Understanding Emotional Contagion Associated with Hindustani Classical Ragas: an Analysis of Behaviour and Acoustic Features

Abstract

Music is well known to evoke emotions. The first objective of this study was to understand emotional contagion associated with Hindustani classical ragas. The second objective was to study the role of acoustic properties in determining the emotions associated with ragas. We conducted an internet based survey in which participants listened to raga excerpts played in both alaap (slow arrhythmic introductory section) and gat (fast rhythmic composition). A total of 164 participants completed the survey. Survey responses showed that despite of cultural differences, participants were able to associate positive and plaintive emotions with different ragas. Analysis of behavioral results showed that the emotions associated with ragas when played in alaap were 'calm' and 'sad'. However, when played in gat, the 'calm' ratings shifted to 'Happy' and 'sad' ratings shifted to 'Longing' or 'Restless'emotions. The results of multiple linear regression analysis indicated that the presence or absence of a subset of major and minor pitch intervals in a raga were predictive of ratings on positive and plaintive emotions. The percent mean frequency of occurrence of the major (shuddh Ni) and minor (teevra ma, komal re) tonic intervals accounted for 90.4% and 86.5% of variance in ratings of 'happy' and 'sad' emotions. This suggests that it is the underlying distribution of specific pitch intervals that listeners associate with positive or plaintive emotions.