‘I’M IN THE MOOD FOR YOU’: AN INTERPRETATIVE

PHENOMENOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE EXPERIENCE

OF MOOD REGULATION THROUGH MUSIC IN

ADOLESCENTS

BY

JOSHUA AQUILINA

A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of Education In Part

Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Masters in

Psychology at the University of Malta

June 2012

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copyright holder.

The research work disclosed in this publication is partially funded by the Strategic

Educational Pathways Scholarship (Malta). This scholarship is part-financed by the

European Union – European Social Fund (ESF) under Operational Programme II – Cohesion

Policy 2007-2013, “Empowering People for More Jobs and a Better Quality of Life”.

Operational Programme II – Cohesion Policy 2007-2013

Empowering People for More Jobs and a Better Quality of

Life

Scholarship is part-financed by the European Union

European Social Fund (ESF)

Co-financing rate: 85% EU funds; 15% National Funds

Investing in your future

iii

Abstract

This study explores the lived experience of the perceived effects of music on mood regulation

of 8 adolescents. Qualitative data, based on in-depth interviews, were analysed using an

interpretative phenomenological approach (Smith, Flowers, & Larkin, 2010). The themes

elicited indicate that music is something that the participants cannot live without. The

participants said that music helps them to understand themselves and what they are going

through and also helps them process their emotions and moods. Many of the participants also

revealed that music gives them a sense of empowerment. Importance was given to needing

time to use music for mood regulation and an emphasis was done on to how music affects

people differently. Furthermore, some participants mentioned the use of music to create a

positive spiritual experience and also talked about how music impacts their beliefs on love

and sex. The results have significant practice implications for adolescents, parents, and

professionals working with adolescents. Suggestions for future research were also made.

Keywords: lived experience, mood regulation, music, adolescence

iv

Author’s Declaration

25th

June 2012

I, the undersigned, hereby declare that this dissertation entitled “‘I’m in the mood for you’:

An interpretative phenomenological analysis of the experience of mood regulation through

music in adolescents” is an original study carried out by myself and the conclusions drawn

herein are a result of my own research, unless otherwise acknowledged by citation.

____________________

Joshua Aquilina

M.Psy. 2010-2012

University of Malta

v

To my dad, Joe, to whom I am forever grateful

for teaching me how to love music as much as he does

vi

Acknowledgements

First and foremost I would like to thank God for constantly being present in my life.

I would like to thank my wife, Romina who has been my rock throughout my work on this

dissertation and in this Masters degree. She was the one to comfort me when I would give up,

she was the one who helped motivate me, and she was the one with patience to gracefully

support me throughout.

Special thanks goes to my tutor, Ms. Clarissa Sammut Scerri, who went over and above to

help me during all the phases of this dissertation. Words cannot stress enough the consistent

constructive feedback that I received from her, for which I am very grateful.

I’m also very appreciative of the people who participated in this study for being so willing to

give up their time and personal information to help me. In addition to this I would also like to

thank the church sixth form and the school counsellors for assisting me in finding my

research sample and offering me support with my research.

To my dear parents, siblings, and parents-in-law I truly am appreciative of the constant

support and strength you all give me. If it wasn’t for your words of encouragement I do not

think I would have gotten this far in my academic studies. I am forever grateful for your love.

vii

I would like to thank my colleagues who were in the M.Psy course with me for the close

bond that we created between us was always a source of support for me. I would like to make

special reference to Charlene Duca, Charmaine Dalli, and Anna Borg Bartolo for their

friendship, encouragement, and amazing support. Also I would like to thank my ‘dissertation

buddies’ Sunaina Attard and Danae Gingell for the days we spent together working on our

dissertation side by side.

I am extremely grateful to The Smashing Pumpkins for their music as it helped me get

through so much during my adolescence. Their music is close to my heart and will always

hold a special place in my life.

Last but certainly not least I would like to thank my friends Philip Vella and his wife Leanne

Vella, and Michael Camilleri for always being there for me when I needed them and for

always checking up on how I was doing. My breaks away from my dissertation with you

helped to energize me to do more work. Thank you.

viii

Table of Contents

Abstract .................................................................................................................................... iii

Author’s Declaration ................................................................................................................. iv

Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................... vi

Table of Contents ................................................................................................................... viii

Chapter 1 – Introduction ............................................................................................................ 1

1.1. Preamble .......................................................................................................................... 1

1.2. Research Agenda ............................................................................................................. 3

1.3. Research Questions ......................................................................................................... 4

1.4. Conceptual Framework ................................................................................................... 5

1.5. Layout of the Study ......................................................................................................... 8

Chapter 2 – Literature Review ................................................................................................... 9

2.1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 9

2.2. The Importance of Music to Adolescents ..................................................................... 10

2.3. Music ............................................................................................................................. 12

2.4. Mood Regulation ........................................................................................................... 14

2.5. Adolescents ................................................................................................................... 19

2.6. Music and Adolescents ................................................................................................. 27

2.7. Mood Regulation by Music ........................................................................................... 31

2.8. Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 41

ix

Chapter 3 – Methodology ........................................................................................................ 42

3.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................... 42

3.2. Research Rationale ........................................................................................................ 42

3.3. The Participants ............................................................................................................. 45

3.3.1. Recruitment of participants .................................................................................... 46

3.4. The Research Tool ........................................................................................................ 48

3.5. Data Collection .............................................................................................................. 48

3.6. Data Analysis ................................................................................................................ 51

3.7. Strategies for Ensuring Credibility and Trustworthiness of Findings ........................... 54

3.8. Reflexivity ..................................................................................................................... 54

3.9. Ethical Considerations................................................................................................... 56

3.10. Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 57

Chapter 4 – Findings ................................................................................................................ 59

4.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................... 59

4.2. Participants’ Profile ....................................................................................................... 59

4.3. Table of Themes ............................................................................................................ 62

4.4. “I can’t live without Music” .......................................................................................... 63

4.4.1. Music is a big part of the participants’ lives ........................................................... 64

4.4.2. Music is needed to get them in different moods ..................................................... 66

4.5. Music helps them understand themselves and what they are going through ................ 68

4.5.1. They match music to mood .................................................................................... 68

x

4.5.2. They identify with artist/music ............................................................................... 69

4.5.3. Music helps them understand themselves .............................................................. 71

4.5.4. Music is used to reflect ........................................................................................... 72

4.5.5. Music helps one to understand feelings .................................................................. 74

4.5.6. Music as a source of fulfilment and emotional refuge ........................................... 74

4.6. How Music helps them Process Emotions/Moods ........................................................ 75

4.6.1. How music helps them process sadness ................................................................. 76

4.6.2. How music helps them process anger ..................................................................... 79

4.6.3. How music helps them process tension .................................................................. 81

4.6.4. Music’s effect on happiness ................................................................................... 83

4.7. Music gives a sense of Empowerment .......................................................................... 86

4.7.1. Music helped build their identity ............................................................................ 86

4.7.2. Music prepares them to face challenging events .................................................... 87

4.7.3. Music helps them help others ................................................................................. 89

4.8. One needs Time to use Music to Regulate Moods ........................................................ 90

4.9. Music affects people differently .................................................................................... 91

4.9.1. Subjectivity of music and diversity of music ......................................................... 91

4.9.2. Importance given to lyrics and different musical qualities ..................................... 92

4.10. Music creates a Positive Spiritual Experience ............................................................ 93

4.11. Music’s Impact on One’s Beliefs about Love and Sex ............................................... 95

4.12. Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 97

xi

Chapter 5 – Discussion ............................................................................................................ 99

5.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................... 99

5.2. General Discussion Points ........................................................................................... 100

5.3. “I feel like I am hopeless without music” ................................................................... 101

5.4. “I felt I was understood by the music” ........................................................................ 103

5.5. “[I] thought about what was happening to me…” ....................................................... 106

5.6. “Thanks to music now I accept challenges more and face them head up” ................. 111

5.7. “When I listen to just a few songs and when I used to listen to five to six hours of

music I noticed that the mood changes”............................................................................. 112

5.8. “That is basically what music is all about, diversity I guess” ..................................... 113

5.9. “I know I am not alone as I know that He [God] is with me” ..................................... 115

5.10. “The music was…like love versus sex” .................................................................... 116

5.11. Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 118

Chapter 6 – Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 119

6.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................. 119

6.2. Summary of Main Findings ........................................................................................ 119

6.3. Implications of the Study ............................................................................................ 121

6.4. Limitations of the Study .............................................................................................. 125

6.5. Recommendations for Future Research ...................................................................... 127

6.6. Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 129

References .............................................................................................................................. 130

Appendix 1 ............................................................................................................................. 146

xii

Semi-Structured Interview Guide....................................................................................... 146

Gwida Semi-Strutturali ta’ l-Intervista ............................................................................... 149

Appendix 2 ............................................................................................................................. 151

Information for Participants ............................................................................................... 151

Informazzjoni Għall-Parteċipanti ....................................................................................... 154

Appendix 3 ............................................................................................................................. 157

Information for Parents/Guardians ..................................................................................... 157

Informazzjoni Għall-Ġenituri/Kustudja ............................................................................. 160

Appendix 4 ............................................................................................................................. 163

Consent Form for Participants............................................................................................ 163

Il-Kunsens tal-Partiċipanti ................................................................................................. 166

Appendix 5 ............................................................................................................................. 169

Consent Form for Parents/Guardian ................................................................................... 169

Il-Kunsens tal-Ġenituri/Kustudja ....................................................................................... 172

Appendix 6 ............................................................................................................................. 174

Approval Letters ................................................................................................................. 174

Appendix 7 ............................................................................................................................. 178

An Example of Thematic Analysis .................................................................................... 178

Appendix 8 ............................................................................................................................. 181

Presentation Given to Students .......................................................................................... 181

Appendix 9 ............................................................................................................................. 191

xiii

Reflexivity Interview.......................................................................................................... 191

1

Chapter 1 – Introduction

1.1. Preamble

Music makes up a vital part of our everyday life. If one were to reflect about the

different contexts within society that we come across in our everyday lives, one would realise

how much importance is given to music. Things such as walking into a shop with music

playing, getting in the car and turning the radio on, going for a jog and taking a music device

to listen to music, going out to a club where music is played, and putting on background

music while working, are simple examples of how music is all around us on a daily basis.

Often, music is regarded to be the language of emotions (Cooke, 1959) as it

“expresses emotions that listeners perceive, recognize, or are ‘moved’ by” (Juslin & Sloboda,

2011b, p. 3). Furthermore Juslin and Sloboda (2011b) state that several studies suggest that

the most common reason for listening to music is to influence emotions; this can be done by

listeners experiencing a change in emotion, emotional release, to match their current emotion,

for enjoyment or comfort, or to relieve stress. With all this focus on the emotional effect on

people listening to music it may come to mind why mood regulation by music is the focus of

this study. I will now explain why.

Mood regulation is a central psychological process that is closely related to emotions

(Saarikallio & Erkkila, 2007). It is a process that is directed towards modifying or

maintaining the occurrence, duration, and intensity of both negative and positive moods

2

(Cole, Martin, & Dennis, 2004; Gross, 1998). Mood regulation may be a conscious or

unconscious process that is targeted at subjective experience, behavioural expression, or

physiological responses (Gross, 1998). In this research I am interested in the conscious

process as this is what I can explore: people’s perception of their experience. Langdridge

(2004) speaks of intentionality being the mental processes involved in one’s conscious

relation to objects and this is what the research aims to capture.

In adolescence, there is a greater consumption of music and they consider music to be

an important part of their lives (Christenson & Roberts, 1998; Christenson, DeBenedittis, &

Lindlof, 1985; North, Hargreaves, & O'Neill, 2000). Music has a strong relevance for

adolescents and that is why this study is focusing on this age group when it comes to mood

regulation by music. Adolescence is a period which involves many developmental changes

and challenges that cause emotional unrest and make the demands for mood regulation

increase (Halle, 2003).

The meta-analysis by Saarikallio (2007) shows that music supports adolescent

development and that the central psychological functionality of music holds mood-related

meanings. Thus by studying the psychological process one can furthermore promote the

functionality of music in the context of adolescent development, affective experiences, and

self-regulation.

3

1.2. Research Agenda

My interest in this subject stems for my own personal experience of the use of music

to regulate my moods when I was an adolescent. Music was so significant to me at the time

that to a certain extent it helped me cope with my constant fluctuation of moods. Looking

back on my experience I can reflect on the importance of the impact that music had on me

and my moods, and believe that it is such a significant experience for many adolescents that it

is worth looking into adolescent’s understandings of such an experience.

I always felt a close attachment with music and in a sense felt understood and cared

for through music during my adolescence. This was a time when I felt very much alone while

experiencing a lot of developmental changes. I seemed to connect with music in a way which

I did not manage to do with other human beings and it was as though my moods were

regulated through this connection. I did not really have much of a voice and my self-esteem

was low and music seemed to give me a voice especially due to the emotional connection I

felt with music. I also perceived other adolescents as using music to regulate their moods to

deal with their life situations and as a medium that is present and supportive like a good

friend.

Saarikallio (2007) states that studying the use of music for mood regulation in relation

to different personal factors, and different contexts and cultures is one of the ways forward

from her study on the subject. In fact the aim of this study is to try and understand the lived

experience of adolescents’ perceived effects of music on mood regulation. This will be done

4

through an interpretative phenomenological analysis approach by using in-depth interviews.

This approach is concerned with the detailed examination of the lived human experience. The

focus is on this examination and on giving enough importance to the experience in its own

right rather than according to predefined theory (Smith et al., 2010). I have chosen this

approach rather than an alternative qualitative methodology as the aim of this research is to

understand the lived experience, in a detailed manner, and in its own right.

1.3. Research Questions

This study will address the following main research question:

1. What is adolescents’ experience of the perceived effects of music on mood

regulation?

It will also address the following sub-research questions:

2. How does music regulate the adolescents’ moods?

3. How does the experience of using music to regulate adolescents’ moods fit into

their everyday life?

5

4. How do adolescents use the experience of music to regulate their moods in

different aspects of life that they are involved in?

5. How do adolescents think that the experience of using music to regulate their

moods plays a part in forming who they are?

6. How do adolescents see themselves in the future after using music to regulate

their moods?

1.4. Conceptual Framework

One of the conceptual frameworks for this research will be that of mood regulation.

According to Juslin and Västfjäll (2008) moods are like emotions but they are felt at a lower

intensity, last longer than emotions, and have no clear object. The focus of this study will be

on mood regulation which is concerned with changes in mood as mentioned earlier (Cole et

al., 2004). Furthermore, mood regulation by music in adolescents is explained as a process of

satisfying personal mood-related goals (Saarikallio & Erkkila, 2007).

I am also interested in the experience of the use of music and how this affects the

brain, body, and feelings, thus looking at the experience holistically. This can be briefly

explained through the following literature – “Our blood flows, heart beats and lungs breathe

in patterns” (Cook, 2002, p. 35) and music seems to connect with this rhythmic nature and is

therefore one of the few forms of expression that has universal currency that has the capacity

6

to address the total person by accessing several faculties of the human being (Buser,

Flannery, Bentley, & Gladding, 2005).

Another main theoretical framework of this study will also include developmental

psychology issues related to adolescent development. Kaplan (2004) gives importance to

adolescent development: physical, cognitive, social, moral, and personality development and

this is based in the context of families, peers, school experience, and the media, which

includes the context of music. This research will use this theoretical framework to analyse the

interaction between different aspects of adolescent development and the context in which this

is set.

Part of looking at the experience holistically and within the above mentioned contexts

is taking a systemic approach. Corey (2005) states that Western culture often tells people to

be autonomous individuals that are capable of independent and free choice but yet we are

born into families and live most of our lives attached to one form of a family or another.

“Within these families, we discover who we are; we develop and change; and we give and

receive the support we need for survival” (Corey, 2005, p. 423). Thus, a systemic perspective

holds that individuals are best understood by assessing their interactions between and among

the members of systems that the individual forms part of (Corey, 2005; Dallos & Draper,

2010). This research will give prominence to understand the experience of the participants

whilst considering the different systems they are involved in and their interactions with these

systems.

7

Linked with the theoretical framework of adolescent development is the psychosocial

approach of adolescent development. Erikson (1968) views the psychosocial crisis of

adolescent development as one finding a balance between identity and role confusion.

Resolving this crisis is connected to the success of coping with the demands of previous crisis

stages. Hamachek (as cited in Kaplan, 2004) states that in adolescence, individuals

investigate different alternatives for personal and vocational futures and develop a sense of

who they are and what they want to become. This is of interest in this study as the focus is on

the lived experience of adolescents and the influence of music on them.

This study is also concerned with understanding various ways in which people may

construct up their social reality and thus this means that it is informed by social

constructionism (Langdridge, 2004). Taking a social constructionist approach, it sheds light

on “ways in which we understand the world and ourselves are built up through social process,

especially through linguistic interactions, and so there is nothing fixed or necessary about

them: they are the products of particular cultural and historical contexts” (Coyle, 2008). Thus

in this study importance is being given to understand the adolescents’ lived experiences in

their particular social and historical conditions (Langdridge, 2004). For example, in Malta

and in my opinion, a lot of importance is given to academic achievement over artist

achievement and a lot of career opportunities exist due to academic achievement in

comparison to artist achievement. Thus the importance given to music and how it affects

people may not be given as much importance as to doing well in school and making a career

for oneself out of academic achievement. This may suggest that the experience of using

music for mood regulation is not given as much importance socially as it is important to the

individual using music for mood regulation.

8

Research done within a social constructionist framework is critical of things that are

taken-for-granted in everyday life and how we understand ourselves and the world (Burr,

2003). “It invites us to be critical of the idea that our observations of the world

unproblematically yield its nature to us, to challenge the view that conventional knowledge is

based upon objective, unbiased observation of the world” (Burr, 2003, p. 3). The use of this

framework in this study will help to understand each individual experience in its own right

and each person’s uniqueness as embedded in that person’s social context.

1.5. Layout of the Study

In the upcoming chapter a literature review will be presented. This will focus on

music, mood regulation, adolescence, and literature combining these factors together. Chapter

3 will give an overview of the methodology and research design used in this study, and the

steps followed to analyse the data. Chapter 4 will be dedicated to presenting the themes that

emerged from the data analysis and will include verbatim quotations to substantiate these

findings. A discussion on the findings will follow in Chapter 5. Finally a concluding chapter

will be presented in Chapter 6. This will summarise the major findings of this study and will

include implications of these findings, and recommendations for future research.

9

Chapter 2 – Literature Review

2.1. Introduction

The aim of this chapter is to present a review of the literature relevant to the

experience of mood regulation through music in adolescents. One might ask how a literature

review fits into a qualitative study, as qualitative research “is closely linked to the idea of

discovering new fields and exploring areas that are new to the world of science and to

research” (Flick, 2009, p. 48). In this case literature will be used to draw insights and

information, which will then be used to understand statements in their context (Flick, 2009).

Rather than this study being theory-driven, the literature review is used to help learn

something about the participants (Smith et al., 2010).

In this literature review, first I will present a brief introduction to literature on music

and adolescents as to introduce the main focus of this study. This will be elaborated on

further later on in the chapter. Then I will give prominence to music and its various

components. There will also be a focus on mood regulation with particular emphasis on the

difference between emotions, moods, and mood regulation. This differentiation is important

as it is a reflection of the different literature available about the link between music’s effects

on emotions, moods, and mood regulation and it highlights the focus of this research on

mood regulation through music. Subsequently, reference will be made to adolescents’

development as it is relevant to give consideration to who the participant population is and

the developmental steps adolescents go through. Relationships with others may be important

10

for adolescents to explain their lived experience of using music in relation to mood regulation

and this will be given consideration in this chapter. Consequently, this chapter will continue

to link literature on music and adolescents and the importance of music to adolescents.

Finally there will be a focus on literature on music and mood regulation and mood

regulation by music in adolescence. Throughout this chapter reference will be also made to

my position in the literature. This will be done through the sharing of thoughts on the

literature chosen for this chapter and through the structure and presentation of the literature.

2.2. The Importance of Music to Adolescents

Zillmann and Gan (2003) describe the variation of stimulus properties of adolescent

music and this might offer an introduction to how music affects adolescents:

Its rhythms range from slow and gentle to rapid and forceful, and the associated

melodic structures vary from sensitive and tender to disorganized and wild. The

instrumentation may be simplistic or complex, starting with the drum-and-guitar

essentials and advancing to sophisticated orchestration. Vocalization is particularly

diverse, ranging from melodic singing to emotional moaning and groaning and

seemingly uncontrolled screaming. Lyrics…analogously cover the spectrum of

themes from requited and unrequited love to discontent with life at large and defiance

of authority in particular. Moreover, conventional instrumentation and vocalization

11

are often complimented, even overpowered, with forceful sounds generated by

electronic means. (p. 164)

The following literature highlights the importance of music to adolescents. In a

research conducted and cited by Roberts and Christenson (2001) they asked senior high

school students what media they would take with them if they were stuck on a desert isle.

Music was selected first by a margin of two to one in comparison to television and this

highlights the importance given to music by adolescents. Christenson and Roberts (1998)

note that popular music is generally more important for adolescents than television while

Fitzgerald, Joseph, Hayes, and O’Regan (1995) highlight the importance given to music by

adolescents above all other leisure activities. In their study of 1000 16-25 year olds,

Bjurström & Wennhall (as cited in North et al., 2000) found that 95% of participants

described themselves as ‘fairly interested’ or ‘very interested’ in music and this was a

considerably higher percentage than other leisure time activities. Respondents in a research

by North et al. (2000) preferred listening to music to any other indoor activity other than

watching TV.

“Music is often a secondary, background activity appearing in the adolescent’s

environment without any conscious decision to introduce it” (Roberts & Christenson, 2001,

p. 397). Some might disagree that background listening is not true exposure but Roberts and

Christenson (2001) offer the challenge of turning off background music when adolescents are

doing everyday activities and observe their responses to find out if background listening is

true exposure or not. Furthermore they argue that adolescents spend between 3 to 4 hours a

day with popular music, with Greenberg et al., and Roberts & Henriksen (as cited in Roberts

12

& Christenson, 2001) stating that girls listen to music more than boys do. In another study

North et al. (2000) yielded a mean of 2.45 hours of music listening per day and 39.6%

reporting to listen to music ‘as often as they can’.

2.3. Music

Since music is one of the key components of this research I believe it is important to

dedicate a section of this literature review to discussing it. This section will focus on the

different components that music is made of as to orientate the reader.

Music is known to be an art medium that is perceived by the ears and then

acknowledged by the mind (Martineau, 2008). In addition to this Martineau (2008) argues

that “it is the hearts and minds of human beings that shape and weave melodies, harmonies,

and rhythms together into meaningful tapestries, imbued with the interior landscapes of their

immediate experience” (p. 1). Music is said to be organized into melody, rhythm, and

harmony by Martineau (2008) while Anssi (2006) mentions pitch, loudness, duration, and

timbre. These various qualities of music will now be briefly discussed with references to the

importance they might have on a listener’s emotional state. The relevance of emotional

responses to music will be given more prominence at a later stage of this chapter but will be

mentioned also now to contextualize the above qualities of music in this research.

Pitch is a governing term that incorporates melody and harmony into it and is defined

as “the frequency of a sine wave that is matched to the target sound by human listeners”

13

(Klapuri, 2006, p. 8). Importance is being given to pitch because the pitch of the music might

have an emotional expression that may induce a certain emotion in the listener (Juslin, 2001).

With regards to rhythm and duration, Longuet-Higgins and Lee (1982) propose that a listener

may infer the rhythm of a musical sequence by comparing the duration of note-lengths. These

factors can be quite effective in stimulating intense imagery (McKinney & Tims, 1995) and

according to Juslin and Västfjäll (2008) this enables the listener to influence emotions

induced by music. According to Berlyne (as cited in Juslin & Västfjäll, 2008) loudness has to

do with the arousal potential of the listener; for example if the music is too loud or not loud

enough then a listener will reject the music and thus reduce the chance of being

physiologically aroused. “Timbre is sometimes referred to as sound ‘colour’ and is closely

related to the recognition of sound sources” (Klapuri, 2006, p. 8). According to Fodor (as

cited in Juslin & Västfjäll, 2008) the brain reacts to certain cues in music such as timbre to

create a reaction in the listener.

Another feature of music is lyrics. Looking at the interplay of music and lyrics, Wu Jr

et al. (2008) claim that both lyrics and melody are required to best represent and predict the

emotion of music. Lyrics cannot teach new information to individuals as they are too indirect

(Greenfield et al., 1987), but at the same time they are complementary to music signal as they

are semantically rich and expressive and have a deep impact on human perception of music

(Yang et al., 2008). Langer (as cited in Thompson & Russo, 2004) believes that words and

music come together in song and song is music. Music and lyrics are partially different

systems but there is enough overlap between them to be considered as being in interaction

(Gorlee, 1997; Justin & Laukka, 2003; Serafine, Crowder, & Repp, 1984). I believe these

concepts are worth mentioning as they concur with my own personal experience with music

in my adolescence. As an adolescent I was not sure what influenced my moods exactly; be it

14

the actual musical sound or the sung lyrics in a song or a combination of both. The literature I

mentioned above highlights the interplay of music and lyrics and this reflects my current

belief that they both play a part together in making up a song that in turn might affect mood

regulation.

Genre, in music, refers to categories which have certain elements in common or share

a certain style (Lehmann, 2004). As with lyrics, genre was another topic that I believed

important to mention influenced by my personal experience with music. My moods were

influenced by different genres in different ways and the different tones in different genres

helped me to play around with different roles in my head. Historically, during the Baroque

period, musicians organized music according to “the variables of function, location, figure,

affect, genre and grammar” (Chua, 2003, p. 64). Genre was given prominence out of this life

of variables and it helped to give distinct identity to music (Chua, 2003).

In order to understand the experience of music on mood regulation, one has to take

into consideration the meaning of mood regulation. This will be focused on in the next

section.

