The effect of context on the perception of music

Abstract

This study examines the idea that cognitive factors may be significant in determining the nature of musical response, arguing against the long-held notion that the meaning of music is denotative in character, that is, embodied in its own internal arrangements of sound. The effects of context on the perception of a Berg “March” was examined by having three groups of subjects rate the piece on a semantic-differential rating scale. Group 1 read a lighthearted passage of prose, while Group 2 read prose chosen to evoke a grim and foreboding mood before listening to the music. Group 3 was the control and read nothing. This manipulation of context resulted in no significant differences between group reactions to the piece, as indexed by the semantic differential. © 1978, The Psychonomic Society, Inc.. All rights reserved.