The impact of classical music on a person’s emotional states

Music is traditionally considered one of the most powerful means of emotional regulation of a person’s mental activity, promoting the sublimation of emotions, reducing anxiety, stress levels, etc. Purpose of the study: to study the psychological characteristics of the impact of classical musical works on human emotional states. The study involved 40 subjects, average age 26.5 years; 20 musicians and 20 non-musicians. Psychodiagnostic measurements were carried out according to the following procedure – the subjects listened to 5 classical musical compositions, after listening to each composition they assessed their emotional state using the “Self-Assessment of Emotional States” method by K. Izard. Statistical processing of the data was carried out using the Friedman test for comparison of 3 or more paired samples, and the paired Wilcoxon test, using the SPSS program, version 23.0. A study of the dynamics of emotional states when listening to classical works showed that, in general, there is an increase in emotional tone, with a predominance of positive emotions and a decrease in the negative background. Selected pieces of music helped to live and sublimate negative emotions.