2.4. Mood Regulation

The interrelatedness of music and subjective emotional experience is well

acknowledged (Arnett, 1995; Arnett, Larson, & Offer, 1995; DeNora. 2001; North,

Hargreaves, & Hargreaves, 2004; Small, 1998). According to Saarikallio (2007) it has

15

become fashionable to study emotion within the field of music psychology and recent

research highlights an exploration into various mechanisms by which music arouses

emotional experiences (Juslin & Laukka, 2004; Sloboda & Juslin, 2001). Other researchers

highlight what kind of emotional experiences are obtained from music (DeNora, 2001; Juslin

& Laukka, 2004; Wells & Hakanen, 1991). While throwing light on the prominence of

research in music and emotion, one might think why my research is focusing on mood

regulation rather than on emotions, especially when researchers such as Juslin and Västfjäll

(2008) claim that music induces emotions rather than moods. An attempt to explain this will

follow.

I would like to introduce three definitions, namely that of affect, emotions, and

moods, that are based on “the emerging consensus in research on affect” (Juslin & Västfjäll,

2008, p. 561) and proposed by Juslin and Västfjäll (2008). The purpose of doing so is to

highlight the distinction between each definition, to give a reference point for the reader each

time one of these words is used throughout this research, and to show why mood regulation

was chosen for this study.

Affect is “An umbrella term that covers all evaluative – or valenced (i.e.,

positive/negative) – states such as emotion, mood, and preference” (Juslin & Västfjäll, 2008,

p. 561). Emotions are defined as “Relatively intense affective responses that usually involve a

number of sub-components – subjective feeling, physiological arousal, expression, action

tendency, and regulation – which are more or less synchronized. Moreover, emotions focus

on specific objects, and last minutes to a few hours” (Juslin & Västfjäll, 2008, p. 561). On the

other hand moods are given a working definition of “Affective states that feature a lower felt

16

intensity than emotions, that do not have a clear object, and that last much longer than

emotions (several hours to days)” (Juslin & Västfjäll, 2008, p. 561). According to Gross

(1998), Oatley and Jenkins (as cited in Saarikallio, 2007), Parkinson, Toterdell, Briner, and

Reynolds (1996) moods differ from emotions by their lack of specific cause and longer

duration. Another difference between emotions and moods are that moods are believed to

reflect information about internal states and modulate cognition while emotions are believed

to reflect states of the environment and bias action (Davidson, 1994; Gross, 1998; Larsen,

2000). The following quotation furthermore highlights the difference between emotions and

moods:

Moods provide the affective background, the emotional color, to all that we do.

Emotions can be viewed as phasic perturbations that are superimposed on this

background activity. To the extent that moods are continually present, it can also be

said that our cognitive processes are always biased or modulated. (Davidson, 1994, p.

52)

According to Davidson (1994) emotions appear to follow events that are perceived as

happening quickly while moods may more likely follow events perceived as happening over

a slower period of time. Lang (1979) speaks of three common themes in emotion: experience,

expression, and physiology but Larsen (2000) states that moods also encompass these aspects

and thus moods and emotions have certain overlaps.

17

“Mood is often reflected in subjective experience” (Davidson, 1994, p. 52) and this is

exactly what this research is attempting to capture – the lived subjective experience. A

problem that might arise with this research focusing on moods rather than emotion is that

“with moods, a causal incident or event is often not identifiable” (Larsen, 2000, p. 130). This

implies that it might be difficult for participants in this research to identify music as a causal

event for their mood regulation. But rather than having to identify a specific causal event this

is already done for them by focusing on music and so this might facilitate their focus on their

mood regulation.

No extra pressure will be put on participants to be specific in their moods’ precise

interaction with musical components as though this is a research on behavioural and brain

science but the focus will be on the perceived effects of music on mood regulation, with

prominence given to the participants’ lived experience. “Moods…provide information about

our internal state of affairs, about the resources we have available to meet environmental

threats and challenges” (Larsen, 2000, p. 130) and this implies that a more in-depth

discussion might come out of the interviews in contrast to if the focus was on emotions since

emotions focus more on simply what is going wrong or right (Larsen, 2000).

Moving a step beyond affect, emotion, and mood, lies the concept of mood regulation.

Cole et al. (2004) state that mood regulation is not primarily concerned with the activated

emotion or mood but rather the changes that occur in emotion or mood. Mood regulation

includes the processes focused to maintaining or changing the duration, occurrence, and

intensity of negative and positive moods (Cole et al., 2004; Gross, 1998). While Larsen

(2000) argues that the emphasis of mood regulation is not so much on objective events, he

18

states that “some regulatory behaviors may involve a focus on changing the environment or

acting on some problem” (p. 131). Thus people might be able to pinpoint music to be

specifically used as a mood-regulatory strategy despite moods often not having a clear causal

incident. Mood regulation’s primary emphasis is on altering one’s state, either directly or

indirectly (Larsen, 2000) and this is what this research will attempt to capture.

On the other hand, Gross (1998) states that mood regulation might or might not be

done consciously. Larsen (2000) describes a model of mood regulation that assumes that

people act to directly control their moods. This theoretical model will be explained as it might

later shed light onto the experiences of the participants of this research. This “control model”

(Larsen, 2000, p. 132) assumes that individuals have a desired subjective state and they

regularly compare their current state to this desired subjective state. When inconsistencies

occur, either cognitive or behavioural strategies are employed as regulatory mechanisms to

reduce such inconsistencies. Listening to music is considered as a behavioural mood-

regulatory strategy according to Parkinson et al. (1996), and Parkinson and Toterdell (as cited

in Saarikallio, 2007). These strategies might effect changes in the person or changes in the

environment. “This control loop is open so that affect-relevant stimuli (coming from the

environment or from within the person) may impinge on the system and potentially alter

current subjective state” (Larsen, 2000, p. 132).

Mood regulation can be realized through numerous regulatory strategies and the most

typical way of categorizing these strategies is to divide them into behavioural strategies and

cognitive strategies (Saarikallio, 2007). Listening to music has been pointed out as an

effective and common means for mood regulation (North et al., 2000; Thayer, Newman, &

19

McClain, 1994; Wells & Hakanen, 1991), music has also been used as a regulatory

mechanism to improve mood, act as a distraction, and for relaxation purposes according to

Behne (1997), Saarikallio and Erkkilä (2007), and Wells and Hakanen (1991).

On reflecting on the notion of researching moods in comparison to emotions, I believe

that my own experience with music and mood regulation plays a part in this. Through my

experience with music I have always felt that I was affected by music on a much deeper level

than an emotional one since music induced in me a sense that “moods are like the backdrop

against which the rest of our psychology gets played out in daily life” (Larsen, 2000, p. 130).

According to Forgas (1995), Parkinson et al. (1996), and Thayer (1996) mood regulation is

more concerned with changing emotional experience than emotional behaviour. The

emotional experience has always felt far more important to me then to emotional behaviour

and this is my bias towards a mood regulation approach.

2.5. Adolescents

One of the main theoretical frameworks of this study includes a developmental

psychology approach related to adolescent development. This section will discuss normative

adolescent development so as to offer the reader information about the participant population.

This is important to mention as the main research question of this research is concerned with

adolescents and their development is part of who they are. This section of the chapter will

focus on briefly the following: development in the adolescent brain and hormonal

development, physical development, cognitive development, and psychological development.

20

Coleman (2011) a renowned researcher of adolescents, highlights two main

developments in the adolescent brain. The first is a process named synaptic pruning that

involves the elimination of unnecessary synapses in the prefrontal cortex. This process leads

to better cognitive functioning and allows for advances in reasoning and thinking. The second

major process in the adolescent brain has to do with changes in the neurotransmitters in the

limbic system. The following quotation sheds light onto the possible effect of these changes:

The limbic system is responsible for the processing of information to do with

emotions, and many studies have drawn the conclusion that it is because of the

changes in the limbic system that adolescents can be ‘over-emotional’ and easily

affected by stress. (Coleman, 2011, p. 25)

In addition to the above, Steinberg (2007) and Blakemore and Choudhury (2006)

claim that changes in the limbic system can describe an increased need for novelty, sensation

and risk-taking.

Coleman (2011), Kaplan (2004), and Santrock (1999) also speak of a feedback loop

that works to control the levels of hormones in the body. This feedback loop that involves the

pituitary gland, the hypothalamus, and the gonads, receives signal from the brain during

puberty to alter the hormone levels circulating in the body. The signals that the brain receives

are thus both genetic and environmental signals (Coleman, 2011; Kaplan, 2004).

21

In accordance to the research question there will now be a focus on how hormonal

changes affect moods in adolescents as this may hold implications for this research.

Buchanan, Eccles, and Becker (1992) found a connection between hormones and mood

typically in early adolescence and it is during this period that hormones are associated with

depression among females and greater aggression and irritability among males. Susman et al.

(1987) also state that several hormones that are produced during adolescence, are linked to

aggressive mood and depressive emotion. A rapid rise in hormone levels might necessitate a

difficult adjustment that leads to depression or moodiness (Kaplan, 2004). Brooks-Gunn and

Warren (as cited in Kaplan, 2004) back this by stating that “a mood or behavior change may

reflect an adaptation to the change in hormone levels” (p. 69). Hormone fluctuation is

significant in early adolescence (Buchanan et al., 1992) and the irregularity of hormone

secretion may cause mood swings (Kaplan, 2004). Another thing that might be accountable

for mood swings in adolescents is the interactions between teens’ environmental stressors and

their hormone levels (Buchanan et al., 1992). Kaplan (2004) also mentions that physiological

changes that come about from hormonal actions might promote people to comment on them

and this in turn might affect the adolescents’ self-confidence and mood.

On a physical level, adolescents are said to experience a growth spurt that involves

changes in height, weight, weight of the heart, accelerated growth of the lungs, a decline in

basal metabolism, and especially in boys there is a marked increase in physical strength and

endurance (Coleman, 2011). Pubertal timing differs between boys and girls (Steinberg &

Morris, 2001). According to Coleman (2011) this can happen for boys as early as 9 or as late

as 15 and for girls as early as 7 or as late as 14 or even later. According to Petersen (1985)

late-maturing boys have lower self-esteem and stronger feelings of inadequacy in comparison

to early-maturing boys who are more popular and have a more positive self-image.

22

Silbereisen, Petersen, Albrecht, and Kracke (1989) add that early-maturing boys are at greater

risk of engaging in risky behaviour due to friendships with older peers. Early-maturing girls

have more emotional problems, higher rates of depression, anxiety, and disordered eating,

and a lower self-image (Ge, Conger, & Elder, 1996). Like early-maturing boys, such girls are

at a greater risk of engaging in risky behaviour (Flannery, Rowe, & Gulley, 1993).

On a cognitive level, adolescents develop thinking and reasoning especially on a

social cognitive level, through moral and political thinking, and through information-

processing (Coleman, 2011). When thinking of the research question, as such this type of

development does not focus on mood regulation directly but at the same time it may be useful

to understand the way adolescents think and how they make choices regarding what music

they listen to, how, when, and why. Understanding cognitive development may also have

implications for how participants of this research may answer questions put forward to them

in the interview. This section on cognitive development will focus on knowledge, cognitive

processes, and how well adolescents can reflect on and evaluate their knowledge, cognitive

processes, and behaviours.

Understanding cognition helps to understand how the mind acquires, modifies, and

manipulates knowledge in particular contexts (Bjorklund, 1999). Knowledge refers to three

kinds of information structures in long-term memory: declarative knowledge which is a

compilation of all the facts known by adolescents; procedural knowledge: a compilation of

goal-directed skills known by an adolescent, and conceptual knowledge which is a

representation of an adolescent’s understanding of their declarative and procedural

knowledge or in other words ‘knowing why’ (Byrnes, 2006). According to the US

23

Department of Education (as cited in Byrnes, 2006) children’s declarative, procedural, and

conceptual knowledge increase with age during adolescence but Byrnes (2001) reports that

not the majority of 12th

graders can demonstrate a deep conceptual understanding of a subject

matter or given skill mainly due to conceptual knowledge being abstract and

multidimensional. “The difficulty of concepts combined with an adolescent’s preexisting

naïve conceptions mean that adolescents will routinely demonstrate hard-to-remediate

misconceptions” (Byrnes, 2006, p. 230).

The most commonly studied cognitive processes include reasoning, encoding,

learning, and retrieval. Research on these processes usually focuses on whether and how

effectively individuals in two or more age groups perform a mental operation (Byrnes, 2006).

Information-processing theorists focus on specific aspects of intellectual development that

enhance reasoning and problem-solving and studies of adolescent thinking have concentrated

on attention, working memory, processing speed, organization, and meta-cognition

(Coleman, 2011). In adolescence there are advances in selective attention, divided attention,

working memory, and long-term memory (Coleman, 2011). Speed of processing also

improves during adolescent years, so much so that adolescents and young adults process

information faster than younger children, middle-age adults, and older adults (Kaplan, 1998).

Regarding organization “teenagers are more likely to plan tasks involving memory or

learning, and they are more able to stand back and ask themselves which strategy might be

most effective in any particular situation” (Coleman, 2011, p. 44). Metacognition abilities,

“one’s understanding of how one learns” (Kaplan, 2004, p. 112), improve with age and this

gives adolescents a clearer picture of their own cognitive abilities and limitations in

24

comparison to younger children (Short, Schatschneider, & Friebert, 1993). In addition to this

Kaplan (2004) argues that adolescents have a better understanding of what is required of

them to successfully complete a task.

Rather than continuing writing literature about the physical and cognitive

development of adolescents, I would like to focus on the psychological effects of puberty on

adolescents as this might have more implications for my research rather than going into the

exact details of sexual maturation and bodily change. Coleman (2011) states that during

adolescence girls dislike their bodies much more than boys do and that young people in

general have idealised norms for physical attractiveness. He goes on to say that the media

plays a significant role in promoting images of beauty and success which are unattainable for

most human beings. Furthermore young people rely strongly on their physical characteristics

in relation to their self-esteem and identity (Coleman, 2011). Kroger (as cited in Coleman,

2011) states that the development of identity involves being separate and different from

others, while also creating a sense of self-consistency. “Marked bodily changes are exactly

the opposite of what is needed, therefore, for a firm sense of identity” (Coleman, 2011, p. 33).

Linked with the theoretical framework of adolescent development is the psychosocial

approach of adolescent development. Erikson (1968) views the psychosocial crisis of

adolescent development as one finding a balance between identity and role confusion.

Resolving this crisis is connected to the success of coping with the demands of previous crisis

stages. Hamachek (as cited in Kaplan, 2004) states that in adolescence, individuals

investigate different alternatives for personal and vocational futures and develop a sense of

who they are and what they want to become. This is of interest in this study as music may

25

help the participants of this study to investigate different alternatives on the road to

developing their identity.

According to Erikson (1968) the search for identity becomes prominent in

adolescence especially due to rapid biological and social changes. It is during this stage that

adolescents become aware that they have strength to be in control of their destinies and feel

inclined to define themselves by taking their place in society (Hall, Lindzey, Loehlin, &

Manosevitz, 1985). To continue to build up the picture of what adolescents normally go

through during this phase it is being argued that they may experience identity confusion as

they may want to make decisions which are important but feel unprepared (Erikson, 1968).

Such identity confusion can include confusion on expressing sexual urges, and participation

in society which can lead to them being very self-conscious (Hall et al., 1985). According to

Erikson (1968) identity diffusion has four major components: the challenge for intimacy,

diffusion of planning for the future or retaining any sense of time, difficulty to harness

resources realistically towards work or study, and developing a negative identity which is one

that is the opposite preferred to parents or important adults.

Hall et al. (1985) argue that “adolescents often overidentify with heroes–such as rock

stars…These behaviors are part of their effort to understand themselves and to formulate

values” (p. 86). In addition to this, Erikson (1968) talks of experimentation with different

roles in order to discover the sort of person they wish to be. This may be done by identifying

with musical role models through their involvement with music. According to Ivaldi and

O’Neill (2008) adolescents admire musical role models out of dedication, popular image, and

ability. Keeping the focus of this research being on the perceived effects of music on mood

26

regulation in adolescents, the above literature on musical role models might be important to

consider when thinking about why adolescents listen to music and how the experience of

using music for mood regulation can influence identity formation and vice versa.

Further to the above, Allen (2008) speaks of the psychosocial development that takes

place in adolescence that brings deep changes in the meaning and expression of attachment

processes. Adolescence “is a period of profound transformation in emotional, cognitive, and

behavioral systems surrounding attachment relationships, as the adolescent evolves from

being a receiver of care to becoming a self-sufficient adult and potential caregiver to peers,

romantic partners, and offspring” (Allen, 2008, p. 419). Adolescence brings forward certain

conceptualized questions in terms of on-going attachment relationships with parents, peers,

romantic partners and new attachment relationships (Allen, 2008).

According to Coleman (2011) psychoanalysts argue that adolescence is a time of

steady separation from parents and a turning to a wider social environment. “Adolescence is

noteworthy in part because of the extent to which a teenager will make a conscious and often

forceful effort not to rely on attachment figures when stressed, but rather to attempt to

regulate emotion independently of them” (Allen & Miga, 2010, p. 186). Such independent

methods can range from relying on internal cognitive strategies to peers (Allen & Miga,

2010).

Reflecting on my own adolescent experience with stress, I used to use music to help

regulate my emotions and moods both as a cognitive strategy as I knew this would help

27

regulate my moods and also as a means of relying on my friends to help me by means of

expressing what I was going through by using music in conversation or by listening to music

with peers to describe this. Music to me seemed like an attachment figure which I could rely

on to regulate my moods rather than having to turn to my parents for this and thus this helped

me acquire emotional self-sufficiency and autonomy which Hill and Holmbeck (1986) argue

as being the hallmark of adolescence. I have deemed this important to mention as it highlights

my bias towards explaining the use of music to regulate moods from an attachment

perspective.

2.6. Music and Adolescents

In addition to the section earlier that introduced the importance of music to

adolescents, I would now like to elaborate on literature that goes into the detail of linking

music to adolescence.

Since both male and female adolescents will be interviewed in this research it may be

important to mention some gender differences in regard to literature on music and

adolescents. In their study, Lyle and Hoffman (as cited in North et al., 2000) report that half

of male participants listened to music for 3 hours a day while half of female adolescents

listened for 4 hours a day. Evidence of actual gender differences in musical activities can be

highlighted by Crowther and Durkin (as cited in North et al., 2000) as they found that

adolescent girls had more positive attitudes towards music, were more likely to play musical

instruments, and attend more music concerts than boys. Eccles, Wigfield, Harold, and

28

Blumenfeld (1993) report that girls had more positive competence beliefs about music in

comparison to boys. North et al. (2000) found a significant result that indicated the

importance of music listening relative to other activities varied between sexes.

When focusing on what genres adolescents prefer listening to North et al. (2000)

found a clear preference for pop and dance music, ambivalence about rap and rock, and a

strong dislike for folk and classical music. When the respondents of North et al’s. (2000)

study were asked to assign reasons why they believed an adolescent would play and listen to

pop rather than classical music they said “in order to enjoy the music; to be creative/use their

imagination; to relieve boredom; to help get through difficult times; to be trendy/cool; to

relieve tension/stress; to create an image for him/herself; to please friends; and to reduce

loneliness” (p. 263) while when asked reasons why people listen to classical rather than pop

music their response was to please teachers and parents. When asked why they listen to music

themselves they replied with the following three factors that accounted for 53.8% of the

variance in respondents’ ratings: ‘creating external impression’, ‘fulfilling emotional needs’,

and ‘enjoyment’. Furthermore males were more concerned than females with ‘creating

external impression’ by listening to music while females were more concerned than males

with how music listening could aid their emotional needs. In a similar study of English and

American adolescents’ reasons for listening to music, 60.3% of the variance in respondents’

ratings accounted for the following three factors that can be regarded as related to listening to

music for reasons related to identity and mood regulation: (1) ‘self-actualising’, (2) fulfilling

emotional needs’, and (3) ‘fulfilling social needs’ (Tarrant, North, & Hargreaves, 2000).

29

Gantz, Gartenberg, Pearson, and Schiller (as cited in Lonsdale & North, 2011) found

that adolescents listened to music to relieve tension, pass the time, fill uncomfortable

silences, alleviate feelings of loneliness, manage their mood, and relieve boredom. Another

study, by Roe (as cited in Lonsdale & North, 2011) showed that Swedish children listened to

music to create a ‘good atmosphere’, control moods, fill silences, and pass the time. In

addition, in a thematic analysis to identify any patterns or themes to explain why participants

listen to music, Lonsdale and North (2011) found that the most prominent theme when

interviewing undergraduate students, to be the use of music as a means to express emotion

and manage moods. They also found that listening to music was used as a carefully thought

effort to manage levels of arousal, to create a positive mood, to enhance or optimize their

emotional experiences, for an emotional release or ‘catharsis’, and to understand and express

emotions that might otherwise be confusing, and difficult to articulate. Sun and Lull (as cited

in North et al., 2000) found that the main reason for listening to music in their sample was for

passing time. Such research highlights the importance given to the use of music by

adolescents in connection to their emotions and moods.

Focusing now on personality and musical choice, in a study by Schwartz and Fouts

(2003) to assess personality dimensions and developmental issues related to music

preferences of adolescents, three different profiles of adolescents were drawn up according to

musical preference of heavy music, light music, and eclectic music tastes. “Adolescents

preferring heavy music were more likely to be independents or anticonformists who

demonstrate lower self-esteem and higher self-doubt” (Schwartz & Fouts, 2003, p. 211). Also

they were more likely to communicate in an insensitive and blunt manner, to question others’

abilities, motives, and rules, and resist persuaded change. They are more likely to be

aggressive and viewed as adolescents who are problems.

30

Earlier in this chapter the ‘negative identity’ proposed by Erikson (1968) was

mentioned and according to Schwartz and Fouts (2003) adolescents preferring heavy music

were more likely to exhibit this ‘negative identity’ or lack a stable sense of identity. A

consequence of this may be to hold on to known confusion and discomfort and listening to

such music may help to deal with this diffused identity status as it usually contains themes

and sounds that match their identity issues and feelings. Thus heavy music may tell

adolescents that they are not alone in this developmental task and also offer refuge by

validating their confusions about identity which may lead to providing a safe context to

explore and organize a sense of self (North & Hargreaves, 1999); Schave & Schave as cited

in Schwartz & Fouts, 2003).

Furthermore preference for heavy music was associated with conflicts with parents

over independence/dependence issues and high levels of discomfort within the family as

conflict and emotional disconnection may lead the adolescents to seek connection and

validation from music and different musical groups or peers by offering them a reflection or

distraction from these issues and regulating their emotions. Thus heavy music may reflect

their internal states and eases their unsettled emotions or distracts them from uncomfortable

moods and developmental issues (Schwartz & Fouts, 2003).

According to Schwartz and Fouts (2003) adolescents that preferred light music “were

more likely to be preoccupied with trying to do the right and proper things while still keeping

their emotions in check. They also were more likely to have 2 developmental concerns, their

“sexuality and relationships with peers” (p. 211). They show some difficulty in negotiating

the balance between dependency and independence from peers and since peer acceptance is

31

important during adolescence, popular and mainstream music can serve as a common ground

with other experiencing the same issues. Such developmental issues can produce conflicting

and/or negative emotions which light music may validate and help them to regulate and

express them. “Thus, light music may provide an emotionally safe vehicle for easing their

transition into becoming more independent, expressive adults and finding meaningful

connection (through music) with others” (Schwartz & Fouts, 2003, p. 212).

Finally, adolescents having an eclectic taste in music seem to have less difficulty in

negotiating their adolescence and “were not experiencing significant issues regarding self-

concept, dealing with authority, worrying about their sexuality and peer relationships, having

problems with their families, nor experiencing academic concerns” (Schwartz & Fouts, 2003,

p. 212). Thus this suggests that those with an eclectic music taste were flexible in using music

according to mood, context, and particular needs at the time. Although my research will not

be looking at the relationship between choice of music and its effects on adolescents, I think

it is important for me to include the above information so as to present a comprehensive

theoretical context to the phenomenon under research.

2.7. Mood Regulation by Music

If one looks at an overview of literature on this section, one can notice that the study

of music and emotion has been given more prominence than research on music and mood

regulation. An example of this is the existence of the Handbook of music and emotion:

Theory, research, applications (Juslin & Sloboda, 2011a). On the other hand there is no such

32

handbook on music and mood or mood regulation but rather a few studies on the topic. In a

chapter from the above mentioned book, Sloboda (2011) mentions that there is psychological

literature on mood regulation but research on music and mood regulation is not closely

informed by such literature. I have attempted above to review general literature on mood

regulation but most of the literature I have used and will use below is linked to how music is

used to regulate moods.

Definitions and distinctions between affect, emotions, and moods have already

previously been stated in this chapter and in this section of the literature review there will be

a focus on all three especially as is reflected in the available literature and research. Thus in

other words this part of the literature review will aim to focus on mood regulation through

music as this is the aim of this research. However mention of music and affect and emotion

will be made since a lot of the literature focuses on these topics and they are also linked to

mood regulation. In addition while acknowledging that literature on music and emotions

exists from a multi-disciplinary perspective, the main focus of this literature review will be

on literature from the psychological perspective.

As has already been highlighted in the research on why adolescents listen to music,

literature in the area of mood regulation by music shows that listeners use music to change

emotions, to release emotions, to match their current emotion, to enjoy or to comfort

themselves, or to relieve stress. Indeed, there is some indication that most people experience

music (somehow, somewhere) every day of their lives, often with an accompanying affective

reaction of some sort. (Juslin & Sloboda, 2011b, p. 3)

33

Most of the literature on music and emotion is from a quantitative perspective trying

to understand behaviours. For example, Sloboda and Juslin (2011), psychologists from a

positivist tradition, are interested in finding explanations to discover antecedents to

behaviours, hypothesize about mechanisms whereby antecedents interact to bring about

behaviours, and about mechanisms which are internal and external to an organism. When

studying music and emotion “a central aim of psychology is to understand the mechanisms

that intervene between music reaching a person’s ears and an emotion being experienced or

detected by that person as a result of hearing that music” (Sloboda & Juslin, 2011, p. 73). In

psychology such understanding can be done on a functional level, on a hardware level, and

on a phenomenological level (Dennett, 1996) but the literature is very vast. I will be making

reference only to a small section of literature on these levels due to its vastness.

