Music and Emotion

The rapid rise in emotion research in psychology has brought forth a rich palette of concepts and tools for studying emotions expressed and induced by music. This chapter summarizes the current state of music and emotion research, starting with the fundamental definitions and the assumed structures of emotions (Sect. 29.2). A synthesis of the core affects, basic emotions and complex emotions is offered to clarify this complex landscape. A vital development for the field has been the introduction of a set of mechanisms and modifiers for the induction of emotion via music that are here connected to the structures of emotions (Sects. 29.3 and 29.4). Particular attention is given to challenges that are still waiting to be resolved, such as the cultural context and the situal context of music listening (Sect. 29.5)