FINDING SELF IN SOUND: MUSIC IN THE PROCESS OF IDENTITY
FORMATION

By
Thomas J. Monahan IV., B.S.
The State University of New York at Fredonia

A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of
the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Communication
to the Office of Graduate and Extended Studies of
East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania

May 8, 2020

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ABSTRACT
A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the degree of Master of Arts in
Communication to the Office of Graduate and Extended Studies of East Stroudsburg University
of Pennsylvania
Student’s Name: Thomas Monahan
Title: Finding Self in Sound: Music in the Process of Identity Formation
Date of Graduation: May, 8 2020
Thesis Chair: Cem Zeytinoglu, Ph.D.
Thesis Member: Robert McKenzie, Ph.D.
Thesis Member: Paul Lippert, Ph.D.
Abstract
This thesis explores the ways in which music influences the process of identity formation.
This topic is significant for academic research because it helps to provide further detail to the
ways in which individuals use external resources to compose identity and ultimately understand
themselves. For many individuals, music can provide guidance through life, by joining
individuals together into social groups based around aesthetic tastes: from which values,
attitudes, and worldviews can then develop. To gain perspective on this process, data was
collected from eight participants by means of qualitative interview, and assessed using grounded
theory: where information was gathered, compared, and coded before producing an
interpretation. The results of data show that music informs identity by affirming self-image, and
promoting confidence, which in turn allows individuals to pursue identity goals. Implications
from this study suggest that the active processes of self-evaluation and identity work should be
investigated further by academics.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter One: Introduction
1. Statement of Problem………………………………………………………………….1
2. Research Question………………………………………………………………….....2
3. Significance of Study………………………………………………………………….2
4. Disciplinary Background of Study…………………………………………………....4
4.1 What is Grounded Theory?.........................................................................................6
4.2 Additional Methods of Data Gathering……………………………………………...7
4.3 Defining Key Terms…………………………………………………………………7
5. Summary of Chapters………………………………………………………………...11
Chapter Two: Literature Review
1. Introduction to Literature Review…………………………………………………....12
2. Theories of Self and Identity…………………………………………………………13
2.1 Developmental Psychology…………………………………………………………14
2.2 Concepts of Self-Identity in Social Psychology…………………………………….15
2.3 Conceptualizing Musical Identities………………………………………………....17
3. Cognitive Theories of Music…………………………………………………………18
3.1 Music and Cognitive Associations……………………………………………….....20
3.2 Music and Semantic Memory……………………………………………………....22
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4. Cultural Considerations…………………………………………………..…….…...24
4.1 Music as Ritual…………………………………………………………..…….…..24
4.2 Music and the Culture Industry………………………………………......…..…....27
4.3 Music as Socializer and Divider……………………………………...…....…....…29
5. Music and Emotion……………………………………………………...…...….….34
5.1 Music as a Function of Agency………………………………………..…...….......35
5.2 Music as Tension and Release………………………………………………...…...37
5.3 Affect Regulation Theories……………………………………………......….…...39
6. Philosophical Considerations……………………………………………............…..40
6.1 Music as Aesthetic Symbol: The “Illusion of Life” Perspective………….......…...41
6.2 Mood and Occasion: The Aesthetic Setting……………………………..........……44
6.3 Music as a Dynamic Symbol………………………………………….......…...…...45
7. Summary of Chapter Two………………………………………………...…...…….47
Chapter Three: Methodology
1. Summary of Chapter Literature Review……………………………………………..49
2. Expanding The Central Research Question………………………………………….50
3. Concept Design………………………………………………………………………53
3.1 A Case for Using Grounded Theory…………………………………...…………...54
3.2 Participants: Who are They and Why Were They Chosen?.......................................55
3.3 Ethical Proceedings…………………………………………………………………56
3.4 Background Information About Interview Participants…………………………….57
4. Limitations of Study……………………………………………………….…………61
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5. Summary of Chapter Three……………………………………………….……….….63
Chapter Four: Analysis
1. Introduction to Analysis Section………………………………………………….…..64
2. Initial Coding…………………………………………………………………………65
3. Intermediate Coding: Comparative Analysis………………………………………....66
3.1 Emotional Motivation………………………………………………………………..66
3.2 Social Connections and Memory………………………………………………….....68
3.3. Identification for the Sake of Self Improvement……………………………………68
3.4 Comparative Analysis: Expression, Articulation, and Authenticity………………...70
3.5 Summary of Categories……………………………………………………………...72
4. Intermediate Categories…………………………………………………………….....73
5. Advanced Coding: Weaving a Story Grounded in Data……………………………...74
6. Conclusions from Advanced Coding: Developing Grounded Theory………………..82
6.1 Clarifying Concepts: Control, Security, and Crisis………………………………….85
6.2 Proposing a Theory Grounded in Data………………………………………………87
7. Summary of Chapter Four…………………………………………………………….91
Chapter Five: Conclusion
1. Overview of Study…………………………………………………………………….93
2. Answering Sub-Questions from Research…………………………………………….94
3. Answering the Central Research Question……………………………………………98
4. Implications from Study……………………………………………………………....99
5. Limitations and Recommendations for Future Research……………………………..100
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6. Finding Self in Sound: Music in the Process of Identity Formation…………………100
References………………………………………………………………………………102
Appendixes
Appendix A: Recruitment Email………………………………………………………..109
Appendix B: Consent Forms…………………………………………………………....110
Appendix C: Interview Questions……………………………………………………....126
Appendix D: IRB Documentation……………………………………………………....130

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CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1. Statement of Problem
For much of its life as a subject of study, the medium of music has mostly been regarded
by academics as a cultural artifact designed mostly for aesthetic and entertainment purposes
(Baily, 2006). While this observation is correct, it overlooks much of what music has to offer as
a medium used for persuasion, enculturation, and identity formation (Baily, 2006). Music, as a
medium, is not new to the communication discipline and has received a fair amount of attention
by scholars in the past. However, only a handful of studies have attempted to understand how (or
why) people view themselves through music (DeNora, 2000). More specifically, the individual
uses of music to inform the process of identity formation have only been investigated in detail
by a relatively small number of authors in recent years (DeNora, 1999; Hargreaves et al., 2002;
Martin, 2006; Volgsten, 2006). For this reason, further research into the identity-forming effects
of music seems warranted.

