This collaborative research study with Missouri Science and Technology University aims to understand attitudes and emotions in response to military or university band performance in both live and recorded conditions. The results are now published as part of Frontiers in Psychology special research topic- Social Convergence in Times of Spatial Distancing: The Role of Music During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Research Team: Dr. Amy Belfi, Dr. David Samson, CW2 Jonathan Crane, Nicholas Schmidt
Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought the live music industry to an abrupt halt; subsequently, musicians are looking for ways to replicate the live concert experience virtually. The present study sought to investigate differences in aesthetic judgments of a live concert vs. a recorded concert, and whether these responses vary based on congruence between musical artist and piece. Participants (N = 32) made continuous ratings of their felt pleasure either during a live concert or while viewing an audiovisual recorded version of the same joint concert given by a university band and a United States Army band. Each band played two pieces: a United States patriotic piece (congruent with the army band) and a non-patriotic piece (congruent with the university band). Results indicate that, on average, participants reported more pleasure while listening to pieces that were congruent, which did not vary based on live vs. lab listening context: listeners preferred patriotic music when played by the army band and non-patriotic music when played by the university band. Overall, these results indicate that felt pleasure in response to music may vary based on listener expectations of the musical artist, such that listeners prefer musical pieces that “fit” with the particular artist. When considering implications for concerts during the COVID-19 pandemic, our results indicate that listeners may experience similar degrees of pleasure even while viewing a recorded concert, suggesting that virtual concerts are a reasonable way to elicit pleasure from audiences when live performances are not possible.
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To learn more about Dr. Belfi and her work click here
Thanks to the Missouri S&T Center for Science, Technology, and Society for funding this project. Also thanks to the Missouri S&T Symphonic Bands and the 399th Army Band for their participation.
