Judgments of happiness, brightness, speed and tempo change of auditory stimuli varying in pitch and tempo.

William G. CollierThe University of Texas at TylerTimothy L. HubbardTexas Christian UniversityThe effects of pitch height, tempo, and pitch contour (ascending and descend­ing C major scale) on ratings of happiness, brightness, speed and tempo changewere examined. Higher pitch tones (1046.4 Hz [C6]) were rated as happier,brighter, faster and as speeding up more than lower pitch tones (261.6 Hz[C4]). Tones at a faster tempo (120 beats per minute, bpm) were also rated ashappier, brighter, faster and as speeding up more than tones at a slower tempo(60 bpm). In addition, ascending tones (from the C major scale) were rated asbeing happier, brighter, faster and as speeding up more than descending tones(from the C major scale). In addition to these main effects, there are a numberof interactions on ratings indicating that some characteristics of music maycombine in different ways to produce different perceptions of music. The datareplicate and extend previous studies on music and affect.For centuries humans have enjoyed the experience of music, and musichas been an integral part of our lives. Allof us have felt shivers tingle up ourspines when a certain tune is played. We experience what seems to be aninstant emotional response to a few notes played in a certain way, but whatis it in music that calls forth our emotions so readily? The relationshipbetween music and emotion has been an area of speculation for some time,and the question of how music may evoke emotional responses has beenaddressed in several ways (for reviews, see Radocy