1

2. Research Question
Scholars have long recognized the significance of music to cultural practices and the
processes of human ritual (Dissanayake, 2006). At present, there is a wealth of academic
literature written about the music’s social functions in the processes of in-grouping and
articulating collective values (Brown, & Volgsten, 2006). The significance of such research
cannot be understated, however, it can be criticized for painting an incomplete picture, by
leaving out much of what music means to individual conceptions of self-identity, or what it
means to view oneself as an in-group member. With this, the question can be formulated as
follows:

RQ: How are individual people using music to inform the process of identity formation?

3.

Significance of Study
In the modern (post-modern) landscape of the internet age—and more specifically in the

diverse, industrialized, democracy that is the United States— the topic of identity has become
increasingly more important in recent years. As Martin (2006) writes, “Given the erosion of
traditional institutions and the continuing dehumanization of work, it is increasingly only in their
so-called leisure time that young people have the chance to establish their sense of identity and
exercise their creative symbolic activities.” Such activities, continues Martin (2006), help
individuals to “make sense of their social worlds and their place[s] within it… in a world of
increasing insecurities” where “establishing and maintain[ing] a distinct sense of self, an identity
that, though constantly evolving, provides both psychological security and a sense of belonging
2

to a wider community.” To that point, establishing a personal identity is useful for individuals by
giving them confidence to act both as private agents and as citizens operating within a
democracy of disparate value systems, and often contradictory information.
For many, asserting identity is accomplished by articulating experiences symbolically,
through selections of cultural products such as music, TV shows, and clothing (Martin, 2006). In
choosing an identity there is both a sense of commitment and sacrifice: much like taking one
road over another. In this sense, selecting external symbols of identity both associates someone
with a particular culture and affirms their own beliefs and attitudes about themselves in the
present moment: as DeNora (1999) notes, identity is believed to be an ongoing process that
evolves with individuals over time; so for an individual to stake a claim to an identity, they are
essentially declaring themselves in the present to open up a pathway for relationships to develop
in the future (Crafts, 1993; Firth, 1996).
With the importance of identity in mind, the topic of music in identity becomes
significant for its potentials to increase self-awareness and conceptions of self within a larger
social context (Hargreaves, North, & Tarrant, 2002). For many, this may serve as a therapeutic
tool for coping, or resolving issues of isolation and identity crisis; while for others, music can be
viewed as a functional tool used to gain knowledge, socialize, and distinguish oneself from
others in larger social group (Sloboda, & Van Goethem, 2011).
In the past, music has largely been overlooked by scholars of communication for its
potential as a medium to create meaning, not just convey it, and act as a symbol of both group
and self-identity (Baily, 2006). With the exception of some studies, which have only just
emerged in recent years, music has mostly been written off as an artifact of culture—one that is
3

assumed to be severed from the audiences it reaches—making it able to be studied in isolation
(Hargreaves et al., 2002). The purpose of this study will be to investigate the reasons why
individuals use music a source for informing about identity, and also how individuals come to
view themselves after using music to inform about self.
To clarify, the objective of this study is not analyze the any specific messages found in
music, nor is it an attempt to encourage a greater appreciation of music as a style of art; rather,
the objective of this study is to determine why individuals turn to music as a tool for
understanding who they are. More precisely, what this study intends to do is discover why
individual people are viewing their selective listening habits and musical identities as important
features of themselves, and how they relate to others. In short, this study seeks to learn how
music might influence self-conception (i.e. self-identity).

4. Disciplinary Background of Study
As some may note, the discipline of communication has long faced its own issues with
asserting its identity within the social sciences. Scholars and students alike will likely agree that
most outside of the field have a hard time discerning the subject from other disciplines like
psychology, anthropology, or linguistics. With this, it seems only relevant to bring the topic of
identity formation full circle, so that those within the discipline can examine what it means to be
within it from the inside: much like an auto-ethnographic study.
Music, in particular, is arguably an ideal artifact for reflection upon several issues
concerning identity: What does it mean to be a part of something? What does it mean to be

4

unique? How does one articulate themselves with accuracy and with confidence? Or— to
paraphrase Martin Buber— how can one become found in their experience and lost in it at the
same time? (Buber, 2014). These are questions that can only be asked from personal experience
as it is lived in everyday life. For this reason, taking an ethnographic approach to understanding
the connection between music and identity is likely the best way to provide a clear picture of the
process in real time.
In the past, ethnomusicology has been the approach that numerous researchers have taken
to learn how music is actively used to communicate the experience of identity in process (Brown,
2006). Authors such as Simon Firth (1996), Susanne Crafts (1993), Alan Merriam (1960), and
Tia DeNora (2000) have attempted to highlight various perspectives on music as it is viewed
from different cultures: by gathering information through interviews, observations, and active
participation in activities with local people. Through this approach— of gathering knowledge
through literature analysis, and micro-ethnographic research—the intersections among music,
communication, and identity can be explored more fully, and situated within the academic
frameworks of the communication studies.
For the purposes of this study in particular, the focus will be on how individual people
use music to construct themselves and interpret their experiences of the world in meaningful
ways. Clearly, people share different views on music—just as they may hold differing views
about the world—it is for this reason that this study will be approached using a grounded theory
of analysis: so as not to try and force all of the findings into the framework of a single
hegemonic perspective. Grounded theory is a popular methodology used in ethnographic studies,
and it has often been cited for the rigor (Glaser, & Strauss, 2017). In short, it is a systematic
5

method of categorizing similarities found throughout research, generating ideas about them, and
then refining concepts, so as to produce a theory about the information found in the data (Glaser,
& Strauss, 2017).

4.1 What is Grounded Theory?
When conducting research using grounded theory, the following few stages are
traditionally undertaken in the process: first, data is collected (in the case of this study, it will be
collected by means of qualitative interview); second, relevant concepts are selected from the
initial data set, and labeled as concept codes; throughout the entirety of the process, data is
continuously compared to existing research found throughout the literature, and refined into
concept categories (first into initial categories in the intermediate stage of coding, and then again
into categories in the advanced stage of coding); lastly, the refined codes will be used to propose
either a theory or observation about the subject of analysis (Glaser, & Strauss, 2017).
In short, grounded theory is a lesser-formalized way of gathering information. According
to The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research (Glaser, & Strauss,
2017), a grounded theory is made by collecting data, through various means, and codifying
whatever themes or ideas happen to repeat themselves. The relevant information that is collected
is gathered and separated into groups of concept categories. From there, either an observation or
a theory can be proposed about the data. This then can be considered an inductive approach to
performing research, and thus will necessitate an inductive way of discussing the findings.

