what is the function of music

The value of music in people’s everyday lives is dependent on the uses they make of it and the degree to which they engage with it, which are in turn dependent on the contexts in which they hear it. Very few studies have investigated people’s experiences of music in naturalistic, everyday circumstances, and this exploratory study provides some initial normative data on who people listen with, what they listen to (and what their emotional responses to this music are), when they listen, where they listen, and why they listen. 346 people who owned a mobile phone were sent one text message per day over 14 days. On receiving this message, participants were required to complete a questionnaire about any music they could hear, or had heard since their previous message. Responses indicated a high compliance rate; a high incidence of exposure to music; that the greatest number of musical episodes occurred while participants were on their own; that pop music was heard most frequently; that li