One of the most basic starting points with regards to music and emotion is if music

actually evokes emotional responses in listeners (emotivist position) and/or if listeners

perceive emotions expressed by the music (cognitivist position). In their research, Lundqvist,

Carlsson, Hilmersson, and Juslin (2009) attempt to investigate this issue by measuring self-

reported emotion, facial muscle activity, and autonomic activity in college students. Their

results supported the emotivist perspective by showing that “happy music induced greater

feelings of happiness, whereas sad music induced greater feelings of sadness” (Lundqvist et

al., 2009, p. 74). Waterman (1996) found that regardless if the participants in his research

were trained or untrained listeners, whether the musical extract was known or unknown, and

pleasing or displeasing, events within a musical extract were found to be “emotionally

loaded” (p. 64). This research is important because it indicated that specific musical

structures elicited some response consistently from individuals (Waterman, 1996).

34

Results from a study by Kallinen (2005) suggest that sadness and joy are more easily

recognized in music in comparison with anger, fear, and surprise which were harder to

identify. In an attempt to logically explain why this is so, Kallinen (2005) states that joyful

and sad pieces are easier to recognize due to the amount of exposure such music gets in

western art music and/or “more ‘high-quality’ stimuli happened to be nominated for joy and

sadness than for anger, fear, surprise, and disgust” (p. 387).

One of the psychological routes in the nervous system whereby emotion may be

generated by music is episodic memory. This refers to an emotion being induced by music

because it evokes a memory of a particular event in that person’s life (Juslin & Västfjäll,

2008). Baumgartner (as cited in Juslin & Västfjäll, 2008) states that when memory is evoked,

the emotion that is associated with that memory is also evoked. Music is frequently used to

remind listeners of valued past events, especially of periods from their youth, and this can

help to consolidate their self-identity (Juslin & Västfjäll, 2008).

As mentioned earlier there is a lot of vast research on music and emotion but I would

like to move away from such literature now as to give more focus to literature that focuses on

music, mood, and mood regulation since this is the focus of this research. The literature

mentioned above on music and emotion was what I found most relevant for this research but

it does not mean that it is exclusive of all the research that exists.

On a hardware level, Levitin (2006) explains how a positive mood increases

dopamine levels in a person and this is associated with emotional regulation, alertness and

35

mood. Levitin (2006) goes on to explain that music is a clear means for improving people’s

moods. A variable that accounts for liking a piece of music or not is that people choose to

listen to music in order to regulate their mood according to the simplicity or complexity of a

song and the activity they are engaging in (Levitin, 2006).

Stratton and Zalanowski (as cited in Cady, Harris, & Knappenberger, 2008) state that

both instrumental music and lyrics can alter moods and Houston and Haddock (2007)

mention that many studies highlight that music is successful in manipulating moods. For

example the mention of the impact of music on mood is quite established (Gabrielsson, 2001;

Sloboda & Juslin, 2001) and some people actually listen to music for this effect (Gabrielsson,

2001). Laiho (2004) states that one of the primary qualities of music is its ability to influence

mood especially in adolescents because of their experience of emotional intensity and

restlessness.

Heasley (as cited by Saarikallio, 2007) proposes that music is used in general to

regulate arousal, cognition, and mood states. Various studies show that music is used for

mood regulation in a variety of contexts such as in sports settings (Terry & Karageorghis,

2006), in the workplace (Haake, 2006; Lesiuk, 2005), in social settings (Juslin & Laukka,

2004; Ziv, 2004), and in hospital settings (Kenny & Faunce, 2004; Magill Levreault, 1993;

Pelletier, 2004). Some authors found that music seems to arouse mood improvement and

positive emotions (Gabrielsson & Lindström, 2003; Haake, 2006; Hakanen, 1995; Juslin &

Laukka, 2004) while others found that music may help to manage negative moods; in a self-

therapeutic way (Gabrielsson & Lindström, 2003; Larson, 1995; Small, 1998), by relieving

tension and offering a cathartic release of negative emotions (Lacourse, Claes, & Villeneuve,

36

2001; Schwartz & Fouts, 2003), and offering a pleasant activity to help distance thoughts and

feeling from their burdens (Christenson et al., 1985; Christenson & Roberts, 1998; Schwartz

& Fouts, 2003). In addition to this Larson (1995) states that the pleasures derived from

musical experiences may produce a sense of well-being, wholeness, purpose in life, and

stability.

There is a hypothesis which, I would now like to explain, that goes into music

affecting mood and then influencing performance on cognitive tasks. “According to the

arousal-mood hypothesis, listening to music affects arousal and mood, which then influence

performance on various cognitive skills” (Husain, Thompson, & Schellenberg, 2002, p. 153).

In their research, Husain et al. (2002) focused on exactly this and they found from their

participants listening to a sonata composed by Mozart in major mode evoked a positive mood

while listening to the same piece of music in minor mode caused a negative shift in mood.

Further to this they found that changes in arousal and mood by listening to music accounted

for a variance in cognitive performance, with 60% of this variance being accounted for by the

degree to which listeners enjoyed the music. Performance on cognitive tasks included

categorization, complex decision making, creative problem solving, sorting, and heuristics.

A theoretical model which describes mood regulation by music in adolescents exists

thanks to the work of Saarikallio and Erkkilä (2007) which I would like to elaborate on now.

Since this theoretical model is based on the same lines as the research question of this study,

it may be important to help understand further the interviews of this research. At the same

time it is important to specify that my research is not trying to prove this theory or is theory

driven.

37

The theoretical model is based on mood regulation by music in adolescents being

described “as a process of satisfying personal mood-related goals through various musical

activities” (Saarikallio & Erkkila, 2007, p. 88). The researchers took two age groups: a group

of 14 year olds and a group of 17 year olds made up of girls and boys and had two interview

sessions with each group. The first session focused on musical activities, situations, musical

tastes and experiences. In the second interview they discussed mood-related experiences,

mood-regulation issues, and motivational factors. Between interviews a form was filled out

each time they engaged in a musical activity describing the musical situation, describing the

affective experience in terms of pleasantness and energy levels, and reflecting on the

affective experience.

In their research they found that musical activities seemed to regulate three elements,

at a minimum, of subjective experiences: valance (mainly by helping to move away from

negative feelings and strengthen positive feelings), intensity (regulation of intensity of affect

and the experience of how intensely the mood is felt), and clarity (music affecting the clarity

of the experience by giving form to different feelings).

From their analysis two main goals and seven sub goals for using music for mood

regulation emerged. “The two main goals identified in the analysis were the need for

controlling one’s own feelings, and the desire to feel good or better, and they were labelled

‘mood control’ and ‘mood improvement’, respectively” (Saarikallio & Erkkila, 2007, p. 95).

Regarding ‘mood improvement’, music seems to have a strong positive effect as long as the

musical activity is self-selected (Saarikallio & Erkkila, 2007). The researchers go on to say

that even when adolescents use music to vent or reflect on negative feelings they might feel

38

even worse but eventually these processes helped them to get rid of negative moods and feel

better. With regard to ‘mood control’, Saarikallio and Erkkila (2007) state that “all actions of

mood regulation could be considered as attempts to control and self-determine current mood

to suit different personal and contextual needs” (p. 95). Laiho (2004) also states that using

music to regulate moods is one form of gaining experiences of self-control and this can have

an effect on an adolescent’s self-esteem in return.

They also found seven emergent regulatory strategies that include entertainment,

revival, strong sensation, diversion, discharge, mental work, and solace (Saarikallio &

Erkkila, 2007). I will explain each regulatory strategy according to the typical mood before

adolescents engage in a musical activity like listening to music, the typical musical activity

they engage in, and the typical changes in mood according to Saarikallio and Erkkila (2007).

For ‘entertainment’ adolescents feel no specific moods, and/or feel ok, and/or

sometimes experience boredom. They listen to music usually in the background.. This leads

to a lift up in spirits and/or maintaining a positive mood.

For ‘revival’ adolescents feel stress and/or a need for relaxation and energy. They

mainly listen to music but also sing, play, and write songs. This leads to feelings of

relaxation, revival, and getting energy.

For ‘strong sensation’ no specific mood is felt before but an involvement in any

musical activity is strong and engaged in. It leads to attention and intensity becoming

stronger and sometimes leading to a thrill.

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The regulatory strategy of ‘diversion’ typically starts off with anger, sadness,

‘depression’, stress, disruptive, and annoying thoughts that lead to listening, singing, and/or

playing music which is happy and pleasant. This leads to adolescents forgetting about their

current negative mood.

For ‘discharge’, anger, sadness, and ‘depression’ are typical moods felt before

listening and sometimes playing music which is aggressive or sad. This offers adolescents

music as a form to express their current negative mood.

For ‘mental work’ issues like personal conflicts that require thinking are the typical

preceding mood that lead to listening to music and/or writing songs.

For ‘solace’ the typical mood before listening to music or/and attending to lyrics is

feeling sad and troubled. Music helps the mood change to adolescents feeling understood and

comforted.

The above theoretical model was converted into a quantifiable form “to develop, test,

and validate a scale for measuring mood regulation by music, and to explore individual

differences in mood regulation as revealed through the use of this scale [Music in Mood

Regulation scale (MMR)]” (Saarikallio, 2008, p. 292). This scale was used in a study to

explore how adolescents use different mood regulatory strategies in their everyday musical

40

activities in relation to their age, gender, musical background, and abilities of general mood

regulation (Saarikallio, 2006).

Results showed that girls used music for mood regulation more than boys and this

might also be linked to the findings of North et al. (2000) which show that women give more

articulate and detailed accounts of how music regulates their moods than men. Furthermore

Saarikallio (2006) found that the musical background of adolescents was related to their use

of music in mood regulation and the amount of daily listening was also strongly connected to

music in mood regulation. Also related to MMR was having playing or singing as a hobby,

song writing, and the subjective experience of the importance of music (Saarikallio, 2006).

“The most important musical activity for regulating mood was listening” (Saarikallio, 2006,

p. 956) and a preference for classical music, rock, heavy metal, jazz, folk, and gospel

correlated significantly with MMR while rap, pop, techno, and evergreens didn’t.

On a concluding note, Konečni (2011) states that there is no doubt that “moods can be

regulated, managed, adjusted, and optimized by music exposure and choice” (p. 716).

Knobloch and Mundorf (2003) state that decoding a music user’s moods that correspond to

music needs may be the way forward. Hopefully my qualitative research will contribute to

the understanding of music’s role in mood regulation in adolescents by understanding the

lived experience of adolescents who experience mood regulation through music. I also hope

that my research can stimulate further studies in the area to increase awareness of the use of

music for mood regulation in adolescents within the Maltese culture.

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2.8. Conclusion

The aim of this chapter was to provide a literature review on the experience of mood

regulation through music in adolescents. Reference was made to music, mood regulation, and

adolescents as separate entities. Consideration was given to the relationship between music

and adolescents. Finally, reference was made to literature regarding mood regulation by

music, especially in adolescents. The following chapter will address the methodology used in

this present study.

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Chapter 3 – Methodology

3.1. Introduction

This chapter will outline the methodology and research design used to explore the

experience of mood regulation through music in adolescents. The aim and rationale of the

study will be firstly explained. This will lead to information on the participants and the

selection procedures of these participants. This research will be guided by interpretative

phenomenological analysis (IPA) as a research methodology. Data will be collected through

in-depth semi-structured interviews. By being loyal to the theoretical roots of IPA, reference

to my reflexivity will be made. The ethical considerations that were observed throughout this

study will be presented. Strategies for ensuring credibility and trustworthiness of the data will

also be discussed.

3.2. Research Rationale

Qualitative research holds the assumption that there is no universal truth or objective

reality (Lyons, 2008) and is concerned with the exploration and understanding of meaning

(Dallos & Vetere, 2005). Thus, this research adopted a qualitative approach to attempt to

understand and explore the experiences of adolescents who perceive their moods to be

regulated through music. Dallos and Vetere (2005) state that qualitative research helps the

reader

43

to be drawn into the account and feel involved in thinking about the application of the

findings to our practice…the participants’ ‘voice’…the capacity to reflect on the

methods used, the interpretation of the findings and the consideration of alternatives,

along with reflections on the researcher’s own stance and their biases and how they

influence the research process (p. 50)

As mentioned in the literature review, the research topic of this dissertation has not

been given much prominence especially in comparison to how music affects emotions. In the

local context even less exploration has been given to the research topic. To attempt to

investigate this area of research deeper, an exploration of the lived experiences of the

participants is being taken up in order to try and understand and explore such experiences.

This is to be done through the IPA approach as the aim of IPA is to “explore in detail how

participants are making sense of their personal and social world, and the main currency for an

IPA study is the meanings particular experiences, events, states hold for participants” (Smith

& Osborn, 2008, p. 53). IPA research also follows the social constructionist framework

previously mentioned by taking a critical stance on things that may be overlooked in

everyday life (Burr, 2003).

IPA is influenced by phenomenology, hermeneutics, and idiography. The approach is

phenomenological as it is concerned with examining subjective experience by exploring

personal experience and an individual’s personal perception of an object or event (Smith &

Osborn, 2008; Smith et al., 2010). The phenomenological aspect of IPA involves “thinking

about what the experience of being human is like” (Smith et al., 2010, p. 11) and in this study

44

prominence will be given to the experience of the participants in regards to the research

question.

IPA goes beyond just presenting the experience of humans but it is informed by

hermeneutics which shares the view that human beings are sense-making creatures and thus

this creates an interpretative endeavour into the phenomenology of the participants (Smith et

al., 2010). Thus, IPA recognizes that analysis of the experience of someone always involves

interpretation (Smith et al., 2010) and this is further explained in the following quotation:

The researcher is making sense of the participant, who is making sense of x…In one

sense, the researcher is like the participant, is a human being drawing on everyday

human resources in order to make sense of the world. On the other hand, the

researcher is not the participant, she/he only has access to the participant’s experience

through what the participant reports about it, and is also seeing this through the

researcher’s own, experientially-informed lens. (Smith et al., 2010, pp. 35-36)

Smith and Eatough (2007) argue that IPA is appropriate to explore topics where there

is a need to research how people understand and perceive events in their lives and this

matches the aim of the current research. The idiographic nature of IPA helps to offer value of

particular instances of lived experience and gives importance to detail, depth of analysis, and

how particular experiential phenomena has been understood from the perspective of

particular people, in a particular context (Smith et al., 2010). Thus IPA is appropriate for this

45

study as it gives emphasis and importance to the individual experience of the participants and

allows for understanding of the experience of mood regulation through music in adolescents.

3.3. The Participants

In accordance to IPA methodology (Chapman & Smith, 2002), a homogeneous

sample was recruited by using a purposive sampling as to have participants for whom the

research question was significant. The basic logic behind using a purposive sampling was that

if one is using a small sample of participants then it makes no sense in thinking in terms of

representative or random sampling (Chapman & Smith, 2002; Smith & Osborn, 2008). The

participants consisted of eight persons, four females and four males, who perceived music to

regulate their moods. In total though interview appointments were made with 11 participants

and interviews were held with 10 participants, as one of the 11 did not show up on various

occasions. The data gathered in two of the interviews will not be analysed since the answers

given by the participants were too brief to be of any value to the study. Thus, when I speak of

participants, I will be referring to the eight participants whose data will be evaluated in this

study. All of the participants were Maltese and their ages ranged from 16 to 17 years.

The demographic details collected during the interviews were the participant’s names,

age, and gender. All participants attended one of the church sixth form colleges in Malta.

Further information regarding each participant will be given in the findings chapter of this

study.

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3.3.1. Recruitment of participants

The participants were recruited with the help of the school counsellors within one of

the church sixth form colleges in Malta. Contact with one particular church sixth form was

made based on the previous knowledge that they were interested and willing for me to

conduct this research. Due to the choice of school being based on contact with a particular

school, the sample can be considered as an opportunistic sample.

Participation in this study was on a voluntary basis and three criteria were used for

selection of the participants: (1) they needed to perceive that music affected their mood

regulation, (2) they needed to be willing to talk about their experiences, and (3) they needed

to be an adolescent. Since participants were chosen from a particular sixth form, the

participants were aged 16 to 18 years as stated earlier. Older adolescents were chosen as there

was an assumption that they would be more cognitively developed and experienced in

comparison to younger adolescents and thus hopefully would be more articulate about their

experience with music and mood regulation.

The recruitment process of participants started out one way and then was modified

due to lack of response from students. Originally I gave a presentation, instead of one of the

PDP lessons during school hours, which included a brief overview of my personal experience

with music and mood regulation when I was an adolescent, a brief literature review, and the

requirements needed to participate in the study. A copy of this presentation can be found in

Appendix 8. Also a CD can be found with this dissertation with a video clip that made part of

47

this presentation. Three presentations of this type were given to approximately 40 students

each time. Out of these three presentations only one student contacted me to participate in

this study. Due to this I decided to modify the way I was doing this presentation in discussion

with my supervisor. I met classes of approximately 15 students, instead of one of the lessons

during school hours, and did an ice breaker activity with them to learn their names and build

a rapport with them. Then I asked students to pair up with someone and discuss what music

they like, what attracts them to the music they like, and how music affects their thoughts,

behaviour, emotions, and moods. Each student then introduced their partner to the rest of the

group according to the information they received. This made the presentation more

interactive and more personal. After this was done I shared my experience with music and

mood regulation when I was an adolescent, explained the details of the research I was doing,

and the requirements needed to participate in the study. After meeting with two classes of

approximately 15 students each, I got a response of 10 students willing to participate in the

study.

Those interested in participating were given an information sheet for themselves and

their parents, and a consent form for themselves and their parents. Copies of these can be

found in Appendix 2, Appendix 3, Appendix 4, and Appendix 5 respectively. Information

was given to the parents and consent was needed from the parents as the participants were

minors under the age of 18 years. I took the contact details of students who were interested in

participating in this study after consent was given by the participants and their parents.

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3.4. The Research Tool

The qualitative research method that was used in this study was semi-structured

interviewing. Langdridge (2004) states that this type of interviewing consists of a number of

pre-set questions but the interview is not completely reliant on the rigorous application of the

schedule. “The vast majority of IPA studies have been conducted on data obtained from

semi-structured interview” (Smith & Eatough, 2007, p. 41) and this study will follow cue on

this as Chapman and Smith (2002) argue that this is the best way to collect data for an IPA

study. A semi-structure offers the flexibility to “analyse in detail how participants are

perceiving and making sense of things which are happening to them…This allows the

researcher and participant to engage in a dialogue whereby initial questions are modified in

the light of participants’ responses” (Chapman & Smith, 2002, p. 127). Thus, a semi-

structured interview guide was constructed and used during the interviews with the

participants. This interview guide (found in Appendix 1) consisted of demographic questions,

an introductory question to get into the subject and to serve as a means of building a rapport,

the main research questions with various prompts to assist participants to elaborate on their

experience, and finally debriefing questions.

3.5. Data Collection

A pilot study was carried out with one of the participants before any of the other

interviews were conducted. This was done to evaluate the questions and prompts of the

interview guide and how they are understood. This pilot study with the participant was

eventually used in this study. From this pilot study I learnt that the questions and prompts

49

were straightforward for the participants to answer and also that they were sufficient in

capturing what this research aimed to study. Thus no major changes were required in the

interview guide.

The interviews with the participants were conducted at times convenient for the

students and at their college. These lasted from 50 minutes to one hour and they were all

conducted in English. Participants were given a choice between speaking in Maltese or

English and all of them chose English. Despite this, there were times when in some instances

Maltese words and phrases were used by the participants.

Following interviewing tips proposed by Smith and Eatough (2007), time was spent at

the beginning of each interview to put the participant at ease as to feel comfortable to talk in

depth during the interview. This was done by explaining to the participants what a ‘research

interview’ is and by building trust and a rapport with them. Each participant was also

informed about the purpose and objectives of the study, with reference being made to the

research question. In addition to this a copy of the interview guide was shown to the

participants beforehand as to help reduce their anxiety about the interview. Emphasis was

given to consent and the filled in consent forms for participants and those signed by their

parents/guardians were collected. Confidentiality was assured especially by explaining to

participants that their name will be changed when writing about their experiences and no

details of their identity would be divulged. Before the recorded interview began, demographic

details were collected.

50

The first question of the interview was about music that the participants were

interested in and this served as an introductory question to get the participants into the subject

and also talking about music that they liked. The response to this question included some

participants speaking about their favourite artists and genres for quite some time while others

delved into how music affected their emotions and moods without being prompted for it. The

interview questions aimed at eliciting information about the participants’ use of music to

regulate their moods on cognitive, emotive, and bodily sensation levels, their experience of

this, the outcome of this on their development and identity, the context in which this was

done, and how it fit into their everyday life. The structure of the interview was flexible to

what came out of each individual participant’s experiences as to give importance to the

experiences. For this to be successful, I took the position of a naïve, curious listener and

adopting an open stance. Prompting and probing were used and an attempt to try and elicit

the detailed and personal from the participants were aimed for. All the participants appeared

to be sincere in their accounts of their personal experiences.

At the end of each interview there were four debriefing questions that concerned the

interview per se and any questions the participants had. The aim of these questions was to get

feedback on the interview, to offer closure, and to offer a conclusion to the interview. Most of

the participants claimed that they enjoyed the interview and it offered them insight on their

use of music and mood regulation while some shared that they found some questions difficult

to grasp initially. After the interview was over it was explained to the participants what would

happen to the recording: that it would be transcribed and analysed. It was also explained to

them that I would be using respondent validation and this consisted in going back to the

participants to check if the interpretation of the data represented their views, opinions and

experiences.

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3.6. Data Analysis

The eight recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim for qualitative data analysis.

Analysis involved me engaging in an interpretative relationship with the transcripts with the

aim of getting to focus on meaning by understanding the content and the complexity of those

meanings (Smith & Osborn, 2008). The method of analysis will be explained throughout this

chapter. IPA’s principle analytic approach is thematic analysis (Langdridge, 2004) and the

process of analysis undertaken in this study will now be explained.

I began the analysis by reading several times through each transcript to obtain a

holistic perspective of the data and to become familiar with each participant’s account (Smith

& Eatough, 2007). This active engagement with the data helped me to start entering the

participant’s world (Smith et al., 2010). The right-hand margin of the transcripts was used to

write down initial notes. These notes were helpful to help get a deeper understanding of the

data and this gave me a stronger basis to base the emergent themes on. These initial notes

were recorded on three different levels; descriptive comments, linguistic comments, and

conceptual comments.

Descriptive comments focused on describing the content of what the participant has

said, the subject of the talk within the transcript…Linguistic comments focused upon

exploring the specific use of language by the participant… Conceptual comments

focused on engaging at a more interrogative and conceptual level. (Smith et al., 2010,

p. 84)

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After the above mentioned steps I went through the transcripts whilst listening to the

audio recording of the interview so as to further bring the data to life. Whilst doing so I used

the left-hand margin of the transcripts to document emerging themes. These themes were

formed by “returning to the transcript and using the notes that had previously been made”

(Storey, 2008, p. 55). Throughout this process I kept a copy of the research question in front

of me as to guide me to document emerging themes that answered the research question.

The aim of these steps according to Smith et al. (2010) is to manage the data by

reducing the volume of detail whilst maintaining complexity in terms of mapping the

connections, patterns, and interrelationships between exploratory notes. The development of

emergent themes progressed throughout the whole transcripts. At this stage the themes

reflected both the participant’s original words and thoughts but also the analyst’s

interpretation (Smith et al., 2010). An example of thematic analysis in this study can be found

in Appendix 7.

“The next stage involves a more analytical or theoretical ordering, as the researcher

tries to make sense of the connections between themes which are emerging. Some of the

themes will cluster together, and some may emerge as superordinate concepts” (Smith &

Osborn, 2008, p. 70). This was done by numbering emergent themes that were similar and

clustering them together. After this was done each cluster was given a name and these names

represented the superordinate themes. Themes that fell under these clusters became the sub-

themes.

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The next step of analysis was to put together a table of themes. This involved

organizing superordinate themes into a table along with their corresponding sub-themes

(Storey, 2008). This whole process of analysis was done for each transcript separately so as

to do justice to each account’s own individuality. The resulting master table of themes that I

put together respected both theoretical convergence and individual idiosyncrasy (Smith &

Osborn, 2008).

Throughout the whole process of analysis, I was in discussion with my supervisor

about the processes I was using, about the emerging themes, the interpretations I was giving,

and the clustering of the themes. My supervisor offered useful suggestions from her expertise

in IPA throughout this process that helped insure that I was moving on the right track. One

particular thing that I found helpful was my supervisor challenging me to be more

interpretative with the data as I was initially scared to do so as I thought I would deviate from

the participants’ experience.

After I went through the above steps of analysis there was a progression to writing-up

the final themes into a narrative account. Verbatim quotations from the transcripts assisted

this process. Care was taken to distinguish clearly between what the respondent said and the

analyst’s account or interpretation of it. By building this write-up “themes are explained,

illustrated and nuanced” (Smith & Osborn, 2008, p. 76). These findings will be presenting in

the following chapter.

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3.7. Strategies for Ensuring Credibility and Trustworthiness of Findings

The transcripts, the themes, and their considerations were analysed and reviewed by

more than one researcher using IPA. This involved three peer reviewers and my supervisor

checking interpretations made and the themes for each transcript. The role of the peer

reviewers was to help keep the researcher honest by inquiring about meanings, methods, and

interpretations with the aim of offering a deeper reflexive analysis (Lincoln & Guba, 1985).

In addition to this I also used respondent validation whereby I went back to the

participants to check if the themes and interpretations made represented their experience.

Dallos and Vetere (2005) explain that this is used with IPA in an attempt to represent the

views, opinions, and experiences of the participants. All the contacted participants agreed

with my thematic representation of their experience after interpretation.

3.8. Reflexivity

Despite the purpose of IPA attempting to examine how people make sense of their

experience regarding a phenomenon, it also recognizes that the researcher is the analytical

instrument (Smith et al., 2010). “It can be said that the IPA researcher is engaged in a double

hermeneutic because the researcher is trying to make sense of the participant trying to make

sense of what is happening to them” (Smith et al., 2010, p. 3). According to Heidegger (as

cited in Smith et al., 2010) the analyst brings fore-conception (prior experiences,

preconceptions, assumptions) to the encounter with the data and cannot help but interact with

55

new data in the light of their own prior experience. Rather than seeing this as a hindrance,

reflexivity and stating such fore-conceptions is seen as an enabling tool to acknowledge ones

interpretative role (Smith et al., 2010).

