Emotion versus Tension in Haydn's Symphony no. 104 as Measured by the Two-Dimensional Continuous Response Digital Interface

Abstract

This study compared musicians' responses while listening to the first movement of Haydn's Symphony no. 104 using a two-dimensional continuous response digital interface (CRDI). The two-dimensional CRDI uses a mouse cursor via a computer screen to indicate the interrelationship of two dimensions simultaneously. In the present investigation, 50 musicians were presented with the dimensions of arousal (i.e., relaxing-exciting) and affect (i.e., ugly-beautiful). The vertical dimension on the computer screen listed the word “Exciting” at the top and “Relaxing” at the bottom; the horizontal axis listed “Ugly” on the left side and “Beautiful” on the opposite side. Subjects moved the cursor as they tracked their response to the musk. Results indicated that there was an inverse relationship between the two dimensions as subjects tracked responses during this selection. The correlation between the two dimensions was r = −.58. Additionally, graphic analysis indicated almost a mirror-image relationship between the two dimensions. When analyzed within the musical context, both the arousal and the excitement dimensions evidenced many subtle characteristics shown graphically as peaks and valleys corresponding to variations in the music. It was apparent that these two dimensions represent different aspects of perceived listening; the exciting-relaxing dimension representing degrees of arousal that were most often the opposite from subjects' affective response. Additional comparisons were made with previous research that used this identical Haydn selection but measured each dimension separately.

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