Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought the live music industry to an abrupt halt; subsequently, musicians are looking for ways to replicate the live concert experience virtually. The present study sought to investigate differences in aesthetic judgments of a live concert vs. a recorded concert, and whether these responses vary based on congruence between musical artist and piece. Participants (N = 32) made continuous ratings of their felt pleasure either during a live concert or while viewing an audiovisual recorded version of the same joint concert given by a university band and a United States Army band. Each band played two pieces: a United States patriotic piece (congruent with the army band) and a non-patriotic piece (congruent with the university band). Results indicate that, on average, participants reported more pleasure while listening to pieces that were congruent, which did not vary based on live vs. lab listening context: listeners preferred patriotic music when played by the army band and non-patriotic music when played by the university band. Overall, these results indicate that felt pleasure in response to music may vary based on listener expectations of the musical artist, such that listeners prefer musical pieces that “fit” with the particular artist. When considering implications for concerts during the COVID-19 pandemic, our results indicate that listeners may experience similar degrees of pleasure even while viewing a recorded concert, suggesting that virtual concerts are a reasonable way to elicit pleasure from audiences when live performances are not possible.
Highlights
Live music has, perhaps until recently, been a growing industry
While live concerts are a popular aspect of modern culture, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought the live music industry to an abrupt halt
The present work sought to investigate whether the musical congruity between artist and piece influences the pleasure a listener experiences, and whether this varies based on the listening setting
Summary
People are attracted to live music for various reasons, such as wanting to be “a part” of something, sharing the experience with other individuals, and experiencing the novelty of a live event (Brown and Knox, 2017). When asked to recall their favorite musical experiences, most people describe attending live concerts (Krause et al, 2020). Judgments of Live and Recorded Music been looking for ways to replicate the live experience online. It is unclear what aspects of a live concert can be communicated virtually and whether listeners could derive a similar amount of pleasure from a virtual event. The present work sought to investigate whether the musical congruity between artist and piece influences the pleasure a listener experiences, and whether this varies based on the listening setting
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