Music helps people get through crises such as the corona pandemic better. This is confirmed by a study by the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics in Frankfurt am Main with people from six countries on three continents.
During the first lockdown from April to May 2020, demographically representative samples were collected: Over 5,000 people from Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy, India and the USA answered questions online about how they dealt with music during the crisis. “More than half of the respondents stated that they use music to cope with emotional and social stress factors,” the researchers report in the journal “Humanities and Social Sciences Communications”.
Sense of belonging
“It is noteworthy that it is not the music itself that serves as a coping aid, but the music-related behavior, i.e. the way in which people changed the way they dealt with music during the crisis,” explained Melanie Wald-Fuhrmann, Director at the Max Planck Institute. “Listening to music and making music offer different coping potentials.”
People with stronger negative emotions due to the pandemic use music primarily to regulate depression, anxiety and stress. This strategy is used particularly when listening to music.
People with a predominantly positive mood, on the other hand, used music primarily as a substitute for social interactions. Music gives them a sense of belonging and community both while listening and making music. When making music, the music can also serve as a “means of self-reflection”. “Corona music” played a special role in this – that is, newly composed pieces about the pandemic or old songs, the texts of which were revised with a corona reference.
Strengthening the resilience
According to the study, the interest in such pieces contributed to the fact that people found dealing with music helpful in times of crisis. “Corona music” offers the opportunity to react collectively to social challenges and thus strengthens the resilience of the individual and the community.
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