Originally I asked a colleague to conduct a reflexivity interview with me as the

participant to help me get in touch with my experience of the topic as to be able to bracket

accordingly throughout the research. The interview with me was not used as data for this

study but it helped me become more aware of my own experience and how this was being

used to analyse the data. As to offer the reader a more detailed look into my reflexivity

regarding my experience with the research topic, a copy of this interview is included in

Appendix 9.

During my interaction with the participants, I realized that my experience and also my

perception of how adolescents used music for mood regulation echoed with the experience of

many of the participants. At the same time each participant brought different and unique

examples from their own experiences. When recruiting the participants I shared with the

participants my interest in the research topic and also my personal experience with music to

regulate my moods during my adolescent years. My personal experience with music to

regulate my moods as an adolescent and even as an adult helped me to understand the

participants. However, despite acknowledging my own experience and also knowledge in the

area due to the literature I have read on the topic now, I still believe that the participants are

the experts on their lives and experiences. Bracketing my own experiences through making

them explicit helped me to give priority to the understanding of the experiences of the

participants during interpretation rather than to my own preconceptions.

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3.9. Ethical Considerations

Despite the topic under investigation not being of a very sensitive nature, efforts were

made to make sure that ethical guidelines were adhered to throughout the entire research

process. Before starting this research project, preliminary contact was made with the church

sixth form college where participants were found from and also with the Secretariat for

Catholic Education as this college forms part of this organization. Approval for the research

was given both by the rector of the sixth form and by the Archbishop’s Delegate for Church

Schools. Furthermore, ethical approval was attained from the University Research Ethics

Committee. A copy of these approval letters can be found in Appendix 6.

Informed consent was discussed with all participants during the recruitment process

and participants were informed of their rights both verbally and through the information and

consent forms provided to them. Included in this was their verbal and written consent for the

interviews to be recorded through the use of an audio recorder. Since all participants were

under the age of eighteen written consent was needed from their parents/guardians too.

Confidentiality was respected by names and other information regarding their identity being

changed in the written account. Also the participants and parents/guardians were informed

that the recorded interviews and other notes taken will be destroyed once the study is fully

completed. I transcribed all of the recorded interviews verbatim.

I was interested in the lived experience of the process of mood regulation through

music rather than in stirring up past experiences that might be an emotional burden on the

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adolescent participants. Despite this, an agreement was made with the school counsellors that

if participants get emotionally upset due to disclosing personal information they could contact

them and these were willing to provide support. All of the participants were informed about

this agreement. None of the participants were upset after the interviews and no further

support was needed.

In terms of benefits to the research participants, no inducement was offered but the

participants were offered an opportunity to become self-aware and to talk about the topic

being researched.

A copy of the research project will be provided to the participants and the College at

the end of the research. In addition to this some participants asked me for some journal

articles regarding certain topics talked about and I recommended some for them and also

provided them with some articles.

3.10. Conclusion

This chapter reviewed the research methodology of the present study. It gave

information on the research approach and the method to be used for data collection.

Reference was made to the participants and the different phases of the research process.

Subsequently, the procedures adhered to during the data analysis were described and

strategies for ensuring credibility and trustworthiness of findings were mentioned. My

reflexivity was made explicit. Finally, the ethical considerations taken throughout the

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research process were mentioned. The following chapter will now present the findings of this

study.

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Chapter 4 – Findings

4.1. Introduction

The aim of this chapter is to give an in-depth presentation of the experience of

adolescents’ perceived effects of music on mood regulation and to offer an opportunity for

their stories to be heard. In this chapter I will initially present a profile of each participant and

then proceed to present the themes found from the analysis of the data, backed up with

verbatim quotations from the participants. The first number after each quote refers to the page

number of the transcript while the second number refers to the line number. Eight main

themes emerged from the analysis and they are presented in table 1 hereunder. These themes

represent a collective view of the experience of the participants and together are intended to

recreate the version of reality of the participants. Although I will be describing the main

themes and their sub-themes separately, there is considerable overlap amongst the themes.

4.2. Participants’ Profile

The demographic details collected during the interviews were the participant’s names,

age, and gender. In addition to this the introductory question of the interview focused on what

type of music the participants like. This information will now be given regarding each

participant (the names of the participants and other identifiable information have been

changed to safeguard anonymity):

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Bob is a 16 year old young man. He mostly listens to progressive rock with bands

such as Pink Floyd, King Crimson, Dream Theatre, The Flower Kings, Liquid Tension

Experiment, Transatlantic, and Spock’s Beard mentioned. He enjoys listening to a mixture of

both classic and modern progressive rock bands. In addition to this he likes to listen to the

genres of General rock music, Funk, Swing, and Jazz. Bob is struck mostly by the complexity

and technicality of music. He is also a drummer.

Billy is a 16 year old young man. He listens to a variety of genres which include

Classical, Techno, Trance, Rock, Metal, and Jazz; he mentions that he is into all kinds of

music except for Country as he finds it boring. Some of Billy’s favourite artists include

Armin van Buuren, David Guetta, Kid Rock, Hans Zimmer, Flo Rida, Eminem, and Lil

Wayne. Billy plays the acoustic guitar.

Polly is a 16 year old young woman. Her favourite genres are soft music like Ballads,

and she also likes to listen to Pop music, Jazz, Ballet, and Hip hop as she dances to this

music. She is not really into Rock and music with a heavy beat. Some of her favourite artists

include Rihanna, Beyoncé, and Christina Perri. Polly also likes music from the television

show X Factor which includes people covering other artists’ songs.

Jimmy is a 17 year old young man. He listens mostly to Pop music and House music.

His favourite band is Green Day, an American punk rock band.

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Joni is a 16 year old young lady. She stated that she is open to listen to different kinds

of music but she listens mostly to Electronic music and Rock operas. She does not listen to

Hard rock as it is too powerful for her. Her favourite artist is Owl City and she explained that

he is a musician who makes music by using instruments and puts his songs together with the

use of a computer. Joni plays a variety of instruments but the main instrument that she plays

is the piano.

Tori is a 17 year old young woman. She listens mostly to rock, with her favourite

genres within the Rock sphere being Alternative rock, and Acoustic and Piano rock. She does

not listen to Progressive and Heavy rock. In addition, she likes to listen to Worship music and

Blues. Her favourite artists include Paramore, Coldplay, Matt Redman, Tim Hughes, and

Angels & Airwaves.

Bjork is a 16 year old young lady. She likes all types of music aside from what she

described as “noisy” type of music such as Techno music. Her favourite genres are R&B,

Pop, and Hip hop. Bjork’s favourite artists include Rihanna, Chris Brown, Lady Gaga, Keri

Hilson, Ciara, and The Wanted.

Roger is a 17 year old young man. He used to be fascinated with Rock music which

verged onto Heavy rock as he liked guitar solos. He mentioned bands such as Metallica and

Guns n’ Roses. His liking for Rock music inspired him to start playing the guitar. Nowadays

he does not like Heavy electric rock music anymore but is into Soft acoustic music, House

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music, and Club music. His favourite band is Boyce Avenue. He still plays the guitar and is a

grade six student. He also sings in school events and was awarded a scholarship in singing.

4.3. Table of Themes

The following table lists each theme and linked sub-themes that developed from the

analysis of the participants’ accounts.

Table 1

The Themes and Sub-Themes from the Participants’ Interviews

Themes Subthemes

4.4. “I can’t live without music” 4.4.1. Music is a big part of the participants’ lives

4.4.2. Music is needed to get them in different

moods

4.5. Music helps them understand

themselves and what they are

going through

4.5.1. They match music to mood

4.5.2. They identify with artist/music

4.5.3. Music helps them understand themselves

4.5.4. Music is used to reflect

4.5.5. Music helps one to understand feelings

4.5.6. Music as a source of fulfilment and

emotional refuge

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4.6. How music helps them process

emotions/moods

4.6.1. How music helps them process sadness

4.6.2. How music helps them process anger

4.6.3. How music helps them process tension

4.6.4. Music’s effect on happiness

4.7. Music gives a sense of

empowerment

4.7.1. Music helped build their identity

4.7.2. Music prepares them to face challenging

events

4.7.3. Music helps them help others

4.8. One needs time to use music to

regulate moods

4.9. Music affects people

differently

4.9.1. Subjectivity of music and diversity of music

4.9.2. Importance given to lyrics and different

musical qualities

4.10. Music creates a positive

spiritual experience

4.11. Music’s impact on one’s

beliefs about love and sex

4.4. “I can’t live without Music”

A theme that was consistent in all the experiences of the participants was how they

said that they cannot live without music. Moreover the participants talked about music’s

importance in their lives and this will be elaborated on in this section.

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4.4.1. Music is a big part of the participants’ lives

Some participants explained how music is a big part of their lives. Roger describes

music as meaning everything and as an integral part of him: “At times I think it means

absolutely everything…I do think that music is an integral part of who I am today”

(3.23…18.21) (Roger). Similarly, Joni explains music as making such a big part of her that it

is overwhelming to her: “Sort of I see music like something really big, like something huge

and it is a big part of me so it is overwhelming” (11.27) (Joni)

Bjork mentions that she loves music and that it is a big part of her life:

I think so, when I was like when I came from school in year two my sister would be

listening to music and I really liked the music that she was listening to and when I

came home too like I would know like there were the top twenty songs and I would

know number twenty and I would know what is coming on and I would start already

singing it in my head. I think from that age I started to really love music, even my

mother would tell me “you really love music don’t you?”… music is a big part of my

life (17.15…22.28) (Bjork)

The vast majority of the participants expressed themselves as being dependent on

music in one way or another. Billy also describes his urge to listen to music and how he

cannot live without music:

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…you get the urge to listen to that song…It’s like music became part of my life, part

of my daily routine, in fact even I don’t go to run errands for my mum without putting

headphones on…I mean it’s kind of a necessity now, I can’t live without music, and

believe me when I, when my battery is dead or my phone’s died I am literally

desperate to go back home and listen to some music on my pc. It’s like there’s a need

to listen to music from my side. It’s strange I mean compared to roughly two to three

years ago I didn’t even used to do it. Nowadays I am doing it every day I listen to

music. (14.14…13.19…13.24) (Billy)

Jimmy echoes similar sentiments: “Now I couldn’t go a day without listening to

music; before I used to but after listening to music for long periods of time it is something I

have to do” (8.29) (Jimmy)

Polly talks about different activities in which music is needed and that it is a

necessity: “I hear music when I sleep, I hear music when I wake up, I hear music when I

dance, so it’s a big part of my life. It is a necessity I would say” (16.4) (Polly)

Bjork talks about her daily routine and makes it very clear how much she uses music

throughout her day:

I wake up for school and then I go into the van, in the van I switch on my iPod and

listen to the music, sometimes because I arrive at seven and the lesson starts at seven

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forty, I go next to my friends and I just keep the earphones in my ear, and then school

starts I don’t listen to any music and then I go home in the van I don’t listen to music

and then I go home and then I start doing my homework I switch on my iPod I put it

in my ears and do my homework and then maybe I do some exercise and I switch on

my Ipad to do some exercise because I get to do the exercise with the iPad, and then

after the exercise I go to shower, iPad with me I switch on the music then I shower

and it takes me thirty minutes to shower with music and then I eat normal, I watch I

don’t listen to music I just watch a series when I’m eating and then sometimes not

always sometimes I listen to music when I go to bed not every day but sometimes I

sleep to it. (14.22) (Bjork)

4.4.2. Music is needed to get them in different moods

A lot of the participants in this study mentioned how music is needed to get them in

different moods to do different activities. Jimmy gives examples of using music to regulate

his moods and how this impacts what he does:

If it [music] changes the mood in a negative way I just don’t feel like doing anything

and sit down all day and do nothing if I was feeling bad and it turned into positive I

sort of feel like I have to do something too. (16.1) (Jimmy)

Bob basically spells out that different genres of music get him into different moods to

do different activities and provides examples:

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For example if I listen to certain sort of songs which sort of pump you up or get you

all rebellious, I for example love to go walking or sort of hyped up and I say I’m

going for a walk you know. Emm…on the other hand for example if I listen to a

certain amount of songs which are sort of calm in theme I say, I become a bit, a bit

more lazy so you know the activities I do, if I’m studying I either get out of focus sort

of and won’t study at all or for example my mother asks me to wash the dishes, you

can forget about it because, emm so I think different songs and different genres sort of

emm…get me in a different mood to do different activities, for example

emm…emm…for example if I’m a bit sort of sad for no reason or there sometimes

comes a point where you’re sad for no reason, you don’t, actually that’s how I feel, I

don’t know why, sort of if I know that I have to do that certain job I sometimes,

whenever it’s possible, I use music to lift sort of my spirits you know, get a bit in

focus and sort of to go with a, either go focus or sort of go with clear thoughts and do

the job. (13.24) (Bob)

This change in mood that Bob talked about would happen instantly:

Yes it would influence my mood and sometimes it would, sometimes when I’m just

sort of normal (laughs) eh, listening to different songs sort of trigger different moods,

sometimes it shifts my mood completely, emm for example if I listen to certain bands

which are heavy in style, for example heavy metal bands or metal core bands, I tend

to become even more angry instantly. So then when I listen to songs like emm, sorry

bands like Pink Floyd, I tend to become even more relaxed emm and focus more on

what I am doing. (10.2) (Bob)

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This experience was also echoed in Billy’s and Jimmy’s experience: “…a song can

change your feelings instantly” (1.29) (Billy). “Now I go straight to music and sort of if I am

angry or if I am sad I kind of change my mood quickly” (16.31) (Jimmy)

4.5. Music helps them understand themselves and what they are going

through

This theme incorporates six subthemes to explain it as it is quite a vast theme. At the

same time it seemed to be a very important theme amongst the participants as all participants

mentioned that music helps them understand themselves and what they are going through,

one way or another. The participants shared how they manage to find music that compares to

their mood at the time and how they manage to identify with either the artist or the music

they are listening to. They also mention how they use music to reflect and this offers them an

understanding of themselves and their feelings. Furthermore music is used to gain fulfilment

and as an emotional refuge at times.

4.5.1. They match music to mood

Some of the participants cleverly managed to match music to the mood they were

experiencing or to the activity they were undertaking. Roger experiences this in this way:

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At times I think that whatever mood you are in whatever emotion you are feeling you

just find that particular song, that one particular lyric, I don’t know that one particular

signature sound that really gets to you, really delves to your soul and what you are

feeling at that point… (3.23) (Roger)

Another participant speaks of distinguishing his mood to then process it by matching

music to it:

Different genres are going to help me in different moods, eh it sort of strengthened

and disciplined me sort of to know what I want, to know how I feel it, when I feel it

and sort of em I know myself more, know sort of the music sort of struck me and em

in the different moods” (11.13) (Bob)

In the above quotation, Bob also describes how music helped to build his identity

through different genres of music helping to strengthen and discipline him. This is also

represented in sub-theme 4.7.1. that will be discussed later on in this chapter.

4.5.2. They identify with artist/music

Most of the adolescents spoke about identifying with the artist through their music or

to the music. Tori’s quotation captures how she identifies with the artists’ feelings and relates

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them to her own as she’s reflecting about her feelings and what she’s going through. She also

mentions how she uses music to reflect and this will be further discussed in sub-theme 4.5.4.:

I understand why I am angry with that person or why I am frustrated because I have

listened to these songs and the artists are feeling the same way and they are giving me

a chance to reflect, it helps me grow…when I am listening to a song and I feel a

connection with the artist suddenly I am not the center of my problems anymore, there

is sort of someone here that has the same problem so I can’t be on a one way road of

self-pity because this other person has the same problem so sort of it gets me to reflect

on the problem (16.25…16.32) (Tori)

Billy manages to relate his pain to that of the artist: “But sometimes it relates to the

situation you are feeling and you can actually relate to the person’s pain and you can relate it

to yours” (11.12) (Billy)

Another participant discusses how it is certain words and melodies that she identifies

with that strike her, to repeat them in her head: “always somehow when I am listening to

music with words it is always the words and that melody with words that hit me the most that

comes up in my head… sort of I can relate to it” (10.28…10.33) (Joni)

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4.5.3. Music helps them understand themselves

The extracts from the participants will hopefully show the unique aspect of this sub-

theme. Each person understood themselves in different ways with the help of music. Music

helped Joni understand that she was a unique individual in a world full of people. Music

helped her to feel like she fits in the world:

…he [Owl City] makes me feel better because I feel more unique like if I don’t feel

part of the seven billion people in the world, I feel like I have my own place in the

world. I mean I know everyone has his own uniqueness but some people fail to realize

it but the sort of music I listen to helps me to realize I am not like the rest and I am a

lot different than the rest. (16.23) (Joni)

Tori speaks about feeling understood through music, almost like experiencing

empathic understanding, in her despair and this leads to her finding peace and hope:

…find like hope or strength like when you are despairing a little bit like you don’t

know what is happening or you can’t understand the situation, you don’t find the

solution you don’t really find the solution but you find that someone that is in the

same boat as you which is great… you feel like sort of you find hope within that

connection so there is a lot of deep emotion… it leaves me peaceful and it leaves me

sort of feeling stronger and feeling more content… (8.10…8.17…8.22) (Tori)

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Tori also mentions using music to understand herself better in relation to

understanding her relationships better: “[music] has helped me build my identity like even

like how I look at people, how I interact with people, music sort of has helped me sort of

understand my relationships better. I understand my relationships better” (16.23) (Tori)

4.5.4. Music is used to reflect

Most of the participants stated that they used music for reflection. Some use it to think

about something they are going through while others use music as a means of problems

solving. Furthermore some participants use music as a means of increasing their awareness

about something. For Jimmy, music helps him to process his experience and focus his

thoughts on the situation he needs to think about:

All that I think in my mind, think about it music makes me forget about everything

else that just happened and makes me think about the situation so then when I get

thinking I can see what I have done wrong and then I think about how I can arrange

it… (11.2) (Jimmy)

Bob clearly states that music backs up his thoughts and talks about how he uses music

to reflect by saying that “I sort of use the songs as my base on which I do my thinking… I use

the songs to sort of back me up in a way” (7.9…7.19) (Bob)

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A few of the participants mention their use of music to problem-solve. Bob states how

he uses music to reflect and to think of alternatives: “I use music sort of to reflect on my

experiences… I reflect a lot on what I like, what I should do in different situations, what

should be my reaction towards different situations” (11.21…11.23) (Bob)

Tori explains how music helps her to come to a solution: “I don’t think music is a

solution to any of the problems, it is never a solution it is more it helps you come to a

solution. It is on the road to a solution…” (19.27) (Tori)

Roger uses the example of using music to problem-solve when a relationship of his is

not going well: “…you feel your relationship is on the rocks and it is not going too well em

sort of you listen to this sloppy sad music sort of and you just try to find a solution to your

problems…” (18.28) (Roger)

Few of the participants talked about music increasing their awareness. Tori states that

music increases her awareness about new thoughts and ideas: “…lyrics…also open me up to

new thoughts and ideas which I haven’t thought about” (1.27…1.28) (Tori)

Similar to Tori, Jimmy discusses how music increases his awareness about different

situations:

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…music it kind of develops you and you know how to make what happened better if

it does happen to you so they make you aware of the things that can happen which

without music you would not even think about. (14.17) (Jimmy)

4.5.5. Music helps one to understand feelings

Some participants talked about understanding their feelings through music. Tori

simply states that “I find the lyrics help me understand what I am feeling…” (1.27) (Tori)

Joni describes how she understands her feelings through music by putting her feelings

in music: “I learned how to put my feelings in music; that is how I learnt to open up” (7.5)

(Joni)

4.5.6. Music as a source of fulfilment and emotional refuge

Music can be a means of satisfying needs and some of the participants discuss this.

Roger speaks of using music in two different ways: as an emotional remedy to find refuge in

music, and music to fulfil him:

…perhaps it’s the best remedy of what you would be feeling at the time…I guess that

people who tend to listen to music much more often they can find that many of life’s

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problems they otherwise solve by seeking refuge in things such as I don’t know like

drugs and alcohol they actually find refuge in music…nowadays I found that I am sort

of fulfilled, there was always something lacking back then even when you know. But

now I really like the genres I listen (3.26…10.5…16.10) (Roger)

Music helps Jimmy to forget his everyday life by metaphorically taking him to a

different world that seems to offer emotional refuge: “It makes you forget about your

everyday life and sort of if you are listening to the lyrics of it and you get into the music it is

like a different world” (9.20) (Jimmy)

4.6. How Music helps them Process Emotions/Moods

The participants in this study talked about how the experience of using music to

regulate their moods helped them to process their emotions and/or moods. Different

emotions/moods were mentioned and also different experiences of these emotions/moods

were discussed by the participants. This section will present, using verbatim quotations from

the participants, how music helped them process specific emotions and/or moods.

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4.6.1. How music helps them process sadness

The majority of participants spoke about how music helps them process their sadness.

In the following quotation, Billy mentions two different ways in which he uses music to

process his sadness:

If I am sad and listen to some rock sometimes it kind of tranq…trans…em, changes

the sadness into anger maybe and I, sometimes I even end up punching em…a pillow

or something to get out my anger…but sometimes if I am sad and I listen to a happy

song I instantly forget what I have been through and feel happy instead… (1.26)

(Billy)

Some participants spoke about their use of music to process their sadness as a spiritual

experience. In Joni’s case her sadness was experienced as being introverted and as if she was

going to fall into a depression:

I used to about a year ago, I used to be in a really bad place in my life where I used to

do bad things especially at school and I used to and I felt I was going to fall into

depression and I was just listening to music, just any music and all of a sudden an

Owl City song comes up and I listened to the words I still remember the song and I

felt better and then after that I start feeling better and I am Christian and at that time I

felt far away from God and Owl City have a worship song and I listened to that and

all of a sudden I felt like he saved my life, spiritually and literally.

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em I don’t like expressing my feelings so I was going through a time where I

did not sort of express my feelings and had everything bottled up inside of me and so

I listened to that particular song and I felt like I was relating and I started feeling

better and it was like I didn’t have to express my feelings because someone else was

doing it for me, and then after that I was feeling better but I was still not hundred per

cent and then when that worship song came I felt so so much better because it helped

me feel closer to God and that makes me feel better, and so I think the ultimate most

positive thing out of that experience was feeling God around me and sort of I felt like

from that day onwards I could open up a bit more so the music helped me become less

of an introvert, as I was before. (2.5…2.18) (Joni)

Some of the participants mentioned relating songs to their own experiences. In Bob’s

case although he still feels sad, nevertheless, he feels less alone and he feels better in his way:

…when I am a bit disappointed or sort of depressed, I use certain songs from certain

artists which I can almost always relate to emm because the lyrics, apart from the

music itself, the lyrics emm sort of speak out more and those, in that mood and I

relate to that song, to those songs…I’d be sad, I go look for the particular song,

knowing in mind if I listen to it I sort of, subconsciously I’ve associated myself with

that song, I’ve associated myself, my mood that particular mood with that particular

song. Emm and whenever I listen to that song, somehow emm…the mood still

remains sad, I am not saying I become happy, it still remains sad, it’s just I feel that

emm…I’m sort of not alone anymore in my sadness because I know that the lyrics

from that band is, they’re sort of speaking to me and my mood isn’t sort of lifted in

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any way it’s just it remains the same but emm deep down inside I feel better sort of.

(19.3…16.4) (Bob)

In the above quotation, Bob makes reference to matching his particular mood with a

particular song and this also holds relevance to sub-theme 4.5.1. ‘They match music to

mood’, that was discussed above.

Bjork felt depressed due to being lonely and through music managed to imagine

herself singing to an audience. This helped her feel relieved and satisfied and ultimately

helped her to be productive:

…sometimes I will be lonely at home and I would be depressed and I go upstairs

switch on my iPod and the speakers and suddenly I would bring up my mood and I

would be singing and rearranging stuff everywhere and thanks to the music I do a lot

of things otherwise with no music and no sound I... I feel lonely and with the music I

don’t… I am imagining me on a stage like singing the song, I don't like singing, I

don’t know to sing... but imagining it changes my mood if you imagine being on stage

like singing… I have an audience applauding… I feel satisfaction.

(2.24…3.20…3.30…4.3) (Bjork)

Another participant, Tori like Bjork, talked about music helping her change the

feeling of being down into one of enthusiasm: “Well em when I was feeling sort of down or

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like not rejected but tired sort of I listen to empowering music to find that enthusiasm in me

again” (7.1) (Tori)

4.6.2. How music helps them process anger

Some participants spoke about how they let out their anger through music. A few

participants spoke about letting out their anger physically despite differences between them in

the way that they let out their anger. Bob lets out his anger by physically moving and

pretending to play instruments:

…when I am a bit angry eh I listen to more aggressive… Beforehand I would be

angry and after I listen to it I sort of let my frustration out and then I sort of calm

down sort of, I sort of let out my pain with the song as well whilst I’m listening to it…

when I’m angry I am more physically letting out my frustration… I head bang, I drum

(laughs heavily), air guitar. (4.27…5.13…6.5…5.20) (Bob)

Billy related to the song he listened to, which seemed to make him more aggressive

and during a particular incident he unleashed his anger onto another person:

…once when with my friends at school, kind of betrayed me over a relationship and I

was so angry I went home, put on my headset, did not speak to anyone I didn’t even

eat, I put on my headset and started listening to some Slipknot…[It is] Heavy. Heavy,

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heavy metal. It’s really dark…Usually I don’t listen to that type of music but when I

feel the urge to do so I do, and I got so angry and I felt like this song was actually

describing how I feel, and what happened was I went to a training session of rugby

and I ended up injuring one of our friends because I felt so aggressive. I mean I don’t

usually do it but at that moment when I saw my opponent in front of me I unleashed

all that anger and afterwards I felt really baffled for doing something, and had I not,

probably had I not listened to that song I wouldn't have done so… at first I was angry.