6

4.2 Additional Methods of Data Gathering
Since the focus of this study in particular is concerned with the perspectives that
individual people have about music and their social worlds, individual people will be asked for
their perspectives to bring diversity and authenticity to the forthcoming thesis, research, and
discussion. To accomplish this objective, willing participants will be asked to discuss their
perspectives and relationships to music in a qualitative interview with the paper’s author. Ideally,
this will provide details about the impacts of music on identity formation and shed light on the
ways that music can rhetorically impact someone’s life.

4.3 Defining Key Terms
In grounded theory, in-person (ethnographic) observations and qualitative interviews are
used as the primary methods of collecting data (Glaser, & Strauss, 2017). However, to support
observations, and build a theoretical background, any information gathered through qualitative
efforts must be both compared and analyzed against existing research on the subject: written by
accredited sources; this is believed to stimulate ideas for potential hypothesis, and additionally
provide a basis for initial codes and concept categories.
In the case of the present study, the following key definitions are among some of the
most prevalent ideas and relevant themes which appear throughout much of the existing
literature: written by psychologists, and ethnomusicologists about the topic of music and identity
formation. These definitions will become more relevant in the methodology, and discussion
chapters of this study: as they will be used, later on, in the process of coding.

7

•

Emotion. According to Sonoma.edu (2009), emotion is an “affective state of
consciousness, often accompanied by physiological changes, to be distinguished from
cognitive and volitional (willing and intending) states of consciousness” (para 1).

•

Expression. According to Standford.edu (2016), expression is “a form of

communication between one ‘speaker’ and a community of speakers…it impresses
upon someone…the existence of something existing in the logical world…an attitude,
emotion, or idea.”

•

Genre. According to Foss (2016), genre is defined as “a distinct group, type, class, or
category of artifacts that share important characteristics that differentiate it from other
groups” (p 412). In the case of this thesis, genre will be used specifically to refer to
different categories of music.

•

Affect. As defined in the glossary provided by washington.edu (2007), affect is “an
immediately expressed and observed emotion”; furthermore, “a feeling state becomes an
affect when it is observable, for example, as overall demeanor or tone and modulation of
voice.”

•

Mood. According to the book Mood: The frame of mind by Willaim Morris (2012),
“moods are typically less intense affective states and are thought to be involved in the
8

instigation of self-regulatory processes…moods act quite literally as the frame of mind”;
Morris also notes that “when not in focal attention, mood is the formless backdrop
against which we experience events…influencing what we remember in the past,
perceive in the present, and expect in the future” (Morris, 2012, p 6)

•

Self-identity. According to the definition provided by Hargreaves et al. (2002), selfidentity is “the overall view that we have of ourselves…in which different self-concepts
are integrated.” Additionally, they write, “self-identity consists of self-image…selfesteem” and the “images of the ideal self” (Hargreaves et al., 2002, p 7).

•

Self-image. According to Hargreaves et at. (2002), “self-image includes aspects of
personality style, appearance, and the social roles that we play”; additionally, they note
that “our basis of self-image is built up from past experiences and what we would like to
do with our ideal self-image” (Hargreaves, et al., 2002, p 8).

•

Self-esteem. As noted by Hargreaves et al. (2002) self-esteem is the evaluative
component of the self, and has both cognitive and emotional aspects” (p 8). In short, it is
“how worthy we think, and feel we are” (Hargreaves et al., 2002, p8).

•

Ideal Self. According to Hargreaves et at. (2002), the ideal self can be conceptualized as
“the self we would like to become” or simply “what we would like to do with our
behavior” (p 8).
9

•

Agency. According to Standford. Edu (2020), agency can be defined as “the capacity of a
being to act intentionally.” In this view, “a being has the capacity to exercise agency just
in case it has the capacity to act intentionally, and the exercise of agency consists in the
performance of intentional actions.”

•

Individual. As defined by Stanford.edu (2009), “an individual represents a single unit in

a homogenous set, interchangeable with any other member of the set, whereas
a person is characterized by his uniqueness and irreplaceability,” and adding that
“every human person is first an individual.”

•

Taste Group. According to Ollivier and Fridmen (2020), “taste refers both to feelings of
pleasure one experiences when confronted with beautiful objects and intrinsic standards
of beauty embodied in those objects.” To that point, a taste group can then be
conceptualized as a group of people “that share similar values and aesthetic standards”
(Fridmen, & Ollivier, 2020).

10

5. Summary of Chapters
In Chapter One, the social and psychological significance of asserting one’s identity was
touched upon briefly, and the idea that music can have both therapeutic and symbolic properties
was also introduced. Concepts from the first chapter will be expanded upon further in the
Chapter Two of this paper— where the most prominent theories of musical identities and music
as communication will be summarized—in the form of a literature review section. After that,
Chapter Three will provide an overview of the methodology of this study, which included
gathering information from participants through qualitative interview, mining for data, and
coding responses; Chapter Three will also discuss how the central research question was divided
into sub-questions, and the necessity of narrowing the study’s scope of focus. The processes of
analyzing participant responses will then be discussed in Chapter Four, where a grounded theory
will be proposed. Lastly, Chapter Five of this paper will formulate a conclusion for the central
research question and discuss the implications of this study.

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CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
1. Introduction to Literature Review Section
In this chapter, some of the most cited theories of music and identity formation will be
discussed. Additionally, the topic of musical identities will also be introduced, and explained for
its relevance in the process of identity formation, overall. As the preceding theories and authors
will eventually come to clarify, music is used to connect and distinguish individuals within
cultures, thus making it a topic of sociological concern. Specifically, music is viewed by
sociologists as a device used for enculturation, ritual, in-grouping, and transferring knowledge
(Brown, & Volgsten, 2006). Many of these activities are processed primarily at a cognitive level,
but can also be experienced as physiological, emotional, events (Juslin, 2013). Given that an
individual’s self-concept, and presentation self to others, is shaped through the (cognitive, social,
and emotional) domains of identity, they will be touched upon briefly in the literature, alongside
philosophical considerations of why particular circumstantial combinations are so influential to
people during moments of crisis, experienced throughout the various stages of development
12

(Hargreaves et al., 2002). The literature discussed in this chapter will be used to help generate
further questions that can be used to support the grounded theory.

