Edwin Franko Goldman’s “On the Farm” can leave little doubt in any one’s mind as to its subject matter, but with the exception of such very obvious music, or music to which we have been emotionally conditioned, music cannot paint blue skies or green pastures.
What then are the feelings most frequently excited by music? According to Schoen[72]:
“The data show that rest, sadness, joy, love, longing and reverence appear most frequently as the effects produced. Vocal music has a tendency to arouse well-defined emotional effects far more often than instrumental, the probability being that the specific emotional effect is due in the main to the words.”
The conclusions of Schoen on mood changes in a tested group sum up the relationship between mood changes and enjoyment. Thus for practical purposes we want to know not only whether a musical composition produces a mood change in the listener, but also what is of greater significance, whether the induced mood is also enjoyed, and to what degree this enjoyment might depend on such factors as the type of mood induced. The listener’s familiarity with the selection, and his judgment of the quality of the selection, are also important.
The results of a large series of observations show as a rule, that music produced a mood change in every listener, or that an existing mood was intensified when it conformed with the mood of the music. The tendency of the same composition to produce the same mood in every listener was very marked. The degree of enjoyment derived from the musical composition was in direct proportion to the intensity of the mood effect produced, provided this effect was not due to the conditions of the performance, such as a poor intonation or faulty interpretation.
“No greater amount of enjoyment was derived from one type of mood than from another type, unless the mood was due to dislike of the specific type of music or to a poor performance. But when the mood change was from joyful to serious, the enjoyment seemed to be slightly less than when the change was from serious to joyful, provided the hearer was not hampered by a knowledge of the critical estimate of the music to which he was listening or by faulty interpretation. The evaluation of the quality of the musical composition was in direct proportion to the intensity of enjoyment.”
III
Other Conditioning Factors
In addition to the physical elements of music previously discussed there are other factors which enter into the type of response of mind and body to music. Mention has been made above of the value of program notes. People who hear new music for the first time may or may not develop a visual or emotional response, but if prepared by descriptive writing they may “understand” or at least enjoy the music more.
“Program notes, oral comments, and the general setting of the presentation are important because they concentrate and reinforce the mood response. Indeed it has been shown that in a verbal introduction offered before a composition is presented, what is said does not matter much, and that almost any kind of comment will enhance the listener’s enjoyment if it serves to cue him into appropriate effective states of mind.”[60]
Music aides should take this finding seriously and preface the playing of musical selections with verbal commentary. Even popular dance music may be prefaced by remarks about the solo instrument featured or the personalities involved.