Expressing Emotions through Music

Psychologist Dan Levitan went to a performance of a classical music composition he normally loves - Mozart's piano concerto - and didn't enjoy it. Same notes played, but a very different experience.

He and a graduate student designed a study to figure out what made the difference between a lackluster performance and a spectacular one.

It turns out it was all about how the performers expressed emotion through music. The link will take you to a Psych Central blog with two short videos about how this phenomena was studied, and how Levitan hopes the research results can be used. I found it fascinating and hope you enjoy it, too.

Catherine Boyer, MA, LCSW
Upper West Side Counseling