The relationship between musical training and affective states after exposure to happy and sad music : the mediating effect of musical emotion regulation

Abstract

Music has been widely recognized as an effective means for regulating emotions. Musical training and music listening have been found to be positively associated with general emotion regulation. However, the relationship between musical training and musical emotion regulation remains unclear, and there is little understanding of how musical training influences affective states after listening to music conveying positive and negative emotions. This study aimed to investigate the relationships between musical training, musical emotion regulation, and changes in affective states after exposure to happy and sad music. A sample of 130 participants, including 65 musicians and 65 non-musicians, were exposed to happy and sad music and assessed on their musical emotion regulation and affective responses using validated psychological measures. Results showed that musicians had significantly higher levels of musical emotion regulation and experienced significantly greater increase in positive affects and reduction in negative affects after exposure to happy music. However, no significant differences in affective changes were found between musicians and non-musicians after exposure to sad music. Mediation analysis revealed that musical emotion regulation played a significant mediating role between musical training and affective changes following exposure to happy music, but not sad music. The findings suggest that musical training may improve individuals’ emotional well-being by enhancing their ability to regulate emotions through music listening. This study sheds light on the underlying mechanisms of the relationship between musical training and affective states after exposure to happy and sad music, as well as the role of musical emotion regulation in this relationship.