I was still angry before my, after I put on my headset I felt like this song understood

how I felt, I mean because whenever there was say a violent note or maybe a sharp,

kind of makes you feel you want to hurt someone. (4.10…4.17…4.21…5.5) (Billy)

Billy described another way how he processes anger by using music to calm his anger

down and change it into happiness by helping him forget everything which previously had

made him angry:

…someone broke into my grandparent's house and I took it very badly because she is

the only grandma that I have, the rest are all dead and she is very dear to me and I was

so angry towards whoever did it, so I've started listening to some classic acoustic

guitar songs and I just calmed down in about quarter of an hour, half an hour and I

just calmed down immediately…I just calmed. When I listened to that music I just

listened to the songs and calmed down and forgot everything that was going on and

focused on the music instead, but when I removed my earphones I still felt calm. I

mean every negative aspect had gone away and I was calm... and happy. I kind of

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forgot all the anger that I was accumulating inside of me and basically it is hard to

describe it, it transferred into happiness (2.1…2.34) (Billy)

4.6.3. How music helps them process tension

Some of the participants remembered how music helped them calm down their

tension. Jimmy describes tension as being nervous and music seemed to help his nervousness

to calm down, change his mind-set, and motivate himself to become excited:

…after an exam I feel like I didn’t do that good but then after I go and listen to some

music… [I feel] sort of excited to know how I did but not excited in a good sense but

in a bad way… sort of it calmed me down; I just put it on a high volume and just

forgot about everything… you are not thinking about what happened you are then

thinking about the lyrics and the music of the song, sort of forget about what

happened before… it changes your mind set… I still felt a bit nervous but then it turns

into excitement to wait for the result. (3.10…3.17…4.7…5.5…5.1…4.21) (Jimmy)

Roger talked about being stressed due to having a hectic life as a student. Music helps

him feel euphoric, relaxed, and soothed. It also gets him away from his hectic schedule by

cutting him off completely from this schedule and feeling that music is taking control of him:

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I felt sort of that underline emotion I don’t know, euphoria it really soothes you, it

really separates you from this hectic world sort of you are in a world of your own em

a particular song which I can mention, I don’t know I get home stressed from exams I

just listen to Boyce Avenue track for example and I would really relax for a moment I

would really just em get away from my hectic schedule… So it is just sort of cutting

me off completely and it is just taking me into its rhythm into its lyrics and it is just

moulding me into however it wants so to speak you know so I am not in control

anymore sort of the music just works on me… (9.12…9.22) (Roger)

Bob gives an example of using music to calm down when doing homework and

studying: “Because sometimes when I am doing my homework, sort of on a regular basis, I

use music to sort of calm down, relax and focus more on my homework and even while

studying I do it as well” (3.13) (Bob)

Joni gives an overview of how she uses music to relieve tension:

…when I started school here I felt like I had a lot of things to do so I used music to

help me and relax me but now I sort of got into the routine so I listen to the music that

sort of so that my life sort of not to be boring and I do have a lot of work but I sort of

know how to jump around with it so to take breaks in between I listen to music so to

sort of calm down so that I won’t be overwhelmed with work. (13.10) (Joni)

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Roger makes a general statement about a song managing to soothe various moods: “I

feel fascinated about this, the fact that a simple song can sort of soothe so many moods so to

speak” (14.32) (Roger)

4.6.4. Music’s effect on happiness

This subtheme incorporates different experiences of music’s effect on happiness.

When listening to music some participants’ happy mood is improved, for some others the

happy mood is changed to one of sadness and guilt, and some participants use music to

change their mood into a happy one. Tori explains how she would be experiencing a happy

mood and this mood is enhanced with the help of music:

…if I am happy I like to bask in the happy mood and I listen to carefree sort of happy

music em like with a beat and stuff like that, and I like acoustic music because it is

like it is really raw and it really brings those emotions up… (7.5) (Tori)

She also goes on to describe how a musical beat can distract her from her tiredness

and gets her ecstatic and happy:

the beat really does it, the beat sort of like makes me smile and it sort of distracts me

from my tiredness and sort of sucks me into music and then there are all these guitars

riffs sort of play up with my emotion and sort of make me remember like people who

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also like music like who I am fond of… sort of even the lyrics like not sort of

detached from the reality they are not really about deep things like big ideas, big

events and I will be like making me forget about my tiredness and make me

remember that there is a whole world out there and I want to have fun so that is it…

sort of ecstatic and happy and stuff. (7.29…8.2) (Tori)

Some participants recount how happiness is changed into more negative affective

states. Jimmy’s happiness was turned into sadness and guilt as he was reminded of his

grandfather who had recently passed away and with whom he had some bad experiences.

Jimmy’s experience went further than this as he then used different music to change his

sadness and guilt back into happiness:

…when my grandfather died up to a week later I was feeling happy and I started

listening to music that reminded me of him and made me feel sad… I did think about

the experiences I had with my grandfather before he died and bad experiences…

sometimes the bad experiences that there was were my fault and I kind of felt guilty

of what I did and I continued thinking about let’s say if I had done this things would

have been better… then I quickly changed off to a different song to make me better;

as such I just remembered about the thing and just changed completely… It kind of

made me say as such it wasn’t my fault, I couldn’t have done sort of the things that I

did like had to happen and it wasn’t completely managed by me so it made me feel

better sort of. (5.26…6.30…7.4…7.15…7.20) (Jimmy)

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Some participants engaged in a physical activity alongside listening to music and this

helped their mood to turn into a happy/good mood. Polly dances to music and this helps her

feel excited and happy:

…maybe a song I was hearing when I was dancing probably because when I am

dancing I get really excited and happy… yes the music has the beat and the tempo and

how it builds up it makes you feel happy… dancing would be crazy, going left, right

just movement a lot of movement. (5.28…6.14…6.22) (Polly)

Bjork explains how music helps create a happy mood:

It wakes me up I think, during the day I am happy all day, even my friends say so I

am an entertaining person, I’m always happy… if I am angry I’m angry but listening

to music I am a happy person and a fun person throughout the day (15.7) (Bjork)

Bjork also sometimes imagines herself singing instead of the artist whilst listening to

music and this helps her feel good:

I do imagine myself in the music video with the singer (laughing) it feels really good

to imagine yourself like with that achievement and singing and even singing to it… in

front of an audience I feel good, just imagining myself the singer in the song and the

story (9.12…9.17) (Bjork)

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Another participant, Jimmy, explains different moments when he uses music to

change his mood into a happy mood:

…I try and live a happy life as much as I can and if there is times where I don’t feel

happy I can turn to music and I can sometimes I can think about something which

makes me angry like a fight and then I turn to music and brings back the happy part of

my life. (17.3) (Jimmy)

4.7. Music gives a sense of Empowerment

One of the themes that emerged from the data was that of music giving a sense of

empowerment to the adolescents. The participants talked about different ways that music

empowered them and these will now be discussed.

4.7.1. Music helped build their identity

Half of the participants mentioned that music was used to build up their identity. Polly

speaks about a part of her identity being built: namely her self-dependence. Music helped

Polly become herself and do things independently:

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Well for sure it made me more self-dependent… I don’t know it just made me like it

separated me from the rest of everyone else, so automatically I had to be myself and

be hekk [like] I can do stuff without anyone helping me (14.12…14.16) (Polly)

Roger speaks about his identity building through music and talks about being

empowered by music to take certain decisions as to sing on stage:

…music helped me to gain my identity… it wasn’t only essential it was sort of

indispensable: if I had, if music wasn’t there sort of to help me find my identity and

what I really liked, I would have never taken these actions, I wouldn’t be able to sit

here and say that my experience is one of the best of my life (19.14…19.15) (Roger)

4.7.2. Music prepares them to face challenging events

Music is sometimes used by some participants to prepare themselves psychologically

before an event. Music helps them to take on challenges, to speak their mind, and it gives

them energy or power to actually engage in an event. Billy explains how he accepts

challenges more rather than engaging in self-pity like he used to:

I have started to accept challenges more, when I was younger I used to be prone, I still

am, but I used to be prone to failures I just pity myself in self-pity but thanks to music

now I accept challenges more and face them head up (17.8) (Billy)

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Roger gives an example of how music prepared him to face an audience when he was

singing in a school concert:

I would listen to that particular track which would really get me pumped up and get

me motivated to sort of, it would get my adrenaline rushing and really convince me

that I can do this and I can do this in front of all these people. (16.36) (Roger)

A few participants discussed music as empowering them in a way to speak their mind

and be more assertive. Billy captures this by explaining that from a quiet person he became

one who is not afraid to speak his mind through the use of music when faced with a

challenging event such as speaking in a Personal and Social Development (PSD) lesson:

I am not scared to speak my mind; I used to be afraid to speak my mind when I was

younger, especially when other people are around, nowadays I‘ve understood that

everyone has an opinion so I think music has actually helped me because during

specific periods especially form two, I used to listen to Linkin I think I used to listen

to yeah it was Linkin Park em… I sort of during the PSD lesson, before the PSD

lesson I listened to Linkin Park and I spoke my mind during the lesson and it

happened subconsciously without me knowing so and then I clicked immediately and

said “maybe music does make you speak your mind?” and it actually did because I

was in form one and in form two I actually was not talkative, I was really quiet, I was

the quiet guy and I didn’t even speak my mind, I used to stay in a corner and just draw

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stuff but I think music, what music has done to me is amazing, it changes you

completely (17.11) (Billy)

Music is also a direct source of energy and power for some of the participants. Jimmy

explains how music gives him energy before playing football: “…before I go to football I

listen to songs full of energy to make me, if I don’t feel like going to football I sort of listen

to this music to try and get some energy to go like” (15.1) (Jimmy)

Polly also describes how music manages to give her power to do what she wants to

do: “...it gives you like a power. It makes you feel like you can do what you want to do, if

you want to do this you do it” (10.30) (Polly)

4.7.3. Music helps them help others

Joni discusses how music helps her be a better person and ultimately helps her to help

others especially by helping her find something good in others:

I think it helps me become a better person, a more positive person. It helps me help

people, other people that maybe need something and I help with something positive

and because of music I find it really like I meet someone I can always find that

something good in them. (15.27) (Joni)

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4.8. One needs Time to use Music to Regulate Moods

Some of the participants spoke about the need of having time to use music to regulate

moods. Without time for music they would not be able to regulate their moods through this

medium and sometimes other things such as studying for exams takes priority over to

listening to music. One of the participants gives an example of when he was sitting for his ‘o’

level examinations and he could not dedicate as much time as he wished on listening to

music. This in turn affected music’s influence on his mood:

…for example during the ‘o’ levels I did use this sort of method but maybe not as

abundantly as I did before sort of I was during school but without the exams, without

the ‘o’ levels coming up. During the ‘o’ levels I was totally pressed for time and sort

of something had to give. I still used it but probably not as abundantly so I don’t think

it had that sort of huge emm impact as in I don’t think that listening to one song had

the same influence as maybe listening to four songs of the same genre. So and I did

feel sort of change in me, without listening to music I was sort of a bit lost maybe you

know maybe because I didn’t seek it. (15.22) (Bob)

Jimmy also noticed the difference in music’s effect on his mood when listening to a

few songs and when listening to hours of music: “I didn’t really see the changes that could

affect my mood when I listen to just a few songs and when I used to listen to five to six hours

of music I noticed that the mood changes” (8.18) (Jimmy)

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4.9. Music affects people differently

This theme emerged directly from the accounts of two of the participants regarding

how music affects them subjectively and that there is diversity in music. In addition to this,

other participants also commented on how different lyrics and musical qualities affect them.

Verbatim quotations from the data will be used to elaborate on this theme.

4.9.1. Subjectivity of music and diversity of music

A few participants spoke about the subjectivity of music to different people and also

the diversity of genres and music that people like. Roger highlights this diversity by

explaining the subjectivity of music:

I find it repulsive. Other people find it great – so it is the subjectivity of music

basically I like one thing another person likes another; I guess if things were not like

that we would all like the same thing and it would be monotonous and that is basically

what music is all about, diversity I guess. (12.20) (Roger)

Joni speaks about music affecting people differently and the vastness of music:

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…even though there is music that I don’t like and there are some that I don’t

understand, it’s there and there are so many types of genres of music and there is so

much diversity in music itself, I say there are seven billion people in the world and

there are those seven billion people in the world that all like different music and that

is how big music is. (12.3) (Joni)

4.9.2. Importance given to lyrics and different musical qualities

All of the participants discussed how lyrics are important to them when listening to

music to regulate their moods. Some other participants mentioned that in addition to lyrics

they focused on other musical qualities such as harmony, tone, tune, rhythm, and tempo.

Roger discusses the importance of rhythm and lyrics to him when listening to music to

regulate his moods:

…what I look for in a song in particular is that sort or em how do you say is that

rhythm however that rhythm has to be striking in a way that one cannot easily

forget…and all even the lyrics, the lyrics are very important as well in my opinion…

(2.18…2.21) (Roger)

Polly highlights the importance of lyrics and of tune and tone:

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well sometimes the lyrics do make the difference because if the lyrics don’t make

sense then obviously the song won’t make sense so there is no point listening to it but

the tune, the lyrics have a big importance so if the lyrics make sense to you then yes

the lyrics have the importance as the tone so both of them (2.27) (Polly)

4.10. Music creates a Positive Spiritual Experience

This theme incorporates an experience that Joni had with music. She describes it as a

positive spiritual experience through music. She first experienced this while at a Christian

group for youths where worship songs are played and reflection is encouraged. She also

managed to achieve this experience at home by listening to the same songs. There are no

subthemes to this theme as this superordinate theme reflects the full experience in its own

right. This experience will now be explained in further detail.

Joni speaks of being struck by the fact that God presents himself to this participant

through something so small such as a song and she realizes that God is great by caring for

something so small. At the same times this leads her to feel in debt to God by instilling guilt

in her:

I realize that God, he is so great and he is really positive and he does something so

small just for us would make me even smaller…first one the fact that he is so great

and cares for something so small it makes me feel a bit guilty and I feel like I am in

debt with him but then I sort of feel thankful because I have one example like if he is

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so great with something so small then I can be even smaller with those around me...

(14.8…14.15) (Joni)

As a continuation of the above process, Joni also feels that she is not alone as God is

present with her through music. She does though feel sad for those who are alone and who

have not discovered God yet. This process seems to be interwoven with that described above:

I know I am not alone as I know that he is with me…the one where I feel I’m not

alone sort of I know that he is there with me so I feel better, again I feel guilty

because he is so great and I am so small but at the same time I am thankful because I

know that I am not alone and at the same time I feel sad for those who haven’t

discovered God because I feel so great knowing he is around me. I wonder how they

feel not knowing that he loves them (14.10…14.18) (Joni)

In this final part of her experience, Joni uses the guilt that was induced in her to pray

for those who are alone and without God in their lives:

When I listen to those kinds of songs I sort of take a minute after I finish the song to

sort of think of what I have just listened to, even though I feel guilty it is a good kind

of guilt I don’t know how to explain it even when I feel sad for other people, I pray

for them and say like probably they can feel better and there is someone else for

them… (14.27) (Joni)

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4.11. Music’s Impact on One’s Beliefs about Love and Sex

In this theme, Tori explains an experience she had with music when she was in her

early adolescence. Music had a negative influence on the way that she viewed love and sex

and this in turn led her to conform to the societal ideals that she perceived from the music she

was listening to at the age. At a later stage in her adolescence she started to listen to a

different genre of music and this opened her up to the depth and complexity of love. This

theme also contains no subthemes as again it highlights the superordinate theme as the

totality of this experience.

R&B, Rap, and Pop music affected Tori by influencing the way that she views love

and sex, as sex was promoted more than love through the songs:

When I was about twelveish I was about to turn twelve I used to listen to R&B and

Rap and sometimes there was I would listen to pop music as well and sometimes there

were songs very like, like the music was harsh like love versus sex there was more

sex than love and that had a negative influence. (13.11) (Tori)

The negative influence by the music mentioned above led Tori to conform to society’s

values – those she perceived from the music she was listening to. This led her to feel very

unhappy and she started to feel hopeless. In her desperation, she would try and conform

more:

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…they [R&B, Rap, and Pop music] are always on TV and that’s the only music out

there because like rock there is not as much publicity and I used to think that is how

life is and that is how I have got to conform even like I had to conform myself in a

little box and like I was really obsessed with people’s thought about things and it’s

part of a bigger thought and I think it has an influence as well and it was sort of like, I

wanted to just conform with what society’s ideal and society’s ideal is to do a lot with

music and it might be a bad stereotype so that can be a negative influence…I ended

up very unhappy because I couldn’t see myself like I was trying to conform and I

didn’t give myself time to grow so I ended up very unhappy because I didn’t fulfill

myself as a person so I wasn’t growing into a person I was growing to conform, I was

not growing into me and so it was very (pauses). I was very unhappy and I sort of

decided what happiness is and you start to lose hope as well. Because if you are

unhappy for a long time, you start to lose hope, so you start feeling hopeless and then

you become desperate, and desperate makes you want to conform more, which means

happiness is going to come from conforming more and then you are going to have

something to hope for but that is not how it works but sort of how it is painted to you.

(14.11…14.28) (Tori)

After going through the above experience, Tori and a friend were introduced to rock

music and with this introduction she started to realize that more affectionate songs existed.

Through these songs she felt more open to the depth and complexity of love. She also

experienced certain emotions through the songs that previous genres of music did not offer

her:

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…then I got a friend and we sort of like we went into the rock area a bit, we were

introduced to rock and at first it was Paramore. Paramore sucked us into the rock

arena and I started realizing all these other like, sort of like more affectionate songs

more sort of songs and quieter sort of songs and more sort of reflective songs on the

nature of love and sort of the love song and so it really like opened my eyes because

there is so much depth and complexity there that other artists scrape the surface and

these like get deep into it and even the songs which aren’t that happy or lovey dovey

but which are more about like desperation; wanting to be with someone but you can’t

get there. They sort of like show you how deep those emotions can be and even if

they’re negative they show you the beauty of it like the harsher beauty of love and it

helps me appreciate that…I started to ponder them [the lyrics] and then when I got the

emotion there and you start to notice that you are experiencing that emotion or you

can experience that emotion and then you start experiencing like love, affection,

certainty and they help you grow and that had a positive experience on my mood

(13.14…16.5) (Tori)

4.12. Conclusion

This chapter presented the different themes that were developed from the analysis of

the data. Eight main themes emerged from this research: (1) “I can’t live without music”, (2)

music helps them understand themselves and what they are going through, (3) how music

helps them process feelings/moods, (4) music gives a sense of empowerment, (5) one needs

time to use music to regulate moods, (6) music affects people differently, (7) music creates a

positive spiritual experience, and (8) music’s impact on one’s beliefs about love and sex.

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These themes will now be discussed in relation to the relevant literature in the following

chapter.

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Chapter 5 – Discussion

5.1. Introduction

The aim of this chapter is to offer a discussion on the themes that developed from the

participants’ interviews with reference to the theory discussed in the literature review and

beyond. Throughout this discussion, the elicited themes previously mentioned will be

compared and contrasted with the theoretical ideas previous presented. In this chapter there

will be a section on general reflections and subsequently the chapter will be structured by

headings that focus on the different themes found in this study.

Throughout the interviews and data analysis I was amazed at the capability that the

adolescents had at describing their experiences and how they creatively use music in their

everyday lives to serve different purposes. Despite also using music creatively to regulate my

moods when I was an adolescent, I was intrigued by the diversity of the use of this

phenomenon by the different individuals and also by the similarities that their different

experiences held. It was an eye-opener for me to discover the different ways music was used

to regulate moods.

This research project attempted to answer the following research question: what is

adolescents’ experience of the perceived effects of music on mood regulation? Throughout

this chapter I will be try to compare the findings with relevant literature to offer further

understanding of these findings.

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5.2. General Discussion Points

Reflecting on the themes, especially ‘How music is used to process emotions/moods’,

‘Music helps them understand themselves and what they are going through’, and how ‘Music

gives a sense of empowerment’, one may argue that these are ways that the adolescent

participants use music to regulate their moods as something independent of attachment

figures. According to Allen and Miga (2010), adolescents consciously and usually forcefully

try not to rely on attachment figures when stressed but rather try and regulate emotions

independently of them. Coleman (2011) also states that psychoanalysts see adolescence as a

time to separate from parents. “It is exquisitely difficult for a teen to strike out from his or her

parents and establish independence while feeling pulled by both habit and the attachment

system to retain their shoulders to cry on” (Allen, 2008, p. 421) but maybe music can offer a

way to help facilitate this autonomy as themes from this study highlight how music is used to

help soothe moods, is something they cannot live without, and helps them process

emotions/moods and offers understanding. These qualities resonate with those offered by a

secure attachment figure but at the same time music offers independence from attachment

figures as it can be listened to alone and thus creates a sense of autonomy.

In the literature review I went into the details of the seven emergent regulatory

strategies found by Saarikallio and Erkkila (2007) by explaining the typical mood before

engaging in a musical activity, the typical musical activity engaged in, and typical changes in

mood. As to save repetition I will be commenting on these strategies in general in relation to

the themes found in this study. Overall, music to regulate moods was used through all forms

of these seven regulatory strategies in this study as they were mentioned by the participants.

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Qualities such as lifting spirits, maintaining a positive mood, revival, relaxation, getting

energy, experiencing strong intensity, forgetting current negative mood, music used as a form

to express negative mood, music used to think, and a mood of feeling understood and

comforted (Saarikallio & Erkkila, 2007) were all mentioned as being experienced by the

participants of this study when using music to regulate their moods.

Most of the participants in this study mentioned that they play a musical instrument or

have a musical background such as dancing to different styles of music. Saarikallio (2006)

found that having a musical background is strongly connected to music and mood regulation.

It might be due to this that these adolescents were interested to take part in this study as they

truly experienced mood regulation through music.

5.3. “I feel like I am hopeless without music”

When thinking about the theme “I can’t live without music”, it describes how

important music is in the lives of the adolescent participants. Research mentioned in the

literature review by Bjurström and Wennhall (as cited in North et al., 2000), Fitzgerald et al.

(1995), North et al. (2000), and Roberts and Christenson (2001) all highlight the importance

that adolescents give to music. Kaplan (2004) argues music’s importance to adolescence by

mentioning that it is a channel for communication, a form of entertainment, a symbol for a

generation which allows teens to feel a bond with others who like the same music, and is

important in an adolescent’s search for independence.

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When considering the themes revolving around purposely using music to regulate the

adolescents’ moods, I was reminded of cognitive development in adolescence. Coleman

(2011) states that teenagers are more likely than their younger peers to plan tasks and decide

which strategy is most effective in particular situations. Since one of the sub-themes from this

study indicates that music is needed to get them in different moods and such changes in mood

occur instantly, this seems to imply the effectiveness of this strategy and might reflect

teenagers’ ability to choose effective strategies. Also in comparison to this sub-theme is

literature by Lundqvist et al. (2009) that shows how happy music induces greater feelings of

happiness and sad music induces greater feelings of sadness and this seems to highlight that

music does help the adolescents to experience different moods.

When speaking about not being able to live without music, many participants

mentioned that music changes their mood instantly and this may be compared to rapidity of

change explained by Scherer (2000). He found that rapidity of change of something (music in

this case) can highly arouse such an affective change in a person. This might account for the

instant changes in mood and also how music is needed to get them in different moods.

Literature on the themes how music helps one process emotions/moods, helps one to

understand themselves and what they are going through, and gives a sense of empowerment

will be discussed in further detail in the following sections. However I would like to

comment that if music offers such experiences then this may make it easier to understand

why music is so important to the adolescent participants and why they feel they cannot live

without music.

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5.4. “I felt I was understood by the music”

One of the sub-themes of the theme ‘Music helps them understand themselves and

what they are going through’ found within this research is identifying with the artist/music.

Hall et al. (1985) talk about adolescents over-identifying with “rock stars” (p. 86) in an effort

to understand themselves and to formulate values. Erikson (1968) believes that adolescents

experiment with different roles to discover their identity and relating to artists and their music

might help the participants do so. One of the components of identity diffusion according to

Erikson (1968) is the challenge for intimacy where an individual may fear commitment in

close interpersonal relationships. It is possible that music used to regulate moods helped with

this fear as one of the sub-themes is ‘Music helped them understand themselves’ and within

this sub-theme the participant Tori shows how she understands herself better in relation to her

relationships. However this was not explored in detail in this study.

Greenfield et al. (1987) state that lyrics cannot teach new information to individuals

as they are too ambiguous but the sub-theme of ‘Music is used to reflect’ includes the fact

that music increases awareness for some of the participants and this seems not to concur with

Greenfield et al’s. (1987) idea as some participants mentioned that lyrics actually did teach

them new thoughts, ideas, and exposure to new situations they had not passed through. On

the contrary to Greenfield et al. (1987), Plato (as cited in Garofalo, 2011) argues that lyrics

help teach new meanings whilst according to Garofalo (2011) in Christian, Jewish, and

Muslim thought lyrics are recognized as being necessary to teach proper moral and emotional

development. In more modern research, Buser et al. (2005) found that feelings of

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empowerment, happiness, sadness, and relaxation or peace were associated with lyrics and

this implies that they can also inform people of their emotional state.

When thinking about this I thought that maybe the metaphoric nature of lyrics helped

teach these adolescents in subtle ways. Also some lyrics are very straightforward, so word for

word teaching may also literally happen. The cited research by Greenfield et al. (1987) is also

25 years old, so maybe lyrics have evolved from a more elliptical form into lyrics that may be

able to teach new information nowadays. But even if this is so one would have to check as to

from which era comes the music that adolescents listen to.

The theme ‘Music helps them understand themselves and what they are going

through’ may also reflect certain inducing qualities of music. Factors such as rhythm and

duration of note-lengths are known to be effective in stimulating intense imagery (McKinney

& Tims, 1995) and this enables the listener to influence the emotions induced by music

(Juslin & Västfjäll, 2008). Pitch also may induce certain emotions in the listener (Juslin,

2001). This in turn may help one to understand themselves and what they are going through. I

am aware that this literature focuses on emotions rather than moods despite the emphasis of

this study on moods. The fact that emotions and moods are so interlinked to one another

made it hard for the participants to distinguish between moods and emotions and thus the

results of this study also reflect this.

Reflecting further on the theme of ‘Music helps them understand themselves and what

they are going through’ one can also compare it to a study by Lonsdale and North (2011).

