Course - Music psychology - MUSV3145
Music psychology
New from the academic year 2025/2026
About
About the course
Course content
How can music evoke emotions? Are the emotions in the music or in the person? What is musicality? This is the type of questions that is dealt with in music psychology. In this course, we immerse ourselves in the understanding of what actually happens between the music and the person, which causes experiences to arise that can be positive, fun, overwhelming - but also at times troublesome and stressful. We start with the basics of sound waves that meet the ear and the musical development of the child, to a broader perspective also including adjacent perspectives such as music sociology and music philosophy. We look at how research can be designed to capture music experiences and what types of research methods are used in music psychology. Together we read and discuss both older texts which have become classics, and modern research.
Learning outcome
Knowledge:
Candidates who successfully complete MUSV3145:
- Have an understanding of which factors both in the music and in the person that influence the music experience,
- Have knowledge on different theoretical perspectives on the interplay between music and human beings,
- Have deepened their own emotional self-awareness
Skills:
Candidates who successfully complete this course can:
- Theoretically explain and discuss how and why music affects human beings emotionally,
- Design a music psychology experiment
- Present their own thoughts and views around this topic in a coherent and convincing form, both orally and in writing.
Learning methods and activities
The course consists of lectures and seminars with compulsory attendance (at least 80%). Both lectures and seminars will be interactive with practical exercises and group work that combines theory and practice through listening to music, reading, discussion and independent reflection.
A large part of the course will center around active music listening, where we test, discuss and make ourselves conscious about different ways of listening.
A 7.5 credit course corresponds to approximately 650 pages of course literature. It is expected that students read the course literature and participate in discussions at lectures/seminar.
Compulsory assignments
- Attendance at lectures and seminars (at least 80%)
- Write a reflective diary from at least half of the seminars
- Submission of one assignments between lectures, individually and in groups
Further on evaluation
One semester essay (4 000 - 6 000 words plus references).
If the course is not passed, the student must retake the whole assessment. If the candidate retakes the exam, there is no need to retake the compulsory assignments.
Specific conditions
Admission to a programme of study is required:
Creative Music Technology (MMUST)
Music Performance (MMUSP)
Music Performance Studies (BMUSP)
Music Performance Studies - Jazz (BMUSK)
Music Technology (BMUST)
Musicology (BMUSV)
Musicology (MMUSV)
Credit reductions
| Course code | Reduction | From |
|---|---|---|
| MUSV6005 | 7.5 sp | Autumn 2025 |
Subject areas
- Health Science
- Interdisciplinary Studies of Culture
- Music Theory
- Neuroscience
- Dance Studies
- Public Health
- The Humanities
- Musicology
- Music Pedagogy Subjects
- Psychology
- Social Sciences and Psychology
- Sociology