Undergraduate Research at FIU (URFIU) Conference

Musical Communication

Threatened by the growing accessibility to music streaming sites, the modern music experience is becoming limited to recorded music, as many prioritize convenience over experience. Choosing to opt out of a live music performance has greater implications for a society driven by symbols on a screen, as they not only miss out on the nuances within a piece that are only heightened when performed live, but also miss out on the unique connection, vulnerability, and empathy development with the artist. Because music has the power to directly impact audiences and provide an impression in the direction of their psychological and communicative abilities, it is necessary to preserve the music industry and provide artists with research that can guide their careers in a positive direction. In efforts to understand the communicative process between an audience and a performer in a live music context, this research project aims to analyze the effects of audience-to-performer communication on an audience's perception of a concert. Guided by the principles under affect theory and the theory of proxemics, this project will study the effects of both location and emotion felt from the audience to fully understand the communicative process. In doing so, it will analyze two key aspects of live music that are typically studied separately in current literature on this topic. In fact, published studies on audience perception are centered around recorded music or other art forms, but are not catered to live music, similar to the way that the effects of both location and emotion are only hypothesized, yet have never been tested before. This missing piece of research has implications for audiences because it negatively affects the way that music is branded by the public and the way that people choose to listen to music. Therefore, to inspire further development in this field, this project will employ a mixed methods approach by first studying the emotional capacity and vulnerability in a sample of 100 audience members by having them rate personality traits they relate to the most on a Likert scale. This first study will measure each member's emotional intelligence to reduce bias. Once the data has been collected for the first study, those same members will be surveyed before and after a live concert through a 15 question questionnaire which will determine their overall experience. Each member will rate their experiences and the emotions they felt while being seated in different locations to measure if their placement in the venue determines deeper connection to the music through felt emotions. This research project will further clarify the role that music plays in communication and emotional development, and can assist in helping the music business, music therapy, and music psychology fields evolve. The results will also primarily benefit musical artists in developing greater connections with their intended audiences, and will provide insight towards venue designs, artist engagement, and promote growth and appreciation towards a declining industry.