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They state that students in their study used music to understand and express emotions and this

understanding is what compares to the experiences of the adolescents in my study. When

expanding on the theme through the sub-themes ‘They match music to mood’ and ‘Music as

a source of fulfilment and emotional refuge’, Schwartz and Fouts (2003) suggest that

adolescents with an eclectic taste in music were flexible in using music according to their

mood, and to their needs at the time.

Furthermore on the theme ‘Music helps them understand themselves and what they

are going through’, in a study by Jonas-Simpson (2001) participants were asked to share their

lived experience of feeling understood and then encouraged to create a musical expression by

directing the researcher in playing desired notes on her flute. Participants directed the

researcher by using their hands and arms, through words or by singing their melody. “The

researcher played the notes of the musical expression, transcribed the music, and recorded it

along with the dialogue on audio and videotape” (Jonas-Simpson, 2001, p. 223). The

participants were then invited to discuss the meaning of feeling understood while listening to

music and all participants spoke of feeling understood in relation to understanding

themselves. Thus this research also gives prominence to one understanding themselves

through listening to music.

The adolescents in this study mentioned that they match music to their mood. This

seems to concur with literature by Levitin (2006) who explains that people choose a piece of

music to regulate their mood according to the simplicity or complexity of the song and the

activity they are engaging in. This may hold importance on the musical choice of the

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participants and as a matter of fact most participants reflected on matching music to their

mood.

5.5. “[I] thought about what was happening to me…”

In this research it was found that music helps the participants process

emotions/moods. Since my research’s focus is on mood regulation, in the sense of the

processes focused on changing or maintain the duration, intensity, and occurrence of negative

and positive moods (Cole et al., 2004; Gross, 1998) then the ‘control model’ proposed by

Larsen (2000) may make sense in light of the emergent themes focusing on the processing of

emotions or moods of this research. According to Larsen (2000) listening to music helps the

participants process emotions/moods in a way to reduce inconsistencies in their desired

subjective state, and as a behavioural strategy and as a thought out cognitive exercise. This

has been highlighted in the previous chapter with verbatim quotations from the participants.

Different ways in processing emotions/moods were employed almost in a personalized

manner but the different experiences were based on using music to help improve their

subjective state.

When discussing the theme of music helping participants process emotions and/or

moods it may be important to consider the wording of the theme in the discussion of emotion

vs. mood. The theme ‘How music helps them process emotions/moods’ could not incorporate

the word ‘mood’ on its own as despite questions revolving around mood regulation and the

term being explained to the participants beforehand, some were not able to distinguish

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between emotions and moods. Even though there was difficulty for some participants to

distinguish between emotions and moods, all participants managed to reflect on their mood as

a subjective experience (Davidson, 1994) in such a way that they described their internal state

of affairs (Larsen, 2000) and thus made their accounts valid for this study.

One of the main theoretical frameworks of this research is related to developmental

psychology theory on adolescent development. Despite this study’s focus being on the lived

experience of the adolescent participants rather than on gender differences it may be

interesting to comment on how all female participants mentioned using music to help process

sadness while all male participants mentioned using music to help process anger and/or

tension in light of the literature: Buchanan et al. (1992) found that hormones are linked with

greater irritability and aggression among males and depression among females and although

these words are not directly used within the themes, sadness is a facet of depression while

tension and anger are linked to irritability and aggression. Music might be used as a means to

regulate a mood that might reflect an adaptation to changes in hormone levels (Brooks-Gunn

& Warren as cited in Kaplan, 2004). Even though I mentioned these comparisons I must

acknowledge that one would need to do a quantitative study to make valid comparisons with

gender differences. This comparison may be purely coincidental and cannot be generalised,

as that is not the aim of this qualitative study.

Roe (as cited in Lonsdale & North, 2011) found that music was listened to by

Swedish children as to create a ‘good atmosphere’ and Lonsdale & North (2011) also found

music to be used by undergraduate students to create a positive mood. This offers

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acknowledgement that music does have an effect on happiness and it can be compared to the

sub-theme ‘Music’s effect on happiness’

The theme ‘How music helps them process emotions/mood’ is consonant with the

literature by Gantz et al. (as cited in Lonsdale & North, 2011) as these authors found that

adolescents use music to relieve tension and furthermore to manage their moods, which is

clearly reflected in the themes found in this study. Music used to control moods was also a

finding of Roe (as cited in Lonsdale & North, 2011). Also North et al. (2000) found that

adolescents listen to pop rather than classical music as to relieve tension and music in general

was used to fulfil emotional needs. Lonsdale and North (2011) elaborate on this by saying

that students in their study used music to manage levels of arousal, to enhance or optimize

their emotional experience, to understand and express emotions, and for an emotional release.

With regards to adolescents and their identity and mood regulation, Tarrant et al.

(2000) found that listening to music is related to self-actualisation, and fulfilling emotional

needs. By comparing these statements to the themes found in this study one can realize that

the experience of the participants reflected fulfilling emotional needs, as mentioned above,

and may be considered to lead to self-actualisation by helping them understand what they are

going through and giving them a sense of belonging.

Billy described how heavy metal music helped reflect his internal state of anger, so

much so that he felt even more aggressive with this music. His experience seems to echo

literature by Schwartz and Fouts (2003) who state that adolescents who prefer heavy music

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are more likely to be aggressive and heavy music may reflect their internal state which can

ease unsettled emotions or distract them from uncomfortable moods. This highlights how

music is used by adolescents experiencing anger/aggression. North and Hargreaves (1999),

and Schave and Schave (as cited in Schwartz & Fouts, 2003) add that heavy music may tell

adolescents that they are not alone in their development and this is reflected in Bob feeling

not alone in his sadness.

The theme of ‘How music helps them process emotions/moods’ also concurs with

literature that talks about how music alters and manipulates moods (Gabrielsson, 2001;

Houston & Haddock, 2007; Sloboda & Juslin, 2001; Stratton & Zalanowski as cited in Cady

et al., 2008). Sometimes emotions are spoken about by the participants and at other times

moods, but either way participants confirm that music alters their affective state. In a general

statement, Juslin and Sloboda (2011b) state that music is used to release emotions, change

emotions, match emotions, for enjoyment, for comfort, or to relieve stress. Themes from this

study seem to confirm this as participants divulged that music helps them process

emotions/moods.

Kallinen (2005) suggests that due to the amount of exposure of music with joyful and

sad stimuli as opposed to anger, fear, surprise, and disgust stimuli, people recognize joy and

sadness more easily in music. Both happiness and sadness were identified and used to help

process their own happiness and sadness by the participants. But also anger and tension were

identified and used to help process these emotions/moods.

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Gabrielsson and Lindström (2003), Haake (2006), Hakanen (1995), and Juslin and

Laukka (2004) found that music seems to arouse mood improvement and positive emotions

and themes from this study also highlight this. The experience of many of the participants in

this was the relieving of tension, liberation of negative emotions, and music offering

distance/forgetfulness from struggles. Music may help to manage negative moods by

relieving tension and offering a liberating release of negative emotions (Lacourse, Claes, &

Villeneuve, 2001; Schwartz & Fouts, 2003) and offers a pleasing activity to help distance

thoughts and feeling from listeners’ struggles (Christenson, DeBenedittis, & Lindlof, 1985;

Christenson & Roberts, 1998; Schwartz & Fouts, 2003).

As long as the music is self-selected, which was the case in the participants of this

study, music seems to improve mood (Saarikallio & Erkkila, 2007). This was reflected also in

this research. Saarikallio and Erkkila (2007) mention that sometimes music can make

adolescents feel negative moods with music but eventually they can shake this mood off and

feel better. This concurred with the experience of Jimmy who had mentioned listening to

music and feeling sadness and guilt but eventually this feeling subsided, with the help of

listening to different music.

“The structure of music can mirror the structure and dynamics of human emotional

experiences. The statement ‘music sounds the way emotions feel’ may summarize this view

best” (Thaut & Wheeler, 2011, p. 838). This seems to coincide with the theme based on

music helping the participants process their emotions and may also give prominence to the

close link between music and emotions.

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5.6. “Thanks to music now I accept challenges more and face them head

up”

One of the sub-themes of ‘Music gives a sense of empowerment’ is ‘Music helped

build their identity’ and this seems to have relevance in the light of Erikson’s (1968) views of

the psychosocial crisis of adolescent development. Erikson (1968) states that during

adolescence, individuals engage in a search for identity by finding a balance between identity

and role confusion. This theme seems to imply that this stage of development is helped by

music as it empowers the participants. According to Becker (2011) listening to music “offers

the opportunity to temporarily be another kind of person than one’s ordinary, everyday self”

(pp. 134-135) and this allows the listener to identify with the different identity projected by

the music. According to Hamachek (as cited in Kaplan, 2004) in adolescence, individuals

explore different alternatives for personal and vocational futures and develop a sense of who

they are and what they want to become by doing so and music may offer them this

opportunity to investigate different identities. Furthermore on the theme of music helping

identity building, DeNora (2011) states that it is possible that music helps to provide a

resource in and through which identity is built.

Ruud (1998) also mentions that music is closely related to identity building and that

the knowledge of how music helps construct an individual’s self-concept may help people to

choose the right music to feel empowered within their own cultural context. If this holds truth

then it concurs with the theme ‘Music gives a sense of empowerment’ and also that music

helps build the participants’ identity. Also, DeNora (2000) states that music helps people to

feel empowered. Furthermore Grossberg (1992) talks about rock music having a special place

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with youth as it provides youth with cultural spaces where they can find a sense of

identification and belonging and where they could empower themselves through music.

Finally, Laiho (2004) states that using music for mood control purposes can have an

effect on adolescent’s self-esteem and this can be seen in examples of how music gives a

sense of empowerment. Actually going through all of the sub-themes of ‘Music gives a sense

of empowerment’ one can interpret them as self-esteem boosting qualities.

5.7. “When I listen to just a few songs and when I used to listen to five to six

hours of music I noticed that the mood changes”

Greenberg et al., Roberts and Henriksen (as cited in Roberts & Christenson, 2001),

North et al. (2000), and Roberts and Christenson (2001) give different statistics of daily hours

spent listening to music by adolescents and this sheds light onto the theme ‘One needs time to

use music to regulate moods’. Removing the variable of music or limiting one’s exposure to

music when it is being used to regulate moods would imply that the process of regulating

moods would be impaired. Using music to regulate one’s mood might be a reason why

adolescents listen to so much music and it might also be a reason why music is so important

to adolescents.

‘One needs time to use music to regulate moods’ implies that a certain amount of

duration of music listening is needed to achieve mood regulation through music. Once again

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stating Scherer’s (2000) study where affective states were contrasted with essential design

features that arouse a change in the affective state, it is stated that the duration of exposure, in

this case to music, has a direct effect on the change in affective state. This may account for

the adolescents’ importance given to the need for time to listen to music to regulate their

moods. Furthermore Saarikallio (2006) states that the amount of daily listening to music is

strongly connected to music and mood regulation as is having a musical background. In this

study so much importance was given to the daily amount of listening to music that a theme

was created to highlight this.

5.8. “That is basically what music is all about, diversity I guess”

Before commenting on the actual themes and related literature, I would like to talk

about an observation made while conducting the interviews and even more so during the

analysis of the interviews. All of the participants spoke in the third person from time to time

and especially when describing deep emotions. Malone (2009) labels this process as illeism

and this is the formal label given to the act of referring to one’s self in the third person. One

of the purposes of illeism is to create distance from one’s self by making one’s words

dignified, impersonal, and distanced (Malone, 2009). Hypothesizing about the use of illeism

by the participants to distance themselves from what they were speaking about may offer

insight into the difficulty they find in discussing deep affective states. It may also reflect their

adolescent development as discussed by Erikson (1968) by highlighting the difficulty in

finding their identity, which is reflected through speaking in the first person, and role

confusion, reflected more through illeism. A short discussion on lyrics and music will now

ensue to link these comments on illeism.

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One of the sub-themes related to music was that of importance being given to lyrics

and other different musical qualities. Some of the participants saw lyrics and musical

qualities as being separate entities despite them being presented together in one song.

Literature acknowledges that they are partially different systems but with enough overlap to

be in interaction (Gorlee, 1997; Justin & Laukka, 2003; Serafine et al., 1984) as music and

words come together in song (Langer as cited in Thompson & Russo, 2004). Participants

mentioned relating to the artist through their lyrics and also relating to music and this overlap

of lyrics and music may offer listeners a sort of a story through the lyrics that is delivered

through music in the form of a song.

When thinking about lyrics as being very metaphoric in nature, I was reminded of

therapeutic stories used to heal and teach children and adolescents in therapy. Stories are

“words that invite the listener on a journey into a world of imagination where reality may be

suspended, and learning can be potent” (Burns, 2005). The metaphoric nature of a story helps

to bypass resistance (Burns, 2005) and could offer the sort of third-person distancing

employed by the participants. If this is so then the engagement with stories through songs can

help “build relationships, challenge ideas, provide models for future behavior, and enhance

understanding” (Burns, 2005, p. 4). Furthermore Burns (2005) argues that one can share an

emotional connection with story characters.

In the literature review I briefly discussed different genres affecting listeners

differently. I had however stated that the interest of this study was on the lived experience

without distinction of which genre affects one’s mood. What was mentioned by the

participants was that music affects people differently and that there is a subjective element to

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music. This seems to go deeper than the discussion held in the literature review and I

interpreted it as music having a personalized effect on the listener rather than certain genres

generally affecting people in the same way. This may also be a reflection of the subjective

nature of the research due to IPA’s focus on the lived experience of participants.

The sub-theme ‘Subjectivity of music and diversity of music’ also implies a certain

flexibility of how one is impacted by music and what music one chooses. Schwartz and Fouts

(2003) propose that adolescents with an eclectic taste in music make do of this flexibility by

using music according to their needs at the time, context, and mood. This seems to further

highlight the flexibility described in this sub-theme.

5.9. “I know I am not alone as I know that He [God] is with me”

Larson (1995), as mentioned previously, believes that the pleasures derived from

musical experiences might produce a sense of well-being, wholeness, purpose in life, and

stability. This reminded me very much of the theme ‘Music creates a positive spiritual

experience’ as Joni experienced a sense of wholeness, purpose in life, and stability. This was

achieved by Joni experiencing God through music and realising she is cared for and not

alone. She then felt in debt to God and sad for those who are alone but the music she was

listening to moving her to pray for those who are alone and in a way creating a sense of

wholeness.

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Harrington (as cited in Hanser, 2011) speaks of mind-body medicine that emphasizes

the interactions between emotions, thoughts, relationships, behaviour, and spirituality in

determining good health. Music is considered as one of the mind-body medicines available as

it helps to change mood, induce images, condition relaxation responses, increase

contentment, and reduce stress (Hanser, 2011). Joni’s positive spiritual experience seems to

concur with the above mentioned reactions to music as Joni was describing her perceived

effect of music on mood change by stating she felt spiritually relaxed and more content.

In addition, Newel (1999) states that music can help people find different things such

spiritual places and answers within themselves. In a study by Sloboda and O’Neill (2001) 6%

of respondents spontaneously mentioned that they used music to achieve a spiritual

experience. This too concurs with Joni’s spiritual experience through music.

5.10. “The music was…like love versus sex”

In the theme ‘Music’s impact on one’s beliefs about love and sex’, Tori states how

music had a negative influence on her view of sex and love and this led her to conform to

what she perceived as society’s ideal regarding sex and love. Tori did not explain exactly

how music influenced her view of sex and love and I also failed to continue to ask her about

this but what I understood from the interview was that the media influenced Tori’s view of

sex and love and also influenced her perception of herself in light of these concepts. If this is

the case it may be an example of how the media, music in this case, influenced Tori to try and

attain beauty and success in ways that made her feel like “music used to like make me go into

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a box and conform with such society [ideal’s]” (16.20) (Tori). She explains that this had a

negative effect on her identity and self-esteem and it was not until she heard another genre of

music that she opened up to the depth and complexity of love. Coleman (2011) states that

adolescent girls more than boys dislike their bodies more and adolescents have idealised

norms for attractiveness. Furthermore he states that the media plays a substantial role in

promoting images of success and beauty and young people rely on their physical

attractiveness to develop their identity and self-esteem.

Adolescents who listen to light music are more likely to be concerned with their

sexuality and relationship with peers (Schwartz & Fouts, 2003). Tori explains how she was

concerned with issues of love and sex, which revolve around sexuality and peer/intimate

relationship concerns, and light music influenced her negatively. On the contrary to what

Schwartz and Fouts (2003) stated, Tori’s conflicting emotions regarding such issues did not

help her feel validated but rather she felt the need to conform to society’s ideal instead. In

Tori’s case it was rather heavier music that helped validate her emotional state and open her

up to becoming more independent (Schwartz & Fouts, 2003). Maybe lighter music did not

suit Tori to feel validated regarding the developmental issues discussed and she needed

heavier music to achieve this. Tori was also one of the participants who described using

music to process her anger and maybe heavier music helped her more on these lines as

explained above.

Perhaps this theme merits further research especially in the local context. I will

elaborate further on this in the next chapter.

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5.11. Conclusion

This chapter explored the developed themes from the data analysis in light of the

theory cited in the literature review and new material. Certain interpretations and inferences

were made throughout this chapter in light of conflicting and coinciding literature with the

themes of this study. Consequently, the final and concluding chapter of this dissertation will

now be presented.

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Chapter 6 – Conclusion

6.1. Introduction

This chapter presents a summary of the major findings of this. In addition, the

implications for practice will be presented. This chapter will also make reference to the

limitations of the study and also give recommendations for future research.

6.2. Summary of Main Findings

This study presents the perceived effects of music on mood regulation by the

adolescent participants. It attempts to give prominence to the lived experience of these

adolescents regarding a subject which is somewhat under studied within the local context.

First and foremost the participants highlighted how they cannot live without music and that

they consider it a big part of their lives. This highlights how significant music is in their lives.

They also mentioned how music is needed to get them in different moods and this shows the

importance given to the use of music to regulate their moods.

One of the prominent themes within this study is how music helps the participants

understand themselves and what they are going through. This is done through various

methods which include matching music to their mood, identifying with the artist or their

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music, using music to help them understand themselves, using music to reflect, using music

to understand feelings, and using music as a source of fulfilment and emotional refuge.

The adolescents who took part in this study also expressed how music helps them

process their emotions and moods. Various ways were conveyed how music helped them

process their emotions and moods but there seemed to be a consensus between the

participants on which emotions and moods were processed. Music helped them process (1)

sadness, (2) anger, (3) tension, and (4) they spoke of music’s effect on happiness.

Another perceived effect of music on mood regulation in this study included music

giving the participants a sense of empowerment. Some of the participants mentioned how

music helped build their identity. In addition to this there was mention of music preparing

them to face challenging events by helping them speak their mind, by giving them energy or

power, and helping them help others. Also another theme emphasised how the participants

needed to have time to listen to music in order for music to regulate their moods.

Importance was given to music affecting people differently. This was highlighted by

how music’s effect on people is subjective and that there is diversity of music that leads

people to listen to different types of music. Also importance was given to lyrics and different

musical qualities in relation to mood regulation. Finally, two distinct experiences stood out

and were mentioned within the themes of this study. These were: (1) music creating a

positive spiritual experience, and (2) music’s impact on one’s beliefs about love and sex.

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6.3. Implications of the Study

The theme “I can’t live without music” shows how important music is to the

adolescent participants. This implies that music forms a big part of their lives rather than just

used for leisure. Thinking about clinical practice with adolescents, this may imply that the use

of music may help to engage adolescents in therapy and also help them to open up about

affective concepts such as mood regulation.

Furthermore, the importance given to listening to music to regulate one’s mood

throughout the themes might imply that it helps them come to an understanding about

themselves and what they are going through, about processing emotions, and about getting a

sense of empowerment. Some of the participants mentioned that their parents do not

understand the significance of music in their lives and in a way miss out on this part of their

children’s lives. This may imply that parents or guardians may be guided so as to take an

interest in their children’s choice in music and what it means to their children since it can act

as a doorway to understanding and interacting with their children. Such implications adhere

to the systemic approach spoken about as one of the conceptual frameworks of this study.

Music could be used in the form of conversation since it is so important for these adolescents.

My experience of speaking with the participants throughout the interviews helped me to get

in touch with different aspects of what they experience and they offered a rich narrative of

their experience by talking about music and its effects on mood regulation. All this might be

especially relevant to psychologists, family therapists, and social workers who work with

adolescents and their families as it may imply that these adults that are in contact with

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adolescents may have the same experience if they take the time to create a conversation about

music and mood regulation.

Mentalization refers to “the capacity to envision mental states in oneself and another,

and to understand one’s own and another’s behavior in terms of underlying mental states and

intentions” (Slade, 2008, p. 764). Also characteristic of high-level mentalization is the

capability to regulate and envision negative, disruptive mental states, as well as appreciating

the interpersonal, intrapersonal, causal, and dynamic aspects of mental states (Slade, 2008).

The adolescents in this study seemed to highlight that they could achieve mentalization

through music to regulate their moods. Furthermore it is argued that the more a person is able

to envision mental states in self and others, the more likely they are to engage in productive,

intimate, and sustaining relationships by feeling connected to others subjectively but feeling

autonomous and of a separate mind (Slade, 2008). Thus this implies that music can truly be a

means to foster psychological growth in terms of mood regulation and mentalization.

Engaging in conversation with adolescents about music and how it regulates their moods may

help them to connect with their parents or guardians and other adults working with them

while also retaining their autonomy and thus keeping the conversation on a level that is

comfortable for them.

Thinking of the effects mentioned by the participants of music to regulate their

moods, I also thought of music’s use in a therapeutic way. Reynolds Welfel and Patterson

(2005) talk about different precepts of effective counselling that reminded me of the themes

found in this study and may have implications about the therapeutic value of music to

regulate one’s moods. These precepts include: (1) understanding human behaviour in social

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and cultural contexts, (2) client experiencing growth, (3) a positive relationship created

between the counsellor and client which is fundamental to change, (4) counselling as an

intense working experience, and (5) clients as active partners in the counselling process

(Reynolds Welfel & Patterson, 2005). Thinking of music as the therapist and the adolescents

as clients, from the themes found, it may be implied that these same precepts of effective

counselling can be achieved through using music to regulate moods and thus music has a

deeper therapeutic value rather than just being a song.

The therapeutic value implied may be used by therapists working with adolescents to

help enhance the therapeutic process and reach therapeutic goals. Acknowledging that music

has a big influence on adolescents may be the first step to using music in therapy. Music may

be used in the therapeutic setting much like the use of projective tests instead of using verbal

means of communication. For example Murray (as cited in Groth-Marnat, 2003) describes the

Thematic Apperception Test as a method of revealing some of the dominant drives, emotions,

sentiments, complexes, and conflicts of personality in people and maybe using music

creatively in therapy could also reveal such information.

Furthermore, Strawbridge and Woolfe (2010) argue that the following factors are key

dynamics of counselling psychology specific to a client setting: (1) there is a focus on a

therapeutic, helping relationship being built, (2) there is a humanistic value base and also a

critical eye taken upon the medical model, and (3) there is a focus on well-being rather than

on pathology. If music is so important to these adolescents then giving importance to it in

conversation in therapy might help foster the therapeutic relationship when a counselling

psychologist is seeing an adolescent for therapy. Also talking about the use of music to

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regulate moods and how this helps to process emotions and moods, how music helps them to

understand themselves and what they are going through, using music to get a sense of

empowerment, and to create a positive spiritual experience highlights a focus on well-being

rather than pathology. By giving promenience to adolescents’ use of music to regulate

moods, a counselling psychologist gives humanistic value to their use of music “in the

process of becoming” (Strawbridge & Woolfe, 2010, p. 10) and also to their positive use of

music for their well-being.

One must not forget the developmental stage that adolescents are in when thinking of

engaging in therapy with them. Developmentally adolescents would be growing at different

developmental levels and in different contexts (Kaplan, 2004) as mentioned in the literature

review and also as one of the conceptual frameworks of this study. It is important for the

therapist to understand this when using music therapeutically as such theory will inform the

therapist of where the adolescents are developmentally and they would be able to help them

better by catering to their development needs. For example, one must consider the cognitive

ability of abstract thinking and where they are at in this technique developmentally when

discussing mood and emotional processing through music. Also, in this example, it would be

important to gain knowledge of the emotional language that an adolescent has acquired from

his family to make the link between moods/emotions processed through music.

The above implications may not just be useful to psychologists, family therapists, and

psychotherapist but also to youth workers, social workers, and teachers working with

adolescents to help to understand them better and build a relationship with them. Also taking

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an interest in their musical liking and what it means to them may highlight the personal

interest someone working with adolescents has in them.

6.4. Limitations of the Study

Despite making a total effort to make this study as complete and as detailed as

possible, there were a number of limitations that are worth mentioning.

This research was based on the lived experience of the participants’ perceived effects

of music on mood regulation. Thus, it relied on them to think of abstract concepts such as

their mood, their feelings, and their thought process when listening to music. All participants

admitted that they found it difficult and sometimes did not manage to talk about such abstract

concepts which is understandable given their cognitive development. The process of talking

about their experience also involved them using their memories to remember what happened

to them when using music to regulate their moods. Thus, their memories may have been

affected by memory misrepresentations. This may have affected the narration of their

experience.

Throughout the interviews I noticed that some of the participants found it difficult to

distinguish between moods and emotions and this impacted the data. The focus was on mood

and specifically on mood regulation as was highlighted when discussing the conceptual

framework of mood regulation in the introductory chapter of this study. Despite the

differences being made explicit to the participants before the interview, maybe an extra effort

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to create a discussion on the differences between emotions and moods and a further

explanation that the study was concerned with mood regulation could have been made.

Another limitation could be that this was my first proper attempt at using an IPA

approach to research. In hindsight I think I could have included more prompts both when

planning the interview guide and when actually conducting the interview. There were times

during the data analysis process, where I thought to myself that I should have asked more

questions as the information would have been useful for this research. Furthermore since one

of the theoretical foundations of IPA come from hermeneutics, throughout the analysis there

was an element of interpretation by me; “trying to make sense of the participant trying to

make sense of what is happening to them” (Smith et al., 2010, p. 3). Heidegger (as cited in

Smith et al., 2010) states that the analyst brings with them prior experiences, assumptions,

and preconceptions but priority should be given to interpreting the data in its own right rather

than through one’s preconceptions. I have attempted to do this as best as possible and also

made my preconceptions explicit for the reader but being human and imperfect I am sure that

some of my preconceptions made their way into the interpretation phase of this research.