2. Theories of Self and Identity
To scholars of communication, the source of a rhetorical message is considered highly
important to an audience’s interpretation of its meaning (Foss, 2016). The “ethos,” reputation or
credibility of a message sender, is widely viewed by receivers as a way to confirm the validity,
ethics, and intentions of either a persuasive claim or actor (Anderson et al. 2004). For this reason,
the matter of social selves and self-identities becomes relevant to the discipline of
communication: for the development of a self, identity, or persona is essentially related to the
social process of symbolic exchange, and communicative effectiveness overall (Anderson et al.
2004).
As William James once noted (as cited in Hargreaves et al., 2002, p 7), “the self is the
most puzzling puzzle with which psychology has to deal.” At present, the fields of psychology,
sociology, and philosophy have produced a great deal of literature attempting to unravel the
concept of self and identity formation (Volgsten, 2006). Some of the most respected authors on
the subject agree that the concept of a self-identity is actually an ongoing process, which
develops over the course of an individual person’s lifetime. Among those authors include
psychologists such as Erikson (1968), and Marcia (1966)— and sociologists such as Henri Tajfel
(1978), and George Herbert Mead. Their theories will be described briefly so as to build context
for discussions of later theories positing identity formation through music, and the development
of musical identities (Hargreaves et al, 2002).
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2.1 Developmental Psychology
The concept of identity formation is believed to be an ongoing process; thus, making it a
concern for developmental psychology (Hargreaves et al., 2002). Some of the most respected
theories of the self and identity formation were proposed by pioneering adolescent-learning
specialists: two of the most important being the French psychologist, James Marcia (1966), and
Erik Erikson (1968). Despite some minor differences in their proposed stages of identity
development, both theorists thought that the self existed in a perpetual state of crisis,
which would motivate the need for assurance, exploration, evaluation, reinvention, and
interpretation (Hargreaves et al. 2002).
In Erikson’s version of the identity formation process, individuals must confront and
resolve different developmental crises that arise at certain points during their lifetime; this must
be done in order to progress to later stages in the identity process (Hargreaves et al. 2002).
Erikson also believed that this process consisted of several essential stages of development:
starting from infancy, where individuals must first learn to trust in others and become aware of
their own bodies—followed by a period of adolescence, where individuals attempt to an answer
the question “who am I?” and also search for love—and eventually ending in either a state of
despair or detached concern for others, towards the end of life (Hargreaves et al. 2002).
Adding onto Erikson’s stages of development is Marcia’s theory of identity formation,
which contends that individual identities are primarily formed through a series of consciously
made choices about political, occupational, sexual, and religious preference; consequently,
placing emphasis on an extended period of exploration, testing, and eventual commitment to an
14

idea of self (Hargreaves et al., 2002). In Marcia’s theory, an individual can be conceived of as
existing in one of four conditional states: “diffusion,” which is the absence of commitment to a
particular identity; “foreclosure,” where the individual accepts traditional roles and values
prescribed by the parents; “moratorium,” a state where the individual explores different identities
and delays commitment; and “achievement,” a status following the resolution of an identity crisis
(Hargreaves et al., 2002).

2.2 Concepts of Self-Identity in Social Psychology
Adding to the views of developmental psychologists, many theorists of sociology posit
that the self can only develop as a result of social interactions. One popular explanation for the
development of self is provided in Henri Tajfel’s social identity theory. As the theory goes (as
cited in Hogg, 2016, p 4), individuals (with independent conceptions of identity) will categorize
themselves and other people into social groups based upon perceived similarities. The group that
the individual identifies with becomes known to them as the “in-group,” and the groups that are
viewed to be dissimilar become labeled as “out-groups” (Hogg, 2016). Individuals will then
compare their personalities and idiosyncrasies to other members of their in-group and conceive
of a personalized sense of identity.
According to Tarrant, North, and Hargreaves (2002), what is arguably most significant
about Tajfel’s theory is that it identifies the generalized treatment of non-similar (non in-group)
group members. As they observed in a case study, seemingly arbitrary qualities like music taste
are enough to induce social categorizing. In their report, Tarrant, North, and Hargreaves (2002)
note in a study where 124 British adolescents were asked to evaluate the personalities of fictional
15

students, based only on their tastes in music, the majority of evaluators ascribed those whose
tastes were associated with genres such as pop and rap with more positive descriptions than those
who liked other styles (such as classical, folk, or country) (Hargreaves, North, & Tarrant, 2002, p
140).
A second widely respected theory of identity formation, used by sociologists, is the
behaviorists’ notion of symbolic internationalism, posed by George Herbert Mead. In this view,
humans create symbolic worlds through their speech and constitute their understandings of
reality through communicative exchanges and interactions (Hamlin, 2001). In this perspective,
human perceptions are largely filtered by language labels, culturally understood meanings, and
social constructions: making interactions with both perceptual and environment phenomena
share a type of subject-to-concept object type of relationship. Moreover, this view also contends
that the internal dialogue shared between the subjective observer “I” and the objective, physical
body, “me” is symbolically constituted as well (Hamlin, 2001).
Arguably, writes Hargreaves et al. (2002), what is most important about symbolic
internationalism is the distinction that is makes between the personal and social aspects of the
self: conceived of as the “I” and the “me.” Additionally, a second significant feature of this
theory is the necessity for socially observed concept-objects to negotiate the production of
meaning for individuals (Hamlin, 2001). In other words, the requirement for there to be outside
(objective) objects to influence the internal self means that the self can only exist and develop the
“me” by repurposing objects in its environment into symbols to reflect the “I”: the immediate
notion of personal identity that is felt at a given time.

