Instrumental Music and Emotions

Explore this 13 dimensional map of emotions inspired by instrumental music! The authors (Cowen et al. at the University of California at Berkeley) attempted to organize subjective experiences associated with music across 2 different cultures (American and Chinese). They used 2,168 samples of Western and Chinese music on 2 groups of participants (American and Chinese) and collected data on specific feelings associated with the music listened to. This study provides insight into the similarities of emotions experienced by 2 different cultures when listening to the same piece of music. The website shows a visual representation of the results.