Aesthetic response to music: musicians versus nonmusicians

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Journal of Music Therapy

ISSN

0022-2917

Volume

30

Issue

3

DOI

10.1093/jmt/30.3.174

First Page

174

Last Page

191

Publication Date

1-1-1993

Abstract

This study represents five separate studies comparing music majors with nonmusic majors in self-defined aesthetic response to various musical selections from the Western art tradition. Five different groups of musicians and nonmusicians responded to selections from Puccini's La Bohème, R. Strauss' Death and Transfiguration, G. Holst's First Suite in E♭ for Military Sand, Haydn's Symphony #104, and Mozart's Vesperae Solennes de Confessore in C Major. All subjects used the Continuous Response Digital Interface (CRDI) to track aesthetic responsiveness. Questionnaires administered after the listening experience asked subjects to indicate whether or not each had an aesthetic response and to assess the magnitude of this response in comparison to other similar music listening experiences. Neither the frequency nor magnitude of subjects' perceived aesthetic experiences was different for musicians and nonmusicians. All subjects differentiated across the various selections, indicating relatively higher and lower aesthetic interest at various points within the music. Analyses of graphs indicated that musicians do not differ substantially from nonmusicians in aesthetic responsiveness. © 1993 by the National Association for Music Therapy, Inc.

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS