for.
The theory of flow is probably not the solution to understanding the human mind and
cognition, still it provides a somewhat different view of musical emotions and what
motivates us to listen to and produce music.