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Cited by 211Diverse Music Education InsightsPsychological Well-being and Life SatisfactionFlow Experience in Various Fields

Emotion, engagement and meaning in strong experiences of music performance.

Open access
Lamont, Alexandra·2012·Psychology of Music
DOI 10.1177/0305735612448510
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Abstract

This paper explores the emotions connected with music performance. Performing music provides the potential to attain wellbeing via the hedonic and eudaimonic routes, appealing to pleasure, engagement and meaning (Seligman, 2002). To date, most research exploring emotions amongst performers has focused on these components separately, exploring positive or negative affect, flow, or the development of performer identity. In the current study, 35 university students (mean age 20.6 years) gave free reports of their strongest, most intense experiences of performing music. Accounts were content analyzed using the Strong Experiences of Music Descriptive System (Gabrielsson & Lindström Wik, 2003), and also analyzed for the components of wellbeing using an idiographic approach. Four basic types of response were characterized, emphasizing: (1) negative and positive emotions and personal engagement; (2) negative and positive emotions, engagement and meaning; (3) positive emotion and meaning; or (4) positive emotions, engagement, and meaning. The emphasis on the eudaimonic route to wellbeing (through engagement and meaning) shows that young musicians do have valuable and rewarding experiences with the potential to sustain long-term motivation to engage with practical music-making. The value of the positive psychology framework is also demonstrated by its applicability to descriptions of strong experiences of performing music.

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  • Participating in any kind of musical experience, in general, and music making, more specifically, can have an impact on positive emotions.

    “Participating in any kind of musical experience, in general, and music making, more specifically, can have an impact on positive emotions (Lamont, 2012; Croom, 2015; Campayo–Muñoz and Cabedo–Mas, 2017).”

    From Uses and Perceptions of Music in Times of COVID-19: A Spanish Population Survey (2021) · cites this paper as Lamont, 2012

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Authors
Lamont, A.
Affiliations
Keele University (GB)
Corresponding author
Lamont, Alexandra
ORCID
Lamont, Alexandra
Venue
Psychology of Music
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2012-08-20
Volume
40
Issue
5
Pages
574-594
ISSN
  • 0305-7356 (ISSN-L)
  • 1741-3087
DOI
10.1177/0305735612448510
OpenAlex
W2144107411
Cited by
211
References
8
Citations by year
2026: 18 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 32 · 2023: 14 · 2022: 33 · 2021: 37 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 3
FWCI
134.15
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations
Psychology of Music (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Music › Diverse Music Education Insights
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Flow Experience in Various Fields
Keywords
music performance, emotions, well-being, eudaimonic well-being, hedonic well-being, engagement, meaning, positive psychology, young musicians, flow, performer identity, motivation

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