A Phenomenological Study on the Bidirectional Relationship Between Emotional States and Musical Performance

Abstract

Musicians find performing cathartic as it often evokes emotions through their performance which in turn influences their own emotional state. Currently, there are not enough studies that investigate the impact of a musician’s emotional state on their musical performance. The current study focuses on exploring the bidirectional relationship between music performance and emotions among violinists and guitarists. The sample group consisted of 6 violinists and 6 guitarists from Mumbai who had been performing in a group setting (orchestra, band, etc.) for a minimum of 4 years. Interviews were carried out based on a semi structured interview schedule based on factors that influence playing. Thematic analysis was carried out and 4 broad themes (emotional reflection while playing music, influence of external factors, personality traits of participants and emotions felt at different time markers) were extracted from the collected data. Major findings of the study involved musicians intentionally inducing emotions in listeners in familiar genres because they can anticipate the associated emotions due to crystallised intelligence and conditioning. Moreover, external factors like audience and location also influence their performance, as musicians associate specific emotions with these contexts. These findings can enable researchers and musicians to develop techniques to manage such phenomena and better emotion regulation.