Zoso

Wonder: Feelings of wonder are related to experiences of admiration, enchantment, astonishment, marvel in front of anything very impressive such as the beauties of nature, of art or of more specific phenomena such as a child prodigy or a pathbreaking scientific discovery. Why music evokes this emotional response quite frequently is at present not fully understood.

Transcendence: Experiences of transcendence contain feelings of deep inspiration often combined with feelings of awe, of humility and reverence in front of something perceived as big. These experiences can, but do not have to imply spiritual feelings. As noted by the famous psychologist Abraham Maslow, music is one of the most effective means of inducing feelings of transcendence.

Longing: Is a feeling experienced in relation to something or someone that is strongly valued or desired but absent. Nostalgia tends to occur in relation past valued experiences, while longing is more typically directed towards a desired but not (yet) existing future. Longing is often experienced in relation to a loved one, but can also be “free-floating” in which case it may be best described as “the desire for desire”.

Tenderness: This is a state in which one feels soft, gentle, in “caressing mode” as it were. Feelings of tenderness are intimately related to feelings of love, affection and warmth.

Peacefulness: Reflects the experience of tranquility and serenity and the total absence of emotional turmoil. This experience relates to the well-known calming, sedative effects of music. Despite their apparent dullness, these feelings can be quite intense when experienced as a positive dreamlike state of contentment – a much sought after experience in human life.

Power: Refers to feelings of triumph, heroism, and “grandeur”. Music does have a mysterious transformative power to make us feel strong, great, and self-confident even when our day-to-day feelings tend to be fragile, dull and not empowering at all.

Joyful Activation: Feelings of joy, enthusiasm and happiness are self-explanatory and anyone who listens regularly to music knows these feelings. Sometimes these feelings mobilize our motor system and we feel like bouncing, tapping or dancing to the music. Therefore we refer to this state as joyful activation.

Inquietude: Even though most music-related feelings tend to be positive, some kinds or twists of music can trigger feelings of nervousness, agitation, irritation and even aggression. When in a rebellious state of mind, these feelings can be sought after or even enjoyed as tends to happen particularly during adolescence.

Sadness: The sadness evoked by music tends to differ from the sadness of our day-to day experiences. The latter tend to be aversive – something we wish we could avoid. In contrast, the sadness evoked by music is one that, on balance, we are able to enjoy. It is as if the music allowed us to experience the pure feeling of sadness, stripped from the aversive experiences of defeat or loss that accompany its appearance in everyday-life.

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