Despite the above limitations, especially those regarding my interpretations, efforts

were made to ensure the credibility and trustworthiness of the findings. As mentioned earlier

I used both peer reviewers and respondent validation to try to ensure this. Also the reflexive

interview where a colleague interviewed me helped me to get in touch with my biases and I

tried my best to make them explicit.

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6.5. Recommendations for Future Research

Something that was noted throughout the interviews was that the female participants

were more articulate regarding using music for mood regulation. Saarikallio (2006) found

that girls use music for mood regulation more than boys while North et al. (2000) found that

females gave more detailed and articulate accounts of how music regulates their moods in

comparison to males. In this study there was an equal amount of male and female participants

but maybe in future research using IPA when studying the perceived effects of music on

mood regulation the participants chosen may be all females. I recommend this because it may

give a richer account of the lived experience regarding this subject and after all IPA is

concerned with “the examination of how people make sense of their major life experiences”

(Smith et al., 2010, p. 1). Also, regardless of factors such as age and gender, maybe mood

regulation by music holds the same meanings with people from different ages and maybe

further research using other age groups may be possible.

I would like to offer some reflections on the recruitment of adolescents for future

research. In my opinion, the original idea that I had of giving a presentation to the adolescents

was not successful. Every effort was made to make it ‘adolescent-friendly’ by including

pictures and a video in the presentation and also trying to make it an interactive experience

but this method did not result in engaging potential participants to come forward and offer to

be participants. I would recommend the second method used when recruiting adolescent

participants. This second method’s main advantages included being a small, intimate group,

building a rapport with the adolescents, and involving exercises where everyone was invited

128

to interact. These factors seemed to help recruit the adolescent participants most and I would

recommend their use for future research with adolescents.

Upon reflection of the theme ‘Music’s impact on one’s beliefs about love and sex’ I

was of the idea that this topic merits further research, especially in the local context. Such

research may involve further understanding how music influences adolescents’ view of love

and sex within their different contexts. Maybe using an IPA study would give shed light onto

an in-depth analysis of this topic. Also Tori stated that different genres of music influenced

her beliefs about love and sex in different ways and a quantitative study may give insight into

the way different genres affect youths’ beliefs about love and sex.

Using music for mood regulation may have implications for the therapeutic wellbeing

as discussed earlier in this chapter and this may be of importance for future exploration. This

may shed light on the therapeutic use of mood regulation through music and its importance to

adolescents. Saarikallio (2007) states that the complex connections between emotional,

cognitive, experiential, behavioural, biological, and neurophysiological components give way

to the development of more comprehensive theories and I concur with her with this

recommendation following this study. Maybe this could be done by using grounded theory as

this methodology offers the development of new theories in the lack of a ‘grand theory’ that

adequately explains the complex connections between the above mentioned components.

129

6.6. Conclusion

The various stories given by the adolescents who took part in this study helped to

bring to the surface the experiences of adolescents’ use of music to regulate their moods.

These adolescents spoke about how significant music is in their life and how they cannot live

without it and thus highlighting the importance of music to adolescents. When using music to

regulate their moods, these adolescents felt understood, empowered, and managed to process

their affective state. Despite each participant giving unique accounts of their own stories of

how music affects them differently, there was still a general consensus about the themes that

came out of this study. Undoubtedly, with their narratives, they managed to highlight their

‘intimate’ use of music to shed light on its importance in their lives.

This research can act as a point of reference to understand the importance of music to

adolescents and how it holds mood regulatory meanings to them. The way forward is

capitalising on the use of music within the different contexts that adolescents live in as a

means of communicating and understand them better. Using music creatively when working

with adolescents might just help them find stability and flourish in a period of their life when

many things are changing.

130

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Proceedings of the 8th international conference on music perception & cognition (pp.

571-574). Adelaide: Causal Productions.

146

Appendix 1

Semi-Structured Interview Guide

Demographic Details

1. What is your age?

2. Gender: Male

Female

Introductory Question

3. Can you share with me what type of music you listen to?

Possible Prompts: Can you tell me more about what genres you listen to? What attracts

you to certain music? What do you look for in music?

Main Research Questions

4. Can you tell me about a positive and negative experience you have been through

whilst listening to music and you realized that your mood changed?

Possible Prompt: How do you feel about this experience? Have you ever purposely

used music to change your mood? How did you discover the use of this process? What

does music mean to you?

5. How does music regulate your moods?

Possible Prompts: Can you tell me more about how you think you use music to

regulate your moods? How do you feel about music regulating your moods?

147

6. How does the experience of using music to regulate your moods fit into your everyday

life?

Possible Prompts: How would you explain the effects of using music to regulate your

moods on your development?

7. How do you use the experience of music to regulate your moods in different aspects of

life that you are involved in?

Possible Prompts: How does this experience influence the different aspects you live

in? How do the different aspects you live in influence this experience?

8. Do you think that the experience of using music to regulate your moods plays a part in

forming who you are? If yes, how?

Possible Prompts: What changes in your identity can you mention? How did these

factors change through the influence of using music to regulate your moods?

9. How do you see yourself in the future after using music to regulate your moods?

Debriefing Questions

10. What was your experience like during the interview?

11. Which questions did you find helpful during the interview?

12. Which questions did you find difficult during the interview?

13. Do you have any questions you would like to ask me before we end this interview?

148

149

Gwida Semi-Strutturali ta’ l-Intervista

Dettalji Demografiċi

1. Kemm għandek żmien?

2. Sess: Raġel

Mara

Il-Mistoqsija tal-Bidu

3. Tista’ taqsam miegħi x’tip ta’ mużika tisma’?

Xi Ħjiel: Tista’ tgħidli x’ġeneri ta’ mużika tisma’? X’jiġbdek lejn ċertu mużika? Xi

tfittex fil- mużika?

Il-Mistoqsijiet Ewlenin tar-Riċerka

4. Tista’ tgħidli dwar xi esperjenza pożittiva u negattiva li garrabt waqt is-smigħ tal-

mużika u indunajt li l-burdata tiegħek inbidlet?

Xi Ħjiel: Kif tħossok dwar din l-esperjenza? Qatt użajt il-mużika apposta biex tbiddel

il-burdata tiegħek? Kif skopprejt l-użu ta’ dan il-proċess? Xi tfisser il-mużika għalik?

5. Kif il-mużika tirregola l-burdati tiegħek?

Xi Ħjiel: Tista’ tgħidli aktar dwar kif taħseb li tuża l-mużika biex tirregola il-burdati

tiegħek? Kif tħossok li l-mużika tirregola l-burdati tiegħek?

6. Kif l-esperjenza fl-użu tal-mużika biex tirregola l-burdati tiegħek tifitja fil-ħajja ta’

kuljum tiegħek?

150

Xi Ħjiel: Kif tispjega l-effetti tal-mużika biex tirregola il-burdati tiegħek fuq l-

iżvilupp tiegħek?

7. Kif tuża l-esperjenza tal-mużika biex tirregola l-burdati tiegħek fl-aspetti differenti

tal-ħajja li int involut fihom?

Xi Ħjiel: Kif din l-esperjenza tinfluwenza l-aspetti differenti li tgħix fihom? Kif l-

aspetti differenti li tgħix fihom jinfluwenzaw din l-esperjenza?

8. Taħseb li l-esperjenza ta’ l-użu tal-mużika biex tirregolalek il-burdati tiegħek tilgħab

parti fil-formazzjoni ta’ min int? Jekk iva, kif?

Xi Ħjiel: X’bidliet fl-identita’ tiegħek tista’ tgħidli? Kif dawn il-fatturi biddlu,

permezz ta’ l-influwenza ta’ l-użu tal-mużika, biex tirregol l-burdati tiegħek?

9. Fil-futur kif tara lilek innifsek wara l-użu tal-mużika biex tirregolalek il-burdati

tiegħek?

Il-Mistoqsijiet tad-‘Debriefing’

10. Kif kienet l-esperjenza tiegħek matul l-intervista?

11. Liema mistoqsijiet matul l-intervista sibt li għenuk?

12. Liema mistoqsijiet matul l-intervista sibt tqal?

13. Għandek xi mistoqsijiet li tixtieq tagħmilli qabel nagħlqu din l-intervista?

151

Appendix 2

Information for Participants

A research of the experience of mood regulation through music in adolescents

As part of the Master of Psychology course that I, Joshua Aquilina, am currently reading for

at the University of Malta, I am required to conduct a research project. The aim of this

research is to explore the personal and lived experienced of adolescents who use music to

manage their emotions. I would like to understand this experience and how individuals make

sense of their experience. By studying this psychological process one can furthermore

promote the function of music within adolescent development.

Participants’ participation in this research is voluntary. In addition to the talk that was given

within the school this information sheet is being provided to those interested in taking part in

the interview. The aim of the study is not to stir up past experiences that might be an

emotional burden on the participant, but to explore teenagers’ use of music in their everyday

life.

To reach the aim of this research there is the need for an interview of around an hour to be

conducted with the adolescent participant and will take place within the premises of Saint

Aloysius Sixth Form. In addition to this the participant will be contacted at a later stage of the

research to discuss the findings with the researcher. The participant has every right not to

152

answer questions asked and also to stop taking part in the research without having to give any

reason.

All information that is collected is considered as confidential and only the researcher and his

supervisor will have access to this information. The interview will be recorded to ensure

precision in the findings of this research. The participant and his/her parents/guardians will be

asked to give permission for the participant to take part in this research and will be asked for

permission for parts of the interview to be quoted anonymously. The interviews and notes

taken will be destroyed after the research project is completed. The participant and

parents/guardians will be provided with a consent form to be signed and this will be stored in

a safe place. The digital recording of the interview will be preserved, protected, and also

stored in a safe place.

This research will give the participant the opportunity to understand more the impact that

they can have on their moods and emotions through the use of music. This process has the

potential to help the participant feel more empowered and to assist the belief that they can

control events that affect them.

Your participation as a participant is indispensable for me to collect the necessary

information for this interview.

I can be contacted either by phone or email, which are provided below.

153

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your time and cooperation.

Joshua Aquilina

Mobile Number:

Email:

154

Informazzjoni Għall-Parteċipanti

Riċerka fl-esperjenza tal-kontroll fil-burdati permezz tal-mużika fl-adoloxxenti

Bħala parti mill-kors tal-Masters fil-Psikoloġija li bħalissa qiegħed nagħmel fl-Universita’ ta’

Malta, jiena, Joshua Aquilina, mitlub li naħdem fuq progett ta’ riċerka. L-iskop ta’ din ir-

riċerka hu li nesplora l-esperjenzi personali u mġarrba ta’ l-adoloxenti li jużaw il-mużika biex

jimmaniġjaw l-emozzjonijiet tagħhom. Jien nixtieq nifhem din l-esperjenza u kif l-individwi

jagħmlu sens minn din l-esperjenza tagħhom. Permezz ta’ dan l-istudju tal-proċess

psikologiku wieħed jista’ aktar ‘il quddiem jippromovi l-funzjoni tal-mużika, fl-iżvilupp fl-

adoloxxenti.

Is-sehem tal-parteċipanti f’din ir-riċerka hu volontarju. Mat-taħdita li nagħatat fl-iskola, din l-

informazzjoni qiegħda tiġi pprovduta għal dawk interessati jipparteċipaw fir-riċerka. L-ghan

ta’ l-istudju mhux biex jitqanqlu xi esperjenzi diffiċli tal-imgħoddi li jistgħu jkunu ta’ dannu

għall-parteċipanti, imma biex nesplora l-użu tal-mużika fil-ħajja ta’ kuljum tal- adoloxxenti.

Biex nasal għall-iskop ta’ din ir-riċerka hemm il-ħtiega li ssir intervista ta’ madwar siegħa

mal-parteċipant adoloxxenti u sseħħ fis-Sixth Form tal-Kulleġġ San Alwiġi. Ma’ din l-

intervista, il-parteċipant għandu kull dritt li ma jweġibx għall-mistoqsijiet u anke’ li jieqaf

jieħu sehem fir-riċerka bla ma jagħti raguni għaliex.

155

L-informazzjoni kollha miġbura titqies bħala kunfidenzjali u r-riċerkatur flimkien mas-

supervisor tiegħu jkollhom aċċess għal din l-informazzjoni. L-intervista tkun rekordjata bl-

għan li l-informazzjoni fir-riċerka tkun preċiża. Il-parteċipant u l-ġenituri/kustodju

tiegħu/tagħha jkunu mitluba biex jagħtu l-kunsens tagħhom biex il-parteċipant j/tieħdu sehem

f’din ir-riċerka u jintalab permess biex partijiet mill-intervista jkunu ikkwotati bla ma

jissemma’ l-isem. L-intervisti u n-noti jinqerdu wara li jitlesta l-proġett. Il-parteċipant u l-

ġenituri jew min jieħu ħsiebu/ha jingħatawlhom l-kunsens biex jiġi iffirmat u dan jinżamm

f’post sigur. Il-materjal irrekordjat jiġi wkoll ippreservat u protett u jinżamm f’post sigur.

Din ir-riċerka tagħti lill-parteċipant l-opportunita’ biex j/tifhem aktar l-impatt li huma jista’

jkollom fuq il-burdati u l-emozzjonijiet tagħhom permezz tal-użu tal-mużika. Dan il-proċess

għandu l-potenzjal li jgħin lill-parteċipant iħossu/tħossha aktar li jagħtih/a setgħa u biex jgħin

it-twemmin li huma jistgħu jikkontrollaw il-grajjiet li jaffetwawhom.

Seħmek bħala parteċipant hu indispensabbli għalija biex niġbor l-informazzjoni

meħtieġa għal din l-intervista.

Tista’ taqbadni jew bit-telefon jew bl-emajl li qieghed nagħtik hawn isfel.

Nixtieq nieħu din l-opportunita’ biex nirringrazzjak ta’ ħinek u l-koperazzjoni tiegħek.

156

Joshua Aquilina

Numru tal-Mobajl:

Emajl:

157

Appendix 3

Information for Parents/Guardians

A research of the experience of mood regulation through music in adolescents

As part of the Master of Psychology course that I, Joshua Aquilina, am currently reading for

at the University of Malta, I am required to conduct a research project. The aim of this

research is to explore the personal and lived experienced of adolescents who use music to

manage their emotions. I would like to understand this experience and how individuals make

sense of their experience. By studying this psychological process one can furthermore

promote the function of music within adolescent development.

Participants’ participation in this research is voluntary. In addition to a talk that was given

within the school to the potential participants, this information sheet is being provided to the

parents/guardians of those interested in taking part in the interview. The aim of the study is

not to stir up past experiences that might be an emotional burden on the participant, but to

explore teenagers’ use of music in their everyday life.

To reach the aim of this research there is the need for an interview of around an hour to be

conducted with the adolescent participant and will take place within the premises of Saint

Aloysius Sixth Form. In addition to this the participant will be contacted at a later stage of the

research to discuss the findings with the researcher. The participant has every right not to

158

answer questions asked and also to stop taking part in the research without having to give any

reason.

All information that is collected is considered as confidential and only the researcher and his

supervisor will have access to this information. The interview will be recorded to ensure

precision in the findings of this research. The participant and his/her parents/guardians will be

asked to give permission for the participant to take part in this research and will be asked for

permission for parts of the interview to be quoted anonymously. The interviews and notes

taken will be destroyed after the research project is completed. The participant and

parents/guardians will be provided with a consent form to be signed and this will be stored in

a safe place. The digital recording of the interview will be preserved, protected, and also

stored in a safe place.

This research will give the participant the opportunity to understand more the impact that

they can have on their moods and emotions through the use of music. This process has the

potential to help the participant feel more empowered and to assist the belief that they can

control events that affect them.

The participation of your child is indispensable for me to collect the necessary

information for this interview.

I can be contacted either by phone or email, which are provided below.

159

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your time and cooperation.

Joshua Aquilina

Mobile Number:

Email:

160

Informazzjoni Għall-Ġenituri/Kustudja

Riċerka fl-esperjenza tal-kontroll fil-burdati permezz tal-mużika fl-adoloxxenti

Bħala parti mill-kors tal-Masters fil-Psikoloġija li bħalissa qiegħed nagħmel fl-Universita’ ta’

Malta, jiena, Joshua Aquilina, mitlub li naħdem fuq progett ta’ riċerka. L-iskop ta’ din ir-

riċerka hu li nesplora l-esperjenzi personali u mġarrba ta’ l-adoloxenti li jużaw il-mużika biex

jimmaniġjaw l-emozzjonijiet tagħhom. Jien nixtieq nifhem din l-esperjenza u kif l-individwi

jagħmlu sens minn din l-esperjenza tagħhom. Permezz ta’ dan l-istudju tal-proċess

psikologiku wieħed jista’ aktar ‘il quddiem jippromovi l-funzjoni tal-mużika, fl-iżvilupp fl-

adoloxxenti.

Is-sehem tal-parteċipanti f’din ir-riċerka hu volontarju. Mat-taħdita li nagħatat fl-iskola lil-

parteċipanti li jistgħu jieħdu sehem, din l-informazzjoni qiegħda tiġi pprovduta għall-

genituri/kustodji ta dawk interessati li jipparteċipaw fir-riċerka. L-ghan ta’ l-istudju mhux

biex jitqanqlu xi esperjenzi diffiċli tal-imgħoddi li jistgħu jkunu ta’ dannu għall-parteċipanti,

imma biex nesplora l-użu tal-mużika fil-ħajja ta’ kuljum tal- adoloxxenti.

Biex nasal għall-iskop ta’ din ir-riċerka hemm il-ħtiega li ssir intervista ta’ madwar siegħa

mal-parteċipant adoloxxenti u sseħħ fis-Sixth Form tal-Kulleġġ San Alwiġi. Ma’ din l-

intervista, il-parteċipant għandu kull dritt li ma jweġibx għall-mistoqsijiet u anke’ li jieqaf

jieħu sehem fir-riċerka bla ma jagħti raguni għaliex.

161

L-informazzjoni kollha miġbura titqies bħala kunfidenzjali u r-riċerkatur flimkien mas-

supervisor tiegħu jkollhom aċċess għal din l-informazzjoni. L-intervista tkun rekordjata bl-

għan li l-informazzjoni fir-riċerka tkun preċiża. Il-parteċipant u l-ġenituri/kustodju

tiegħu/tagħha jkunu mitluba biex jagħtu l-kunsens tagħhom biex il-parteċipant j/tieħdu sehem

f’din ir-riċerka u jintalab permess biex partijiet mill-intervista jkunu ikkwotati bla ma

jissemma’ l-isem. L-intervisti u n-noti jinqerdu wara li jitlesta l-proġett. Il-parteċipant u l-

ġenituri jew min jieħu ħsiebu/ha jingħatawlhom l-kunsens biex jiġi iffirmat u dan jinżamm

f’post sigur. Il-materjal irrekordjat jiġi wkoll ippreservat u protett u jinżamm f’post sigur.

Din ir-riċerka tagħti lill-parteċipant l-opportunita’ biex j/tifhem aktar l-impatt li huma jista’

jkollom fuq il-burdati u l-emozzjonijiet tagħhom permezz tal-użu tal-mużika. Dan il-proċess

għandu l-potenzjal li jgħin lill-parteċipant iħossu/tħossha aktar li jagħtih/a setgħa u biex jgħin

it-twemmin li huma jistgħu jikkontrollaw il-grajjiet li jaffetwawhom.

Sehem it-tifel/tifla tiegħek bħala parteċipant/a hu indispensabbli għalija biex niġbor l-

informazzjoni meħtieġa għal din l-intervista.

Tista’ taqbadni jew bit-telefon jew bl-emajl li qieghed nagħtik hawn isfel.

Nixtieq nieħu din l-opportunita’ biex nirringrazzjak ta’ ħinek u l-koperazzjoni tiegħek.

162

Joshua Aquilina

Numru tal-Mobajl:

Emajl:

163

Appendix 4

Consent Form for Participants

The following points in this form show that you have understood the aim of this research and

that you have been provided with enough information about it, that you know your rights as a

participant and that you confirm that you would like to take part in this study.

1. I have received enough information about this study to decide if I would like to take

part in it.

2. I understand that I have the right to choose not to answer questions.

3. I understand that I can choose to withdraw from the study at any time and without

having to give any reason.

4. I understand that all that I am going to say in this interview and my identity and that

of my family will remain confidential, unless there is the mention of me or other

individuals that are in danger of harm or that might be in danger of harm happening to

them.

5. I give permission for the interview to be recorded. It is from this recording that the

most important points of this research will come out. The interviews and all notes

taken during the interviews are to be destroyed after graduation.

6. I understand that excerpts of the transcribed interview, with identifiable details

removed, and anything else which is part of the researcher’s procedure may need to

be shown to the supervisor of the researcher.

164

7. I understand that if any quotes from the interview are to be used in the final report of

this research, they will be used anonymously and will not expose your identity or that

of your family.

8. I accept to meet with the interviewer after he has interpreted the data to give my view

on the findings as to see if this represents my views, opinions, and experiences.

9. I understand that despite my parents/guardians giving their consent for me to take part

in this research, I can still choose to participate or not.

Each interview will take approximately one hour and will take place within the premises of

Saint Aloysius Sixth Form. This signed consent form will be stored in a safe place and the

digital recording of the interview will be preserved, protected, and stored in a safe place.

I agree with the above points and wish to participate in this research.

Name: ________________ Signature: ____________________

Parent’s/guardian’s name: ___________________ Signature: ____________________

Researcher’s name: Joshua Aquilina Signature: ____________________

Supervisor’s name: Clarissa Sammut Scerri Signature: ____________________

Date: ____________________

165

Joshua Aquilina

Mobile Number:

Email:

166

Il-Kunsens tal-Partiċipanti

Il-punti li gejjin f’din il-formola juru li inti tifhem l-iskop ta’ din ir-riċerka u li ġejt provdut

b’informazzjoni suffiċjenti dwarha, li inti tagħraf id-drittijiet tiegħek bħala parteċipant u li

tikkonferma li tixtieq tieħu sehem f’dan l-istudju.

1. Irċevejt biżżejjed informazzjoni dwar dan l-istudju biex niddeċiedi li nixtieq nieħu

parti.

2. Nifhem li għandi d-dritt li nagħżel li ma nweġibx mistoqsijiet.

3. Nifhem li nista’ nagħżel biex nieqaf minn dan l-istudju f’kull ħin bla ma nagħti ebda

raġuni.

4. Nifhem li kulma se ngħid f’din l-intervista, l-identita’ tiegħi u dik ta’ familti jibqgħu

kunfidenzjali, kemm-il darba ma jissemmiex ismi jew individwi li huma fil-periklu ta’

xi ħsara jew li jistgħu jkunu fil-periklu li jiġrilhom xiħaga.

5. Nagħti l-permess tiegħi biex l-intervista tkun irrekordjata. L-aktar punti importanti ta’

din ir-riċerka jridu joħorġu minn dan l-irrekordjar. L-intervisti u n-noti meħudin tul l-

intervisti jiġu meqruda wara l-gradwazzjoni.

6. Nifhem li biċċiet mill-intervista irrekordjata, bid-detalji ta’ identifikazzjoni imneħħija,

u kwalunkwe ħaġa li għandha x’taqsam mal-proċedura tar-riċerkatur ikollhom

jintwerew lis-supervisor tar-riċerkatur.

7. Nifhem li jekk xi kwotazzjonijiet mill-intervista jintuzaw fir-rapport finali ta’ din ir-

riċerka, huma jissemmew bla isem u ma jesponux l-identita’ tiegħek jew ta’ familti.

167

8. Naċċetta li niltaqa’ ma’ min jintervistani wara li hu jkun interpreta id-data biex

nagħtih l-ideja tiegħi dwar dak li jkun sab biex naraw jekk din tirrappreżentax l-idejat,

il-fehmiet u l-esperjenzi tiegħi.

9. Nifhem li għalkemm il-ġenituri/kustudju taw il-kunsens tagħhom biex nieħu sehem

f’din ir-riċerka, jien xorta nista’ nagħżel nipparteċipax jew le.

Kull intervista tieħu madwar siegħa u ssir fis-Sixth Form tal-Kulleġġ San Alwiġi. Dan il-

kunsens li se tiffirma se jinżamm f’post siġur u l-irrekorjar ta’ l-intervisti se jkun ippreservat,

protett, u jinżamm f’post siġur.

Jiena naqbel mal-punti t’hawn fuq u nixtieq nieħu sehem f’din ir-riċerka.

Isem: ____________________ Firma: ____________________

Isem il-ġenituri/kustudju: ____________________ Firma: ____________________

Isem ir-riċerkatur: Joshua Aquilina Firma: ____________________

Isem is-supervisor: Clarissa Sammut Scerri Firma: ____________________

Data: ____________________

Joshua Aquilina

Numru tal-Mobajl:

168

Emajl:

169

Appendix 5

Consent Form for Parents/Guardian

The following points in this form show that you have understood the aim of this research and

that you have been provided with enough information about it, and that you confirm that you

would like for your child to take part in this study.

1. I have received enough information about this study to decide if I would like my

son/daughter to take part in it.

2. I understand that what my son/daughter is going to say in this interview and his/her

identity and that of his/her family will remain confidential, unless there is the mention

of him/her or other individuals that are in danger of harm or that might be in danger or

harm happening to them.

3. I give permission for the interview to be recorded. It is from this recording that the

most important points of this research will come out. Identifiable details will be

removed from the transcript and fictitious names will be used. The interviews and all

notes taken during the interviews are to be destroyed after graduation.

4. I understand that excerpts of the transcribed interview, with identifiable details

removed, and anything else which is part of the researcher’s procedure may need to

be shown to the supervisor of the researcher.

170

5. I understand that if any quotes from the interview held with my son/daughter are to be

used in the final report of this research, they will be used anonymously and will not

expose their identity or that of their family.

6. I accept that my son/daughter can meet with the interviewer after he has interpreted

the data to give his/her view on the findings as to see if this represents his/her views,

opinions, and experiences.

