Generally speaking, there is not a large body of research that exist that specifically provides

concrete information pertaining to the effect of tempo on the human emotional response. Bhattacharya &
Lindsen (2016) cites the fundamental statement about musics role throughout humanity as described by
Confucius who states that, "Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without."
Human civilizations have undergone a sea change since then. Yet after two millennia the statement stands
as bold and true as ever (pg. 2). This same concept was again postulated in 1965 by Meyers who stated
that the main idea of te art form was to convey emotion (Weisgerber, Bayot, Constant, & Vermeulen,
2013). Music theorist and philosophers throughout history have asserted that music is an art form rooted
in emotion and human expression, and this theory has largely gone completely unchallenged. More
specifically, a study about the specified single musical element of song tempo is non-existent, possibly
due to the fact that it is difficult to isolate this sing variable within music. However, to isolate music into
one general category in order to explain a correlation between music and emotion is not easy, as there are
many varied definitions of the concept of music that vary by context, primarily the cultural context of
music (Juslin, Barradas, Ovsiannikow, Limmo, & Thompson, 2016). More problematic is the
psychological study of music that only covers one specific emotional aspect, such as sadness that is
largely considered a negative emotion.

According to the existing teachings of music psychology, non-knowledgeable listeners respond

emotionally to music as do music performers, in both performance and listening to music. The debate that
exist in music psychology often centers around the description of this emotional state. Researchers and
theorist alike question whether `musical emotions' are experienced or not, more specifically trying to
distinguish between preexisting emotional states and musically induced ones (Sekeles, 2005). Isbilen&
Krumhansl (2016) characterize the spectrum of emotions displayed throughout music similarly as Palmer
et. al (2013) does in stating that just as certain emotions are characterized by certain colors, music is also
characterized by certain colors and emotion. For example, a darker variation of the color blue is
associated with sad and melancholy emotions such as nostalgia, sorrow, and grief. Meanwhile, brighter
more vibrant colors are often associated with positive emotions such as hues of bright red and green being
associated with happiness and joy.

General psychology describes emotions as specific process-oriented response behaviors. For the
purposes of this research the term process-oriented, pertains to an emotion which is always directed at
something, whether it be a particular circumstance or a person etc. Specific attributes within the emotion
appraisal process are the personal involvement with the stimulus, the cognitive appraisal of the stimulus
and a behavioral change towards the stimulus (Hall, Schubert, & Wilson, 2016). The presence of these
characteristics and the extent to which they are represented in a person a variably dependent on the type
of emotion experienced.

The concept of a `musical emotion' is difficult to define according to general emotion theories. A
variety of different emotional responses and experiences can be found under the umbrella definition
`emotion'. Although we can often read about the concept of `musical emotion' in the literature, regretfully
how a `music induced emotion' can be defined is not clarified. Also, the term `emotion' in the context of
music listening is open for debate. Although researchers still debate the degree of over lap between
music-evoked emotions and emotions evoked in everyday life, there is now evidence that music can
evoke changes in the major reaction components of emotion, including subjective feeling, physiological
arousal (autonomic and endocrine changes), motoric expression of emotion (such as smiling) and action
tendencies (for example, dancing, singing, playing an instrument, foot tapping and clapping, even if only
covertly) (Koelsch, 2014, pg. 170).

In the realm of psychological research emotions are most commonly classified in order of their
(biological) functions. A classic example is the experience of fear in this context. The cognitive appraisal
that a certain situation is threatening leads to a behavioral change, e.g. fleeing or avoiding the situation.
However, despite the association of music as a trademark of humanity, as it pertains to music there are no
apparent biological functions. Although, everywhere on the world, music is played and listened to, we
cannot state that we cannot live without the presence of music. Consequently, the intensity of an emotion
experienced is difficult to explain in a musical context to directly result from music (Krueger, 2015).In
everyday life, emotions are induced by concrete circumstances within a realistic setting, which we often
cannot control, such as being involved in a car accident. This `real life' influence is often found lacking in
a musical context. Although music can be frightening and even intimidating, there is always a variable by
which humans maintain control, for instance by turning the music off or isolating yourself from the
source of sound. The use of the verb `emotion' is often therefore not acknowledgeable in a musical
context. Recent literature on music psychology however indicates a distinct shift in descriptive methods
that we use to refer to musical experiences. In most of the research focusing on musical emotional
responses, the focus has actually been on specific characteristics of an emotion: such as appraisal and
arousal components (Twardowski, 2014). In some cases, it is possible, according to Sloboda (1991), that
music can induce intense emotions, but he states it is more accurate to describe `musical emotions' as
mood states, experiences and feelings that are influenced by music listening. Music functions as a
stimulus for emotional experiences, a characteristic often witnessed and used in music therapy practice.

