Music appreciation and music-induced emotions are common every-day phenomena to most of us. Certain pieces of music are loved by many, hated by others, and insignificant to many. Many of us love to play instruments and singing brings a whole other level to speaking. Many think of music as a certain way to communicate or express one's emotions. Music is a diverse and fascinating domain influencing our society in various ways.
Neuroscience provides new ways to investigate how music and music-induced emotions are processed in the brain. Many questions that could not be answered before, can now be addressed using new approaches and the new methods available. The BrainTuning project is investigating the musical brain by combining the efforts and expertise of six research groups in Europe and Canada during the years 2006–2009.
BrainTuning project has systematically investigated the subsequent and multidimensional stages of the brain functions enabling us to perceive, perform, and enjoy musical material. Jointly, the project partners invested their efforts to resolve the following questions:
1) How do music appreciation and emotions emerge in the human brain and how can we account for individual differences in emotional sensitivity?
2) What is the role of musical enculturation in music emotions?
3) How can findings on musical emotion processing be implemented in music therapy?
In a synergetic, multidisciplinary fashion, the project has explored and modelled music emotions and appreciation and their biological determinants in various subject groups, from infancy to adulthood in both musically untrained laymen as well as in musical experts.
In the researchers view, the project has had a novel impact in its field, owing to its multimethodological and interdisciplinary approach. It has combined theoretical, methodological, and empirical scientific expertise from the fields of technology, medical sciences, psychology, and musicology to resolve research questions relevant to music appreciation and emotions.
BrainTuning project consisted of five work packages thematically arranged as follows: Music Features and Emotions, Emotions and Music in the Brain, Music Emotions and Reactions in Infancy, Music Emotions and Actions in Music Experts, and Neural Basis for Music Therapy. Additionally, one work package was devoted for the project management.
The work was performed by the following partners: Universities of Helsinki and Jyväskylä (Finland), Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan (Italy), Leipzig (Germany), and Montreal (Canada), as well as Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan (KTH, Royal Academy of Technology, Stockholm; Sweden). The project was coordinated by the University of Helsinki (Dr. Mari Tervaniemi, Department of Psychology, POB 9, 00014 University of Helsinki. The official project website is at www.braintuning.fi.
The Braintuning project commenced on August 1, 2006. During the first half of the project period, work was successfully started by all partners. After careful consideration of the state-of-the-art in each study with regard to their technical, methodological, theoretical, and empirical backgrounds, the investigations were carefully planned, prepared, and started. When required, new technical and computational tools were also developed.
During the second half of the project period, data collection and analysis took actively place in all laboratories. The project outcome was introduced widely in scientific congresses and media.
In addition, the project organized an international congress called Braintuning workshop - Music, emotions, and brain plasticity (February 2009, Helsinki) and a series of parallel special events called Music and Emotion day (spring 2009 in Helsinki, Jyväskylä, Stockholm, Leipzig, and Milan). In addition, several scientific reports were submitted to international scientific journals using peer-review procedure.
In its endeavor during past three years, Braintuning project was successful in investigating the basic mechanisms of musical appreciation and emotion together with their brain basis by further developing and effectively using computational, behavioral, electromagnetic, and brain imaging techniques. In addition, this approach was adopted to reveal to reveal the effectiveness of music therapy in clients with mild psychiatric symptoms