16

2.3 Conceptualizing Musical Identities
In the past, music was used primarily for socializing activities: designed to promote
bonding, transfer knowledge, and to create and record the legacy of either a particular tribe or
figure (Kamien, 2007; Merriam, 1960). For much of history, the songs of a particular tribe or
clan were known only to the members of the group that made it: up until the beginning of the
20th century, following the invention of the radio, and the development of mass society
(Kamien, 2007). As technology and globalization helped advanced the diffusion of cultures, the
ideas of traditional tribal communities had all but vanished from the civilized world— leaving
the individual to selectively identify songs that can help to create his own social formations and
assemble a personalized sense of self-identity: this construction of self through selective musical
preferences is what can be known as a musical identity (Hargreaves et al. 2002).
To the minds of theorists, musical identities can be conceptualized as the degree to which
individuals use music to define themselves and guide their decisions about behavior (Hargreaves
et al., 2002). Other factors such as time and circumstances can also play a significant hand in
influencing these decisions. The influences of music are believed to be limited to a certain
extent: namely the extent to which an individual seeks to engage and allow music to regulate
their moods and decisions. In general, it is believed that music can have influence over people to
varying degrees— marked along a continuum of engagement running from low to high—such
influences can either be transitory in nature, or profound, depending on the occasion and the
person listening (Hargreaves et al., 2002). Those that tend to engage highly with music are more
likely to view it in relation to their overall core conception of self.

17

Those who seek out music often tend to do so for a reason: to fulfill a purpose. With this,
music can be said to serve a particular function for those who attempt to listen and play. As
Tarrant, North, and Hargreaves (2002) note, “the functions of music fall into three broad
categories... the cognitive, the emotional, and the social” (p 5). As such, literature from all three
categories will be reviewed to order to build context for a discussion of music and identity
formation.

3. Cognitive Theories of Music
Identity, in essence, can be described as a formative process. As circumstances change,
people will adapt, and their identities will change to suit the new conditions of their
environments. Such adaptations can only be described as evolutionary in nature and
developmental overall; however, more appropriately, it could be said that life is a process of
learning. Such is the focus of cognitive theories of music, which examine topics such as memory,
attention, creativity, and “musical learning.” As DeNora (1999) notes, “Music provides
respondents with a scaffolding for self-constitution” (p 31): a process that is performed mostly
through associations, which, many psychologists believe, begin to take place not long after birth
(Brown, 2006; Hargreaves et al, 2002; Volgsten, 2006).
As Hargreaves et al. (2002) note, “The central subject matter of the developmental
psychology of music is the description and explanation of concerns of the patterns of age-related
changes that occur across the life span in various aspects of musical behavior.” Remarkably,
scholars on the subject have determined that early communication shared between mothers and
infants is interpreted primarily as a musical experience by the child, due to its lack of linguistic
18

knowledge. As Volgsten (2006) explains, infants initially learn to associate togetherness with
parents through affect attunement. Volgsten elaborates:

In

affect

attunement,

more

or

less,

unconscious

communicative behavior depends on the amodal similarities
between the infant’s behavior and the parent’s…the parent attunes
to the child’s activities, not by imitation, but by performing an
analogous action that retains the amodal properties of the original
action. The attuning activity of the parent shares with the child’s
activity the underlying affective contour. Both are similar to the
respective agents with regard to the amodal qualities of shape,
rhythm, and intensity. (p 24)

From this, it can be recognized that some of the earliest cognitive developments and
associations are established by children through musical learning and play. Additionally, it
should be noted that the meanings babies learn to associate with various affective qualities (such
as intensity, or rhythm) during early childhood are mutually constructed through social
interactions with parents.
As Volgsten (2006) explains it, once socially constructed meanings become established,
interactions between parents and children become purposeful and “develop into a narrative-like
structure of before and after”; additionally, he adds that, at this stage, children learn to become

19

aware of their own autonomy and subjective movements— and also develop feelings of
intentionality, desire, and motivation (Volgsten, 2006). This, then, can be regarded as the
foundation for the forming of musical self-identities: for identities can only be established
through learning one’s own position in relation to a social other (Hargreaves et al., 2002, p 6).

3.1 Music and Cognitive Associations
As one might argue, the process of learning can otherwise be interpreted as the process of
association: for only through exposure can individuals acquire information about something and
associate it with either a function or feeling. With this, complex cognitive associations (such as
the recreation of a scene from memory) can be accessed heuristically through the use of signsignifier or symbol as a type of mnemonic device. As cognitive theorists would contend, mental
landmarks are a common method used to travel through memory, and develop a sense of
continuity for personal narratives of self (Corrigall et al., 2013). Cognitive theorists working
specifically with music note that this is largely the case exemplified by feelings of nostalgia,
when one hears a song associated with either their childhood or past. (DeNora, 1999; George et
al., 2007).
In an article describing the persuasive nature of commercial-jingle music, North and
Hargreaves (2006) explain that “the mind is comprised of densely interconnected cognitive units,
such that a specific piece of music can activate superordinate knowledge structures” (p 105).
From this, there logic can be easily understood when one thinks of their favorite music, which, in
turn, might be associated with the artist that produced it, as well as their style, genre, instrument,
etc. The same can effectively be said of memories: once music becomes associated with either an
20

image or sensational feeling, it will be remembered—especially if repetition is involved; think of
the movie Jaws and the characters iconic two note theme song—how the music always plays
when he enters the scene, and at no other time (Spielberg, 1975).
Once reason for music’s peculiar ability to evoke memories from people, North and
Hargreaves (2004) argue, is that it possesses the potential to arouse. Studies from neuroscience
have shown that music produces the chemical dopamine in the brain, which is largely
responsible for sensations of pleasure and exhilaration (Berridge, & Kringelbach, 2013; Koelsch,
2010). Adding to this, Daniel Berlyne (as cited in Hargreaves, & North, 2006, p105) notes that
“the stimulus variables that mediate arousal fall into three categories”: ecological,
psychophysical, and collative.
To elaborate: ecological variables are associations between stimuli and biological events;
psychophysical variables are intrinsic physical properties that can be identified in a stimulus,
such as in the case of a songs volume or tempo; and lastly, collative variables are the degree of
novelty or familiarity found in an experience. To this point, North and Hargreaves (2006) state
that “all three classes of variable identified by Berlyne can have a direct influence on activity in
the human nervous system” (p 105); to that they add that “Whenever a piece of music varies in
terms of tempo, volume, complexity, or familiarity, for example, it influences the degree of
arousal in the listener’s automatic nervous system” (North, & Hargreaves, 2006, 105). As such,
arousal can be noted as having direct influence over attentiveness, liking, and retaining moments
of high arousal in memory: which would explain why music can be associated with certain
memories, and emotions can be evoked from listening to a song.

