Analyzing the Effect of Chord Progression and Instrument on Music in Perception of Emotion in Different Age Groups

Abstract

Psychoacoustics is the study of the relationship between physical characteristics of sounds and how they are perceived. Music has always been recognised as an outlet for one’s emotions, listening to music helps increase focus and reduces stress. This impact is due to different characteristics like harmonic cadence being played and the tempo of the instrument. The present research paper explores how perception of music is influenced by the chords, and instruments used among different age groups and what emotion they associate this with. 3 chord progressions were played by 3 different instruments, and 9 audio samples were created and shared with 41 respondents through a survey. After listening to each audio, participants were made to choose a particular emotion they associated the audio with. It was found that progressions as well as instruments had an impact on the emotions one associates with. These findings can be applied in music composition, music therapy and audio engineering. These findings can be used to further the field of psychoacoustics by helping researchers track what specific characteristics of music can elicit certain physiological responses from people.