Psychology of Music, Ahead of Print. Growing evidence shows that choirs improve the well-being of people experiencing chronic mental health conditions; however, the impact of performances by “recovery choirs” (i.e., singers with mental health conditions) on their community audience members has not been examined. In three studies, we explored whether performances foster positive emotions toward recovery choristers. In Study 1, we surveyed 50 audience members before and after a public concert and found that watching the recovery choir sing increased positive emotions and attitudes toward mental ..read more

Psychology of Music, Ahead of Print. The aim of the present case study was to obtain an in-depth understanding of the long-term motivation in four world-class musicians and two Olympic athletes. One part of the sample (Case 1) included three world famous musicians and one Olympic champion who all currently enjoy busy successful careers. These individuals are referred to as High Performing Stayers (HPS). The other part of the sample (Case 2) included one highly gifted musician and one Olympic athlete who both decided to put an end to their highly successful careers. These individuals are referr ..read more

Psychology of Music, Ahead of Print. Autistic children (AC) can demonstrate varying abilities of comprehending spoken and written information. Although information is often paired with music to facilitate recall and learning, there is limited research investigating if sung short stories influence the listening and reading comprehension (LRC) of AC. The purpose of this study was to compare the LRC of information paired with (1) familiar melodies, (2) unfamiliar melodies, and (3) spoken information in AC. Participants (N = 59) received three different short stories presented live that were sung ..read more

Psychology of Music, Ahead of Print. Music performance anxiety (MPA) affects numerous musicians, preventing them from performing to the full extent of their abilities. A variety of tools are used to cope with MPA among which is meditation. Although research conducted to date has made a distinction between the types of meditative techniques and their effects, this aspect is still not thoroughly investigated. The aim of this qualitative study is to investigate the experience of specialists in the field and identify the meditations employed for counteracting MPA. Sixteen semi-structured interview ..read more

Psychology of Music, Ahead of Print. This study aimed to elucidate factors related to suicidality in a high-stress population—music industry touring professionals. It also examined whether trait mindfulness plays a moderating role in relations among these factors and suicidality. Touring professionals (N = 1,154) responded to an online questionnaire that included the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale–Revised (CES-D), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Suicide Behavior Questionnaire–Revised (SBQ-R), and the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS). Mediation and moderated-mediation ..read more

Psychology of Music, Ahead of Print. The effect of moving along to music on induced affect was investigated by asking two groups of participants (N = 76) to listen to rhythmic patterns while either foot tapping along to the beat or staying still, respectively. Stimuli consisted of drum-breaks with three levels of syncopation (low, intermediate, high). Participants reported levels of induced pleasantness, relaxation, and wakefulness. It was hypothesized that participants who tapped along would experience greater pleasantness, less relaxation, and more wakefulness than those who remained still ..read more

Psychology of Music, Ahead of Print. Ensemble musicians must navigate a complex sensory environment to produce cohesive performances. The purpose of this study was to examine pulse alignment among performers of different experience levels facing increasingly asynchronous auditory and visual information. Musicians (N = 51) who were current members of large instrumental ensembles watched a video of a conductor outlining a 4/4 pattern while hearing a multivoiced instrumental ensemble soundtrack and were asked to tap the pulse on a tablet-based pad. Each of nine examples was presented in one of th ..read more

Psychology of Music, Ahead of Print. The primary purpose of this study was to determine reading strategy differences in completing a notation memorization task between three ensemble music traditions: jazz, choral, and band. The secondary purpose of this study was to assess possible relationships between ensemble affiliation, memorization strategies, and participants’ memorization accuracy. Participants (N = 81) had 75 s to memorize short melody while studying silently, singing, or playing on a keyboard. Participants then notated the each melody using staff notation. After completion of the ta ..read more

Psychology of Music, Ahead of Print. Coffee is a tremendously popular beverage throughout the world. According to recent studies, consumption of this caffeinated drink is influenced, inter alia, by variables related to store atmosphere, including background music. Findings in this regard, however, have been rather limited and ambiguous, and raise the question of whether music style, specifically classical versus pop, influences coffee purchase likelihood. In four studies, the authors sought to address this question, finding a positive correlation between music arousal level and coffee purchase ..read more

Psychology of Music, Ahead of Print. This meta-analysis integrates outcomes of experimental and quasi-experimental studies to analyze the effects of background music (BM) on learning. Research articles, dissertations, and conference proceedings published in or before 2021 were examined. Seventy-one effect sizes from 47 studies were integrated using a random-effects model and subgroup analyses. Five key results were found: (a) a small and positive mean effect size (d = 0.314) in favor of the BM condition, (b) a positive and medium effect size for studies that implemented BM before the learning ..read more