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3.2 Music and Semantic Memory
Over the course of the past decade, some of the most prominent cognitive theories of
music have attempted to explain some of the more complex cognitive structures involved in the
identity formation: such as political views, religious beliefs, and ideological standpoints. Mostly,
theorists have attempted to use linguistic theories to explain certain positions on issues, and
assert that these are related to semantic memory (Brown, 2006; Juslin, & Luakka, 2003;
Volgsten, 2006). In this line of thinking, music is believed to play a hand in knowledge
activation—both of episodic memories, as North and Hargreaves (2006) already mentioned, and
of declarative memories which recall more descriptive information: such as facts, ideas, or
concepts.
Naturally, the first assumption of linguists is that music is related to language. As Juslin
and Timmers (2004) note, music can essentially be conceived of linguistically because of its
inherent feel of having a grammar and syntax. Moreover, all forms of vocalization essentially
share the qualities of possessing a contour, amplitude, and intensity—as well as other dimensions
such as pitch, rhythm, and duration (Juslin, & Luakka, 2003). Theorists taking this approach to
identity formation generally think that music is accompanied by verbal discourse, discussing its
qualities and aesthetics: this is then assumed to cause divisions of opinion and create “taste
groups,” and even subcultures in extreme cases (Feld, & Fox, 1994; Martin, 2006; Volgsten,
2006). Such discourses, of course, are learned over time through exposure, and are believed to be
be accessed heuristically and strengthened with repetition (Juslin, & Timmers, 2010; Volgsten,
2006).

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In his essay, Between Ideology and Identity, Volgsten (2006) makes a particularly
persuasive case for combining the early-developmental theories of mother-child communication
with later linguistic theories about musical discourse. He claims that by viewing these two
theories together, scholars should be able to identify the basic formative processes that influence
the creation of musical identities; Volgsten (2006) articulates this point in the following passage:

Music discourses that the listener has already internalized,
or comes to internalize, as part of his or her world view. These verbal
discourses transform musical sound making from a merely social
phenomenon into an ideological one in that they sanction certain
kinds of actions at the expense of others. (p 75).

In this way, Volgsten adds to the argument proposed by Daniel Berlyne, and cited by
North and Hargreaves (2006): that music activates knowledge stored in memory. More
specifically, what is significant about Volgsten’s assertion is that he claims that music
precipitates memories about the particular verbal discourses which surround it— which, as other
authors will show, can be greatly beneficial for advertisers and certain cultural ideologies.
Although, in general, as Volgsten notes, “Any or all of a discourse’s content may become part of
the musical experience,” and furthermore, “any discourse related to music…prescribes a way of
hearing that music, and musical culture is a way or set of ways of doing this” (Volgsten 2006,
87).

23

4. Cultural Considerations
As scholars of anthropology will note, music is an artifact that is situated in culture
(Dissanayake, 2006; Merriam, 1960; Nettl, 2010). To a certain extent, music can also be
regarded as a reproduction of culture— since it is created by people within it. In this way,
musical identities can primarily be conceived of as identities that are first formed in cultures—
and are thus subject to all of the interworking forces that operate within them. In this section, the
social and societal aspects that can influence the formation of musical identities will be
discussed. As such, this section will be divided into three parts, and address three central topics:
music as ritual, music and the culture industry, and music as both a socializer and divider.

4.1 Music as Ritual
In the literature of ethnomusicologists, one of the most frequently repeated themes in the
discipline is the idea that music is primarily designed to serve a social function (Firth, 1999;
Craft, 1993; Merriam, 1960; Nettl, 2010). Sociologists and critical scholars both agree with this
basic premise— and likewise assert the socializing and enculturating dimensions of music are
among its most important functions (Brown, 2006; Martin, 2006). Adding to the views of
cultural theorists, Dissanayake (2006) takes the premise of music as a socializing activity one
step further, by contending that music is actually an evolutionary adaption used to fulfill the
biological need for ritual communication: a process she claims is integral to both the physical
and psychological development of groups and individual persons.
As Dissanayake (2006) notes, a ritual can be understood as the formalization of ordinary
behaviors through the processes of selection, exaggeration, and emphasis (p 36). Typically, this
24

type of action is performed to imbue a certain behavioral gesture with social significance, for the
purposes of gaining attention and communicating intent (Dissanayake, 2006, 48). As such, music
is believed to be associated with ritual because it is can be regarded as an exaggerated action—
emphasizing elements of pitch, volume, and rhythmic timing—performed to signify the
importance of a particular event or occasion (Dissanayake, 2006, 49).
In her essay titled Ritual and Ritualization, Dissanayake (2006) explains that the ritual
activities performed by both human beings and animals are similar as they are primarily
conducted for the same reasons. She elaborates this point by noting that “ritualized behaviors in
animals, which have evolved because they contribute to individual survival and inclusive fitness,
occur in biologically important contexts,” and adds that “human rituals occur in similar if not
always identical circumstances” (Dissanayake, 2006, p 43). In both cases, she argues, ritual
behaviors occur for one of several given reasons: facilitating courtship, channeling aggressions,
relieving anxiety, displaying resources, maintaining social identity, or promoting in-group
bonding and cooperation (Dissanayake, 2006, p 44).
For much of human history, music was ritually performed during ceremonies— such as
weddings, funerals, or solar eclipses— and was a collaborative activity carried out by the entirety
of the social group or tribe (Nettl, 2010, p 34). Participation in such activities was typically a
way to affirm collective unity and to solidify one’s membership status with the social group. As
Dissanayake (2006) notes, “All rituals serve to maintain the well-being of the society and its
individuals, because they join individuals together for a common cause” (p 49). Martin (2006)
adds on to this point, by noting that ritual group activity is still performed in subcultures and
taste groups to this day.
25