Each interview will take approximately one hour and will take place within the premises of

Saint Aloysius Sixth Form. This signed consent form will be stored in a safe place and the

digital recording of the interview will be preserved, protected, and stored in a safe place.

I agree with the above points and give consent for my son/daughter to participate in this

research.

Parent/Guardian’s Name: ____________________ Signature: _______________

Child’s Name: ____________________

Researcher’s Name: Joshua Aquilina Signature: _______________

Supervisor’s Name: Clarissa Sammut Scerri Signature: _______________

Date: ____________________

171

Joshua Aquilina

Mobile Number:

Email:

172

Il-Kunsens tal-Ġenituri/Kustudja

Il-punti li gejjin f’din il-formola juru li inti tifhem l-iskop ta’ din ir-riċerka u li ġejt provdut

b’informazzjoni suffiċjenti dwarha, u li tikkonferma li tixtieq li t-tifel/tifla tiegħek j/tieħu

sehem f’dan l-istudju.

1. Irċevejt biżżejjed informazzjoni dwar dan l-istudju biex niddeċiedi jekk inħallix lit-

tifel/tifla tiegħi j/tipparteċipa.

2. Nifhem li dak li j/tgħid it-tifel/tifla tiegħi fl-intervista u l-identita’ tiegħu/tagħha u tal-

familja jibqgħu kunfidenzjali, kemm-il darba ma jissemmiex ismu/isimha jew

individwi li huma fil-periklu ta’ xi ħsara jew li jistgħu jkunu fil-periklu li jiġrilhom

xiħaga.

3. Nagħti l-permess tiegħi biex l-intervista tkun irrekordjata. L-aktar punti importanti ta’

din ir-riċerka jridu joħorġu minn dan l-irrekordjar. Detalji ta’ identifikazzjoni

jitneħħew mit-transkript u jingħataw ismijiet fittizji. L-intervisti u n-noti meħudin tul

l-intervisti jiġu meqruda wara l-gradwazzjoni.

4. Nifhem li biċċiet mill-intervista irrekordjata, bid-detalji ta’ identifikazzjoni imneħħija,

u kwalunkwe ħaġa li għandha x’taqsam mal-proċedura tar-riċerkatur ikollhom

jintwerew lis-supervisor tar-riċerkatur.

5. Nifhem li jekk xi kwotazzjonijiet mill-intervista mat-tifel/tifla tiegħek jkollhom bżonn

jintuzaw fir-rapport finali ta’ din ir-riċerka, huma jissemmew bla isem u ma jesponux

l-identita’ tat-tifel/tifla tiegħek jew ta’ familtek.

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6. Naċċetta li tit-tifel/tifla tiegħi j/tiltaqa’ ma’ min jagħmel l-intervista wara li hu jkun

interpreta id-data biex j/tagħti l-ideja tiegħu/tagħha dwar dak li jkun sab biex jaraw

jekk din tirrappreżentax l-idejat, il-fehmiet u l-esperjenzi tiegħu/tagħha.

Kull intervista tieħu madwar siegħa u ssir fis-Sixth Form tal-Kulleġġ San Alwiġi. Dan il-

kunsens li se tiffirma se jinżamm f’post siġur u l-irrekorjar ta’ l-intervisti se jkun ippreservat,

protett, u jinżamm f’post siġur.

Jiena naqbel mal-punti t’hawn fuq u nixtieq nagħti il-kunsens tiegħi li t-tifel/tifla tiegħi tieħu

sehem f’din ir-riċerka.

Isem il-ġenituri/kustudju: ____________________ Firma: ____________________

Isem it-tifel/tifla: ____________________ Firma: ____________________

Isem ir-riċerkatur: Joshua Aquilina Firma: ____________________

Isem is-supervisor: Clarissa Sammut Scerri Firma: ____________________

Data: ____________________

Joshua Aquilina

Numru tal-Mobajl:

Emajl:

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Appendix 6

Approval Letters

Approval by Email

Dear Mr Aquilina,

Please note that your Research Ethics Proposal has been approved by the Faculty Research

Ethics Committee and it will be discussed by the University Research Ethics Committee on

Friday, 7th October 2011. FREC will contact you by email as soon as your Research Ethics

Proposal is approved by UREC.

Please note that you may not start your research prior to approval by UREC.

Thanks and regards,

Ayrton Deguara for Prof Mary Darmanin,

Secretary,

Faculty Research Ethics Committee.

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Dear Mr Aquilina,

Please note that your Research Ethics Proposal (EDU/122/11: 'I'm in the mood for you': An

interpretative phenomenological analysis of the experience of mood regulation through music

in adolescents.) has been approved by UREC. Hence, you may start your research.

Thanks and regards,

Ayrton Deguara for Prof Mary Darmanin,

Secretary,

Faculty Research Ethics Committee.

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177

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Appendix 7

An Example of Thematic Analysis

This appendix will show two steps of the process of thematic analysis using an interpretative

phenomenological approach (Smith et al., 2010). For this purpose, I will focus on one

particular superordinate theme “I can’t live without music”. The first and third example will

focus on ‘Music is a big part of the participants’ lives’, while the second example will focus

on ‘Music is needed to get them in different moods’.

Step 1: In the first step of the analysis, I read the transcripts several times as to become

familiar with the participants’ narratives. The right-hand margin of the transcript was used to

write down notes on three different levels: descriptive comments (in normal text), linguistic

comments (in italics), and conceptual comments (underlined).

Step 2: Through the process of reading the transcripts several times, the left-hand margin was

used to record emerging theme titles. During this process, the notes taken on the right-hand

margin helped to guide me in writing concise phrases that aimed at capturing the essential

quality of the transcript.

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Theme Excerpt Notes

- Music as a necessity

- Dependence on music

- Music part of life

- Music part of life

P: now I couldn’t go a day without

listening music; before I used to

but after listening to music for long

periods of time it is something I

have to do

I: ok if you had to explain what

music means to you in one word or

a sentence, what would you say?

P: sort of part of my life

I: so music is like part of your life

P: like when I go to football and

when I am at school, it is just

something I have to do (Jimmy)

- He cannot go a day without

listening to music. Has music

become a necessity for him?

- Music being a necessity? Is he

dependent on music?

- Music is part of his life.

- Music is an activity that he has to

do – I think he is referring to it in a

positive way.

- Fast rhythm boosts him

- Slow rhythm calms down and

prepares

I think tempo and the notes used

help do this, even tempo helps

especially this very fast rhythm like

(claps a fast rhythm) it gets you

going like it’s like it's on the go,

but if it's like this like I said the

beat is like (claps a slow rhythm) it

calms you down and it feels like

you're prepared for something.

- A fast rhythm gets him going

- A slow rhythm calms him down

and prepares him for something.

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- Fast rhythm induces aggression

- Slow tempo calms down

I mean if the rhythm is faster, I

personally would feel like I am

doing something, like I don’t know

like shooting the ball, attacking

someone, punching someone.

But whenever the tempo is slower

without you knowing it you

calm down, and the thing is that

people not everyone understands

that when the tempo slows down

you actually do slow down (Billy)

- A fast rhythm helps him feel like

he is doing something. The words

used to describe what this doing

something is include "shooting",

"attacking" and "punching" which

may all show some form of

aggression/violence. Do fast

rhythm songs make him

aggressive?

- When he says “you” does he

mean ‘I’?

- Not everyone understands this but

does he understand it? Is it his

experience of slowing

down/calming down when the

music is at a slower tempo?

- Music part of life

- Music a big part of life

- Music as a necessity

It’s part of my life basically as in

music would be… I hear music

when I sleep, I hear music when I

wake up, I hear music when I

dance, so it’s a big part of my life it

is a necessity I would say (Polly)

- Music is part of her life.

- Stops to think about when she

listens to music?

- Music is a big part of her life

- Music is a necessity

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Appendix 8

Presentation Given to Students

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183

184

185

186

187

188

189

190

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Appendix 9

Reflexivity Interview

Interviewer - What music do you listen to?

Participant - I used to listen to um...quite depressive music, which I wasn't aware of at the

time that it was depressive. It seemed enlightening actually to me back then. It used to be

quite heavy, it used to be rock, quite heavy, um...I used to like some mellow rock as well.

The main gist of it was sort of depressive music about depressive themes and a negative

outlook towards life. I used to also enjoy listening to party music as well...it was sort of like a

stimulant back then I guess.

I - Like a stimulant?

P - Stimulant...I would listen to it to enjoy myself, to dance, to have fun, to have a buzz. It

wasn't my preferred type of music but it would be like I would to it to go out. When I go out

that is what I would want to listen to, to be pumped up and have a good time but my music of

choice would have been depressive rock, like grunge rock...that sort of music.

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I - Ok. So can you explain a bit further like when were the times you listened...because you

said you liked two types of music. Can you explain a bit more when you used to listen to

them?

P - I used to listen to techno, trance music when I go out and this was sort of attached to a

good time and going out because it is music that gets you pumped up and you can dance to it,

have a good time, no real need to get in touch with your emotions as you just have fun. The

other music is what I'd listen throughout the week, which was more of a side to me that

would help me get in touch with my inner self. (laughs briefly) I am thinking now that I used

to also listen to rap music back then and R & B, but it was sort of the same thing; depressive

and negative sort of music.

I - Depressive music as in the rap was depressive?

P - As in, aha yes, the themes and the beat to the music were negative and have negative

connotations to it and lyrics about a pessimistic view of the world and a lot of hate in the

music. It's not just in the words but even in the music; it was either a flat beat or very rocky

and very hard.

I - So there was a meaning to the music you listened to?

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P - Now I can see that meaning but back then if you were to ask me back then, I wouldn't

have found that meaning.

I - What would you have said then?

P - I would have said probably I like different types of music and I wouldn't have made the

link why I listen to a certain type of music at one time during the week or during the day and

another type another time during the day. I probably would have just said I am open to

different music other than classical music (laughs). Now a days classical music is alright too

but back then...

I - Alright. What attracted you to this music? So you said you got in touch with your

feelings...

P - It was like there was something in the music um...where others couldn't understand me, I

felt understood just through the music like I would be listening to a song and I would know

that I am not alone in the world. I would feel alone in the world back then but listening to a

song helped me realize that even other people feel the same feelings I feel and think the same

inner thoughts that I feel because I let it out in songs and lyrics but even in the way for

example a guitar is played for example up tempo or loud or mellow, like slow and down and

depressive, there used to be a connection where I felt understood.

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I - So it had a lot of meaning in it.

P - Yes

I - So, I don't know if you want to see it from that age or from now but what do you look for

in music?

P - I think I look for an emotional connection with music. It's like I am going through

something at the moment and put on a piece of music that is adequate to the same mood or

feeling of the time...so that is what I'd want to hear at that time. I used to be, and still am,

quite specific on what I want to hear and when I want to hear it, so I choose it according to

my mood or how I am feeling or what I am going through, so I am felt understood.

I - Ok. So can you tell me about a positive experience that you've had while listening to

music and due to this positive experience you realize that your mood changed? And then

maybe you can talk about a negative experience so maybe we can get both sides.

P - Um...alright, a positive, for example I remember when I was younger I used to have a lot

of...there used to be a lot of friction within the household and when things got a bit too much

and I felt a mixture of feelings - angry, frustrated, needing my space, I would go and listen to

very loud music and it used to soothe me down. It is quite hard to believe that hard and heavy

music used to put me to sleep and rest and that is how I'd deal with it; I'd listen to heavy

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music and then just sleep and it wouldn't wake me up. If I was to listen to mellow music it

would probably have kept me awake and kept me frustrated but it was like the heavy music

responded to my anger and frustration and on a positive note it soothed me and calmed me

down. So that is probably a positive experience.

I - And how do you understand your experience now? What do you think that experience

changed your experience into a more positive one?

P - Thinking about it, it was like the music...I didn't have much of a voice, and the music

gave me the voice. So I was like angry and frustrated and I couldn't show it because it would

just create more anger and frustration so the music did it for it, like the music connected to

my anger and just by singing along or just thinking about playing about those heavy songs

used to calm me down, soothe me and help me feel comfortable and at ease...I need to give

you a negative experience now?

I - Yes ok give me a negative experience.

P - Alright...um...I need to think a bit...(long pause)...

I - So when you listened to music and you realized that your moods changed for the negative,

for the worse

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P - Alright...um...I am thinking about listening, back when I was younger, listening to rap

music for example for the same reason- for being angry and frustrated, and certain lyrics and

even the melody and the way the song goes, lends itself to being violent and to act out on

your anger and frustration. And I used to have these impulses to be violent and at times I was

aggressive with my words, with my presence, so that is probably how music affected me

negatively. It was like it empowered me to be violent rather than to be assertive for example

and sort of fill me with more hate at times and fill me with more anger and I would act out on

it and it would make the situation even worse.

I - And how would you understand it that sometimes music made you feel...ended up in a

positive experience and sometimes it resulted in a negative experience, so how would you

make sense of it?

P - I think I made sense of it like life has its positive and negatives so I would decide what I

listen to according to how I am feeling so I would take it as just normal like sometimes it is a

negative experience and sometimes it is positive, like just go with it. And I used to think that

listening to different types of music would give me different perspectives on life as well

anyway.

I - So you said that you made sense of the fact that sometimes music gave you a negative

experience and sometimes a positive one because that’s life. Can you clarify and explain it a

bit further?

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P - The way I had experienced life up until then was that it's mixed being negative

experiences and positive experiences, and even within a certain relationship not everything is

100% positive all the time and neither is it 100% negative all the time so it is like my

experience with music reflected that as well, as normal, as being representative of a normal

life rather than everything fine or everything negative and dark.

I - So you accepted the fact that sometimes it would give you a negative experience and it had

both sides.

P - That's right.

I - Alright. You've answered this but if I could add something to it - how often do you find

that you purposely used music to change your mood? How often and when would you do it?

P - I don't think I was as aware as I am today, back then so I think I would do it on a daily

basis like deciding what cd to take on my Discman back then until I upgraded to an MP3

player (laughs), according to how I was feeling, but I was not conscious of doing it so...I

don't think I thought I did it purposely but looking back I did it purposely.

I - Ok. And how did you discover the use of this process?

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P - With time, with age, with experience. I used to notice how important music is for me

whilst for others it is not that important, as I grew up. It was like at an adolescent level music

is a big thing for everyone, it seemed like to me, that is how I perceived it, as everyone being

mad about music but then as I grew up, around me people weren't as interested in music and

took up other interests while I stayed very interested in music. And as I started to grow in

psychological knowledge and started to study psychology I used to notice how linked music

was to how I am feeling and what I am going through. Even on an unconscious level I would

sing lyrics to myself or think of a song and then reflecting on what that means to me or on

what the lyrics I am singing, would actually be like the unconscious speaking to me about a

situation I am going through. So as time went along I grew in knowledge, self-knowledge

about it. I gained insight.

I - If you had to tell me what music means to you

P - It is very significant in my life and I can't imagine my life without music. Every time I'm

doing something I'd want music present as well. Every time I'm doing some sort of event I'd

want music in my life, if I am studying I want music in the background, if I am cleaning I

want music in the background, if I am driving I want music in the background. It is important

that I fit it into all the different aspects of my life. Even if we are having a family meal for

example I'd want background music. I'd always want it present because it is that important.

I - So can you give me one word, describe music in one word?

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P - The world

I - The world, ok. It is very important to you. So how does music regulate your moods?

P - It gets in touch with how I am feeling, with different emotions I am experiencing and as I

explained before, it's like I feel understood through music so automatically I adapt my...I am

going to try to explain myself, it is like speaking, like you have a problem and you speak to

someone about it and after you speak to that someone about the problem, the problem is still

there and you haven't found solutions but you have just spoken about it but you feel relieved

after having that conversation with a friend or with family or with whoever. And I have the

same experience with music; I put on music according to how I am feeling and I'm

understood, I am empathized with through a song and that gives me enough feeling of relief

to change my mood, to regulate my mood accordingly. Like the example I gave before - I am

angry, I listen to heavy music, I feel understood, I feel empathized with and then I feel calm

and soothed and can continue with life, it's like that is how my moods are regulated.

I - And how do explain the use of music to regulate your moods on your development? So

we're focusing on the development.

P - Thinking about my development, I used to listen to music because it is there and I like it

and that's all I thought, I didn't think there was any more meaning to it. I thought everyone

listens to music, everyone has headphones, everyone has a radio in their car, so I am just

200

being an everyone but then as I grew up further I noticed how important music is to me and

how much it affects me. So I used it towards my development. So if I couldn't find anyone to

speak to I'd use music and it was like speaking to someone through music, if I needed a

solution about something I'd know what type of music to listen to and I would get advice as

to say from music. Also regarding development I wasn't that in touch with my feelings so

through music I could get in touch with my feelings. It was so to say unsafe, and unsafe is

within inverted commas, to express my emotions but using music to express my emotions

was acceptable. As I grew other developmentally wise I got to know, got to identify with

different emotions that I've passed through, that I have experienced.

I - So you said over time you had to identify your feelings, what contributed to this?

P - I never felt I could show my feelings and when I showed my feelings, probably to the

wrong people, um...I never felt understood but then through music I felt understood and felt

that I am not the only one that feels certain feelings so certain feelings which I used to hide

away because I thought it was sort of unsafe to show them, I was able...music helped

facilitate the process to get in touch with emotions and then express them and to know they

are normal emotions that I can express. I was also going to mention self-esteem. My self-

esteem was quite low throughout my teenage years but music empowered me, even if it was

not in front of other people but it was like in that intimate moment with music I felt

empowered, I felt able to express myself, able to be who I am without being judged. So that

is probably how it helped developmentally.

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I - And how does the experience of using music to regulate your moods fit into your everyday

life?

P - It helped me, it helped me act normal, act in accordance to societies norms when I felt

otherwise.

I - Can you explain this a bit?

P - I felt as though I wanted to rebel, I wanted to be angry in public and in social spheres of

life, to let out my frustration, to be stupid, to be sad at times, to cry at times, a different

spectrum of emotions that I wanted to feel in public but one to stick to social norms, and two

to stick to a male stereotypical role, I used to keep them in so music helped me let them out

by myself with music so that when I was with other people I don't have too much bottled up

so I won't have outbreaks in front of other people so I would contain myself in other aspects

of my life and I'd seem like I am coping and functioning normally in different spheres of my

life but then I would let it all out when listening to music.

I - And how do you use the experience of music to regulate your moods in different aspects

of your life that you're involved in?

P - It is sort of an elaboration on the last thing I told you - that in my everyday life and

everyday functioning, in different things I was involved in - sixth form, sports, hanging out

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with friends...in those parts of my life I could act like I was normal, like I had no problems,

like I was always happy go lucky, never worried, everything was always cool and happy

I - This was important for you.

P - It was important for me to keep up that image when in actual fact I would be feeling

differently to that. So music helped in that way because as I said before I would let it all out

with music. It's like music was my therapist and I could let it all out there and then go and

function normally in everyday life, as long as I know that I am part of music. So using music

to regulate my moods...I would have certain moods which I would not want to show in front

of certain people outside of my household, so I would use music to regulate those moods and

then go out into the world all fine and dandy and happy and problem free. But I guess if I

didn't have music I didn't really have many other outlets at that age so without the music

regulating my moods I probably would have let out my different emotions without regulating

them in the different aspects of my life.

I - Can you say more about this?

P - I am trying to imagine being an adolescent without the music and the significance of

music to me back then, being quite a rebellious, angry, frustrated, and sad teenager and not

having any other outlets to let these emotions out in. So I let them out through music. If that

was taken away from me I am sure they would have come out in aspects of my life like for

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example at sixth form, while I am training or playing with the team at basketball or socially,

but since music helped me to do this by myself then I was allowed to function properly in

these spheres of life.

I - And you said that you needed to sort of function properly with people outside your

household. So within your household you felt...like can you explain that a bit more?

P - Well certain emotions, I was comfortable to let them out within my household, so I didn't

need music to regulate there. I was comfortable to get angry with my parents, with my

siblings or also to be sad and happy and it was like I was comfortable showing my emotions

in front of my family. So as such I didn't need music that much within the household due to

this even though I have to mention sometimes certain family situations escalated and then I

would turn to music for comfort, when I couldn't handle it alone, despite letting out my

emotions. So that is what was different - I was comfortable to do it with my family while

outside of the household I wasn't.

I - Ok. How did the different aspects you live in influence this experience?

P - I guess the different life experiences I went through created different emotions and

different ways in which to let out those emotions. I was faced with situations where I had

certain emotions which I wanted to let them out, I wanted to be impulsive and just let them

out, and I couldn't always do that due to the society we live in. If I had an impulse of a

204

moment of anger to go and kill someone for example, I couldn't do it, it's not morally right,

it's not acceptable, it is not what I would usually do but then listening to some loud music and

letting off that anger and then after listening to it I feel that impulse has gone, has passed,

that's how I used to use music. In the different aspects of my life...um...

I - As in how did it effect why you regulated your moods?

P - I guess being always brought up as not to show emotion in front of others. I was always

brought up with the notion of it's alright to let out your emotions at home but don't do it in

front of others because they'll make a story out of you or they'll make you out to be

something that you're not. So I am sure that influenced me because as I said earlier I was

comfortable letting out my emotions at home but in public I always wanted to look like I am

perfectly normal, like I have no problems, like I'm carefree and music offered this solution to

be because within my own room or within my own headphones and my mind I could be on a

bus full of people but that moment between the music and my mind I could let out my

emotions without showing them to anyone. So then within the public sphere I was always

alright. So I guess my upbringing influenced that. Even certain life experiences that I went

through, certain...I've mentioned anger and frustration a lot and those emotions and certain

hard experiences that I've been through influenced me having a lot of anger and frustration so

it was there due to what I had been through and music helped me let that out of my system.

I - Ok. And do you think that the experience of using music to regulate your moods plays a

part in forming who you are?

205

P - Yes (laughing). I am speaking about my experience about back when I was a teenager.

Back when I was a teenager I didn't have this awareness and it was through music that I am

so aware of where I am now.

I - So it helped your awareness.

P - It helped my awareness and also it was a positive way to vent out as well. Certain angry

impulses, I could let them out through music and it helped me to be more resilient. It was like

my lifeline. My sane lifeline as it was alright to listen to music about someone killing

someone but it wasn't alright to go kill someone yourself. So listening about it and fantasizing

about it within my own head, thanks to the music, let me let out that anger and it helped me

develop in who I am today; more in touch with my own feelings, so now I've grown to speak

about my feelings in public, I am comfortable to be who I am - to sometimes be sad,

sometimes be angry, sometimes be happy, rather that portraying the image that I am always

perfect and always happy. And music sort of helped me let out those raw emotions and

process them in a certain way that helped me grow into who I am today. So it helped me

develop and be more confident in who I am.

I - What changes in your identity...we already spoke about that it helped you express

yourself, that it helped you become more aware of your feelings, is there anything else that

you can say?

206

P - My self-esteem was boosted, I am not sure if I mentioned that. I was more confident

within myself, I noticed everyone feels emotions and being a male that was very, that

stereotype was very controlling on me, like I can't break down in public because I'm a male

and I'm not meant to because I am meant to be sturdy and hard and tough all the time. And

through music, through regulating my moods through music I was given the opportunity to

learn that everyone feels certain emotions, males and females alike and it is alright to show

them in public and I got in touch with who I am and being emotional in public and accepting

it and being comfortable with it so that helped me in increasing my self-confidence and self-

esteem.

I - And how did these factors change through the influence of using music to regulate your

moods?

P - I think I've mentioned it.

I - I think so too but I was trying to think if there is anything else but you seem to have

answered it with your last reply.

P - Music was like the in-between person. It was like the therapist. A therapist listens to you,

offers advice, helps you to get in touch with your past, uses certain techniques to help you

accept certain things, but then the implementation in your everyday life, you're the one that

makes them and not your therapist. Your therapist cannot come inside you and make the

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changes but you are the one that makes them. So music was the in-between person, the

therapist, and then I made the changes so that's how it influenced me.

I - So how do you see yourself in the future after using music to regulate your moods?

P - I'm here in the future (laughs). I guess where I am in the future I've mentioned throughout

so I feel I know who I am, I have an identity, I have self-esteem, I have self-confidence, I

don't have a problem showing my emotions in public. That is where I am. If I was asked the

same question when I was a teenager I probably would have said still using music to vent out

all that I need, so music being my therapist still. Like I was not capable to walk on my own

back then and needed my crutch, my music, to help me walk but now a days I've come to a

point where I can walk alone but still listen to music and still enjoy music and I still use

music sometimes to regulate my moods as well. But I am confident enough in myself now to

not be dependent on music when back then I was dependent on music and probably if I was

to look to the future back then I would say that I would still be dependent on music.

I - And how do you feel about this that you think that before you would have said you would

still be dependent and now you feel that you're not.

P - (Laughs) Let me find the right word. It feels like a spiritual experience. Like it feels like

I've come so far even though it hasn't been that long, it's been like a span of 10-12 years, and

I've come so far so I couldn't picture myself being where I am today when I was 16 for

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example but I am here now. If I was to give advice to my 16 year old self I would say you're

going to make it, have hope you are going to make it. I don't think I had enough hope back

then.

I - It's like you surpassed your expectations of yourself.

P - Yes, yes.

I - And how do you feel you will be in the future after using music to regulate your moods?

P - I like the fact that I am getting used to using music to help me, I'll explain this as it's

helped me throughout, but to help me in a different way because it helps my development. So

for example I am that in touch with music that when I have a gut feeling when I am working,

when I am with people, it usually comes to me in song and before I used to just think that a

song popped into my head, let's sing it in my head and just get along with life. But now I am

noticing that I can grasp that song and see what feelings they create in me, what the lyrics

mean to me, and it could be my gut feeling about what I am experiencing in my work for

example on a transferential level of feelings. So I see myself in the future to continue to use

this for my personal growth because it teaches me rather than thinking of it as just a song

popping up in my mind, I think of it as a tool for me to use to my advantage. So I am

embracing it and learning more from it.

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I - And do you think you will surpass your expectations in 10 years’ time as well?

P - (Laughs) You have to ask me again in 10 years’ time. At the moment I don't feel like it

but in 10 years I will probably say yes.