Psychology of Music

Catalog description

This seminar presents an overview of the current and growing research in the psychology of music focusing on the cognition of music and on musical emotions. The study of music cognition and music perception reflects basic cognitive ad perceptual processes because music is a projection of the mind. In addition to evaluating research on the perception of melody, harmony, and rhythm, this seminar reviews research on listening, learning, and performing music focusing on how musical training and musical emotions relate to these activities. We examine recent studies on the neurological basis of music focusing on those that address how music training and musical emotions affect the brain. Moreover, we draw parallels between music and language, and evaluate music’s communicative power in a variety of settings including advertising. In each class, we listen to musical examples that illustrate the research.