Using a New Interactive Interface Shows How Music Listeners Think Different Emotions Sound as Music - Neuroscience News

Summary: A new computer interface allowed participants to convey their emotions through music by changing elements of the musical tune. New research conducted by experts from Durham University's Department of Music found that people are able to convey particular emotions through music by changing certain elements of the musical tune. The researchers created an interactive computer interface called EmoteControl which allows users to control six cues (tempo, pitch, articulation, dynamics, brightness, and mode) of a musical piece in real-time. The participants were asked to show how they think seven different emotions (sadness, calmness, joy, anger, fear, power, and surprise) should sound as music. They did this by changing the musical cues in EmoteControl, essentially allowing them to create their own variations of a range of music pieces that portrayed different emotions.