The present study investigates the effects of choir music on secretory immunoglobulin A (S-IgA), cortisol, and emotional states in members of a mixed amateur choir. Subjects participated in two conditions during two rehearsals 1 week apart, namely singing versus listening to choral music. Saliva samples and subjective measures of affect were taken both before each session and 60 min later. Repeated measure analyses of variance were conducted for positive and negative affect scores, S-IgA, and cortisol. Results indicate several significant effects. In particular, singing leads to increases in positive affect and S-IgA, while negative affect is reduced. Listening to choral music leads to an increase in negative affect, and decreases in levels of cortisol. These results suggest that choir singing positively influences both emotional affect and immune competence. The observation that subjective and physiological responses differed between listening and singing conditions invites further investigation of task factors.

Over 600 choral singers drawn from English choirs completed the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire to measure physical, psychological, social and environmental wellbeing, and a twelve-item 'wellbeing and choral singing scale'. They also provided accounts of the effects of choral singing on quality of life,

The present research addresses the induction of emotion during music listening in adults using categorical and dimensional theories of emotion as background. It further explores the influences of musical preference and absorption trait on induced emotion. Twenty-five excerpts of classical music representing `happiness', `sadness', `fear', `anger' and `peace' were presented individually to 99 adult participants. Participants rated the intensity of felt emotions as well as the pleasantness and arousal induced by each excerpt. Mean intensity ratings of target emotions were highest for 20 out of 25 excerpts. Pleasantness and arousal ratings led to three main clusters within the two-dimensional circumplex space. Preference for classical music significantly influenced specificity and intensity ratings across categories. Absorption trait significantly correlated with arousal ratings only. In sum, instrumental music appears effective for the induction of basic emotions in adult listeners. However, careful screening of participants in terms of their musical preferences should be mandatory.

Instrumental music training has been shown to enhance cognitive processing beyond general intelligence. We examined this assumption with regard to working memory performance in primary school-aged children (N = 50; 7–8 years of age) within a longitudinal study design. Half of the children participated in an extended music education program with 45 minutes of weekly instrumental music training, while the other half received extended natural science training. Each child completed a computerized test battery three times over a period of 18 months. The battery included seven subtests, which address the central executive, the phonological loop and the visuospatial sketchpad components of Baddeley’s working memory model. Socio-economic background and basic cognitive functions were assessed for each participant and used as covariates in subsequent analyses of variance (ANOVAs). Significant group by time interactions were found for phonological loop and central executive subtests, indicating a superior developmental course in children with music training compared to the control group. These results confirm previous findings concerning music training and cognitive performance. It is suggested that children receiving music training benefit specifically in those aspects of cognitive functioning that are strongly related to auditory information processing.

distinguishes two general cognitive styles. Empathizing is characterized as the capacity to respond to feeling states of other individuals, whereas systemizing is characterized as the capacity to respond to regularities of objects and events. To investigate these traits within the music domain, a questionnaire study (N = 442) was conducted. Construct validity and reliability of the measurement instrument were assessed by factor analysis procedures. A simplified unit weighting (SUW) scale was used to determine individual differences in music empathizing (ME) and music systemizing (MS). Significant effects of sex and of music performance experience were observed. A highly similar pattern of results emerged from a replicating survey (N = 155) using a short-version of the questionnaire. These results suggest that the ME and MS traits corroborate and extend the general E-S theory.

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This study examined the effects of a school-based instrumental training program on the development of verbal and visual memory skills in primary school children. Participants either took part in a music program with weekly 45 min sessions of instrumental lessons in small groups at school, or they received extended natural science training. A third group of children did not receive additional training. Each child completed verbal and visual memory tests three times over a period of 18 months. Significant Group by Time interactions were found in the measures of verbal memory. Children in the music group showed greater improvements than children in the control groups after controlling for children’s socio-economic background, age, and IQ. No differences between groups were found in the visual memory tests. These findings are consistent with and extend previous research by suggesting that children receiving music training may benefit from improvements in their verbal memory skills.

This study focuses on health-promoting behaviours in students from two conservatoires, the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM, Manchester, UK; n =199) and the Royal College of Music (RCM, London, UK; n = 74). The research questions concern (a) the levels and types of health-promoting behaviours among performance students and (b) the association of health-promoting behaviours with emotional state, perceived general self-regulation and self-efficacy. To address these questions, the students were surveyed using server-based inventories over the internet. Results revealed varying levels of adherence to individual aspects of health-promoting behaviours. No significant differences between the populations of the two conservatoires with respect to health-promoting behaviours were observed. In general, values for health responsibility, physical activity and stress management were lower than values for nutrition, interpersonal relations and spiritual growth. Significant correlations were found between all subscales of health-promoting behaviours, emotional state, self-efficacy and self-regulation. These results suggest that music performance students tend to focus more strongly on psychosocial than physical aspects of health while particularly neglecting health responsibility. It is also concluded that health-promoting behaviours are weakly and differentially associated with both positive and negative emotional states, as well as with perceived self-efficacy and self-regulation.