In his essay titled Music, Identity, and Social Control, Martin (2006) gives detail to the
process of formalized group ritual by describing how they are undertaken by subcultures in
modern day. He writes, in an example, that “the symphony concert is indeed a ritual…it is a
celebration, undertaken not fully aware, of the shared mythology and values of a certain group
within a deeply fragmented society” (Martin, 2006, p 58). Adding to this point, he also cites
Thorton’s (1995) study of “club cultures,” noting that “young people’s attendance—carefully
dressed—at ‘alternative’ club venues is an important means by which they assert their
independence from mainstream culture…thus acquiring ‘subcultural’ capital” (Martin, 2006, p
58).
However, above all its other functions, Dissanayake (2006) claims, music and ceremonial
rituals are most important for their abilities to psychologically influence emotions. As she notes,
music and ritual contain a certain emotional trajectory, where formalized behaviors become
expectancies, or “anticipatory tensions,” which can only be resolved through a finalized gesture,
signaling an end to the intensified period, and causing “release” (Dissanayake, 2006, p 41). In
this way, she notes, “Music in ceremonial rituals can be considered as a deliberate cultural
formalization, repetition, exaggeration, and elaboration of evolved sensitivities to vocal-gestural
features that in their evolutionary origins conveyed emotional messages between the mothers and
infants” (Dissanayake, 2006, p 43; Volgsten, 2006).
Interestingly, as Dissanayake (2006) notes, mother-infant interaction itself can be
conceived of as a biologically ritualized behavior, “where visual, vocal, and kinetic
expressions…are simplified, stereotyped, repeated, and exaggerated in order to temporally
coordinate and emotionally unite the mother-infant pair” (p 37). As Volgsten (2006) would note,
26

such rituals can be recognized as a form of “affect attunement”: a state characterized by the
“analogous translation from perception of another person’s behavior into feelings through the
transmutation from perceptions of timing, intensity and shape” (p 79). In this way, then, music as
a ritual is performed to structure emotions, so that individuals and groups can appropriately “go
through the motions of feeling” as they progress through life (Dissanayake, 2006, p 37).

4.2 Music and the Culture Industry
In the views of many ethnomusicologists, music can rightfully be considered as culture.
In this perspective, which was initially posed by the anthropologist and theorist, Alan Merriam
(1960), “What musicians do is society” (p 1): since the production of music promotes cohesion,
dampens inter-group conflicts, and provides both groups and individuals with symbols of
identity and self (DeNora, 1999; Nettl, 2010). For this reason, the social control and production
of a culture’s music can be considered as an important means for regulating the general discourse
and ethos of a given society (Interestingly, the word “ethos” was also used by the ancient Greeks
to refer to the powers of music to influence the public’s emotions, behaviors, and morals)
(Cloonan et al., 2006, 240).
Since music is important for groups— and thus also important for both cultures and
societies— its production is often highly regulated by the values, priorities, and conventional
aesthetic standards of a given community or culture (Brown, 2006; Volgsten, 2006; Cloonan et
al., 2006). As a result, culture becomes highly influential in shaping the aesthetic preferences and
responses of those within social groups. The effects of this on society, in general, are substantial,
considering the associative frames and verbal discourses that can
27

become activated from semantic memory upon hearing music— making it particularly useful for
delivering propagandistic messages (Juslin, & Timmers, 2010; Volgsten, 2006).
The social control music was of a particular interest to the critical scholar, Theodor
Adorno (2002), who contended that the purpose of what he referred to as “the culture industry,”
the producers of media (such as popular magazines, movies, and music), was to distract the
public from their overall economic conditions and promote passiveness. As he
viewed it, the industries of mass (capitalistic) society only produce simplistic, formulaic,
commodities marketed as culture for the sake of promoting consumption and dominant, colonial,
ideologies (Adorno, & Horkheimer, 2002). To him, standardized products such as “pop music”
were largely used to promote conformity, and manipulate the public into obeying the status quo,
thus affirming the values and normative patterns of mass society (Martin, 2006).
Additionally, in an extended version of Adorno’s theory, cited from the Dialectic of
Enlightenment, and described by Peter Martin (2006), the culture industry also offers the masses
an “illusion of choice,” by allowing them to select from a fixed number of products regulated by
a limited number of suppliers (p 60). In this way, cultural products can be viewed as more-or-less
interchangeable, giving the consumer a feeling of “pseudo-individualism” based on spending
patterns (Martin, 2006, p 71). Adorno blames this false sense of autonomy on the culture
industry’s “manipulation of tastes,” which make apparent the consumer’s objective
circumstances set in reality, thus appealing to each person in a unique and individualized way
(Adorno, & Horkheimer, 2002; Martin, 2006, p 61).
In his proposed pragmatic theory of musical communication, Brown (2006) suggests that
that Adorno’s notions of manipulation by the cultural industry should be kept in mind when
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considering the persuasive nature of music to promote in-grouping. As Brown (2006) sees it,
large-scale democratic societies are essentially stratified societies, based around hierarchy, where
political control over economic resources is largely a matter of popular support for certain
legislature. In his view, music is primarily used to manipulate individuals into forming identities
based around social categories (such as age, race, ethnicity, gender, class, and sexual
orientation); he contends that this is done so as to create interest groups that can be used to
influence decisions over public policy (Brown, 2006, p 12).
To Brown (2006), just as with Horkheimer and Adorno (2002), the dynamic of ingrouping and the enculturation— propagated through music, and promoted by political agents
and the culture industry, for ideological reasons— is used to promote conflict and social division.
In essence, this is achieved by controlling the products of culture: such as music and the visual
arts, exploiting both the artists and consumers in the process. For this reason, he asserts, the
musical sender (not the artist who makes the music, but the controller of the means of audio
production and circulation), should be taken into consideration when assessing the sociological
forces that are involved in the formation of identity and sense of self (Brown, 2006).

4.3 Music as Socializer and Divider
As the ethnomusicologist, Simon Firth, once wrote (as cited in Hargreaves, North, &
Tarrant, 2002, p 13) “The ways in which humans view themselves in relation to their culturally
defined roles is at the heart of our identities in music.” Martin (2006) adds on to this statement,
by noting that human identities are always bound to the contexts in which they are situated:
meaning individuals must define their identities in relation to the norms of their parent culture. In
29

this sense, then, musical identities should not be conceptualized as forming in isolation away
from their social contexts—but rather, should be conceived of as identities that are set in and
against the popular music of the culture in which they are found (Hargreaves, et al., 2002).
To this point, Hargreaves, et al. (2002) offer up the following thoughts on the relationship
shared between context, culture, and identity formation in their book, titled Musical Identities:

Children’s development of musical identities, which have
their origins in biological predispositions towards musicality, are
shaped by the individual groups and social institutions that they
encounter in their everyday lives. These form an integral part of
those identities rather than merely providing the framework or
context within which they develop, and this perspective enables us
to explain identities in music and music in identities. (p 7)

