Ailamazyan, A.M.

Background. The involvement of the motor component in the perception of musical intonation is emphasised by leading researchers in this field of music psychology and musicology. However, these theoretical positions require empirical research and confirmation.

Objective. The aim of the study was to hypothesise the role of motor similarity in the formation of musical perception. It is presupposed that the emotional and personal involvement of the listener is increased due to the motor experience of music.

Study Participants. Seventy-six people took part in the study (10 men and 66 women with an average age of 30). 35 participants were involved in the main group and the other 41 respondents constituted the control group.

Methods. A between-groups comparison design was used: the control group listened to a lecture or conference papers on psychological topics between the first and second music listening sessions, while the core group participated in a musical movement masterclass. Participants in the experimental group were asked to respond to the music with a movement. Free descriptions were used and qualitatively evaluated by experts according to categories.

Results. The effect of the inter-factorial interaction (group factor and number of listening sessions) on the categories of emotional and personal involvement and perception of intonational development in music is shown. Pairwise comparisons of each participant's descriptions revealed that the main group had significantly more changes related to the change in perceptual position (from external to internal), the manner in which the music was described, and the transformation of the visual image were significantly more frequent in the main group.

Conclusions. The perception of music in improvisation with motor imitation is characterised by a greater emotional and personal involvement: the listener's attitude to music changes, as does their connection with and personal significance of the music they experience. The role of motor likeness in enabling the perception of intonational development in music is demonstrated. When participants who listened to music without movement listened to it again, the changes in their descriptions were mainly related to the transformation of visual images.