They state that music psychologists generally are reluctant to turn to emotion psychology for
theoretical guidance. On the other hand, they hold that it is interesting to note that psychologists
themselves do acknowledge that art may evoke strong emotional response, but few scientists seem to
have considered this problem worthy of study. Many respected and notable psychologists to date however
agree that one of the most significant and influential analysis of music and emotion to date, namely that of
Meyer (1956) is based on a theory of emotion. According to Meyer (1956) there are certain elements
within the music, such as a change of melodic line or rhythm, that create expectations about the future
development of the music. This theory is further reinforced by the findings of Lima & Castro (2011) who
assert, Emotions in music were manipulated by expressive changes in performance; the same musical
excerpt was played such that it expressed fear, anger, sadness, happiness and neutrality through
modulations in loudness, articulation, vibrato and phrasing. The expectation the listener has about the
further course of musical events is a determinant for the experience of `musical emotions'. Music arouses
expectations, which may or not be directly and immediately satisfied. He states: ...The greater the build-
up of suspense of tension, the greater the emotional release upon resolution...(Meyer, 1956, p.28). The
music arouses tendencies and this fulfils the conditions according to the arousal of affect. The role of
emotion in this process is complex. The primary dimension on which emotion is experienced is in terms
of a build-up of tension and release of tension, both within the music and in the listener. The more
elaborate the build-up of tension to a certain climax, the more intense emotions will be experienced.
When resolution follows, relaxation follows.An important implication of Meyer's theory is that any
conscious insight in this process reduces the emotional effect of music. This implicates that a `naive' or
developing listener that maintains little to no music theoretical knowledge has a predominant affective
response towards music, as opposed to mature and more developed listener who reacts mostly cognitively
while listening to music (Siu, & Cheung, 2017).

It is also often hypothesized that when we listen to music, we take into account factors such as the
complexity, familiarity and associated novelty of the music. The degree to which the music sounds
familiar determines if the music is experienced as pleasurable or uncomfortable. The hedonic value is low
when the music is entirely new to the listener, and progresses with increasing familiarity and will decrease
again when the music is totally known. Even when discussing the concept of familiarity in music
however, we must remember that music changes overtime and that the expressive value of one particular
musical element that appears in one part of a selection may not remain the same throughout the entire
piece (Aljanaki, Yang, & Soleymani, 2017, pg. 22). We must also understand that ones musical
preference is based on the preference to maintain the level of preferred arousal constant (Dobrota &
Ercegovac, 2015, pg. 234). The more complex the music, the more arousal will be experienced. The
listener seeks activation, but to a certain extent. When the maximum is achieved, he will avoid further
stimulation. In a listener with more elaborate music knowledge structures, arousal will be less when
listening to complex music. As such, a trained listener, will both according to hold a greater preference for
complex music than a naive listener as the threshold for experiencing arousal is higher. He also states that
the findings may be of help with further direct investigations of the brain substrates of music and
emotion. A basic understanding of these relationships should also benefit future uses of music
therapeutically. A common example of such is the understanding that these, subjective qualities of music
do still play a minor role in the field of Music Information Retrieval (MIR) and Music Recommender
Systems (MRS), i.e. for the retrieval and recommendation of music offered by web-based services,
which therefore relies on the self-identified personal preferences of a listener as well as emotional factors
to select music that a potential listener would find appealing (Irrgang, & Egermann).