In general, culture can arguably be regarded as perhaps the greatest influencer on ideas
such as self-conception and appraisal— and individual identity formation— by playing a major
role in defining where an individual may feel as though they might belong. Additionally, the
opportunities afforded through certain situational circumstances, and the overall treatment of self
by others will also come to impact one’s own sense of identity and self performance.
As Crafts (1999) notes, some dimensions of character such as an individual’s racial,
spiritual, or gender identity will likely come to influence their core conception of self as they
relate to others, and thus come to define how they view their place within society and culture.
30

For this reason, music that can unite and describe the experiences of one fragment of society may
not be able to equally do the same for others; as feminist ethno-music scholars, such as Ellen
Koskoff, have observed: “Many societies similarly divide musical activity into two spheres that
are consistent with other symbolic dualisms,” designating specific music for men and women (p
9).
In his description of Tajfel’s theory of social categorization, Hogg (2016) explains that
cultures are defined both by their practices and their boundaries. The ethnomusicologist, Bruno
Nettl (2010), also echoed this point, when he noted that “the uniqueness of musical style and
incompatibility with the music of neighbors is an important feature of music as a marker of a
group’s identity” (p 50). By this logic, then, the act of identity formation is essentially also an act
of exclusion, where an individual agrees to take on the values, attitudes, and standards observed
by a particular social group. Strachan (2006) identifies this as a discursive way of enculturating
individuals into a particular viewpoint: providing them with a distinctive frame of references and
knowledge through which they can view the world.
Firth (1996) expresses this point nicely in a quote from his article titled Music and
Identity, written in Questions of Culture, where he suggests that “Music constructs our sense of
identity through the direct experiences it offers to the body, time and sociability, experiences
which enable us to place ourselves in imaginative cultural narratives” (p 109). No place is this
more evident, argues Brown (2006), than in the deeply fragmented postmodern society of
subcultures found in the United States (for the overall sake of convenience and saving space, the
terms “subculture” and “taste group” will heretofore be used interchangeably to refer to people
that share a common affinity for certain genres of music).
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In societies with diverse heterogeneous populations, separations of persons based on
musical tastes can be conceptualized as people associating themselves with the images and
lifestyles depicted by certain genres of music: these are often referred to as “taste groups,” which
are essentially subcultures found within greater cultural categories such as race, gender, or
ethnicity (Brown, 2006). As Binder (1993) notes, every musical genre can essentially be
associated with a certain type of stereotypical listener: such as the stoner reggae fan, the highbrow jazz listener, and the tattooed punk. Studies have indicated that even school-age children
(ranging from 12 to 14 years of age) tend to associate the same stereotypical images of the
aforementioned social categories with particular genre styles (Hargreaves, North, & Tarrant,
2002, p 139).
One explanation for “musical stereotyping,” explains Hargreaves, North, and Tarrant
(2002), might lie in Kelly’s (1950) “meta-information model”: where people are believed to form
character judgments based on trait information. Other theorists also contend that such
conclusions could be the results of cognitive associations made through previous interactions or
from exposure through media such as television or film (Strachan, 2006; Tagg, 2006). In general,
however, most people are aware of the social associations that come with certain styles of music
(Binder, 1993).
As Firth notes (as cited in Martin, 2006, p 63),

The issue is not how a particular piece of music reflects the people,
but how it produces them, how it creates and constructs an experience—a

32

musical experience, an aesthetic experience—that we can only make sense
of by taking on both a subjective and a collective identity. (p 63)

In this way, individuals associated with taste groups take on a collectively shared identity with a
particular subculture (such as “bass chasers,” or Bruce Springsteen fans) which is primarily
structured around music preference. Unlike the traditional view of subcultures, where groups are
envisioned as effective neotribes with formal boundaries, recent sociological scholarship has
adopted a looser view of subcultural taste groups, which are now believed to be defined by active
participation and fluid boundaries (Martin, 2006; Thorton, 1995).
What should be considered most important, stresses Martin (2006), is that the socializing
effects of music are embedded in everyday interactions experienced by people. As such, the
traditional sender-receiver model of communication is inadequate to account for the effects of
music as an influencer on identity: for music alone cannot be considered enough to have a
significant influence on identity; instead, it must be considered as an active negotiation taking
place in relation to the social contexts which surround it: as “participation in sets of activities
organized around music can create or reinforce a sense of being a particular kind of person, of
belonging to a particular group” (Martin, 2006, p 59). Thus, interactions are more likely to shape
an individual’s views, ideas, and lifestyle choices rather than any ideological messages that
might be found in music.
Given the personalized nature of individual music choice, and the social significance that
becomes associated with those choices by other people, music can be regarded as serving a dual
function: both as a badge of social (cultural) identity and as an individualized symbol of self and
33

personal remembrance (DeNora, 1999; Hargreaves et al., 2002; Martin 2006). With this, the use
of music to create and distinguish boundaries between social groups can be understood to be an
effect of its properties as a symbol used to identify personality traits. Hence, the divisions caused
by music are more closely related to the stereotyping of certain attitudes and beliefs associated
with certain styles of music. Similarly, the connections that an individual forms with others
through acts of circumstance and discrimination (both from the other and himself) are more
influential on his choices of lifestyle and music listening than anything else. In this way, musical
selection, personalization, and comparison can thus be considered as a form of social mitosis:
marking boundaries of division between in-groups, out-groups, and values laden in aesthetic
preferences.

5. Music and Emotion
From the findings collected from various research studies, scholars have noted that one of
the most frequently cited uses for music by listeners is to establish feelings of control and
personal agency. Researchers such as Tia DeNora (1999) and Susanne Crafts (1993) have
recognized this to be the case for many women and adolescents: who have described utilizing
music to claim space, evoke emotions, and assert identity. With this, music can undoubtedly be
used to satisfy a variety of personal objectives and fulfil psychological needs. This section will
discuss the following ways in which music can be used to accomplish various objectives related
to emotional needs and personal enhancement by focusing on the following three topics: music
as function of agency, music as release from tension, and the individual use of music to regulate
moods.
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5.1 Music as a Function of Agency
In contrast to the views of “post-subculture” theorists— who (like Adorno) believe that
the products of mass society are essentially interchangeable commodities of a single globalized
consumer culture—theorists such as Martin (2006), and DeNora (1999) contend that “people do
make use of musical and stylistic resources appropriated from the global culture industries…to
create symbolic worlds” (Martin, 2006, p 71). In this sense, the process of selecting, reselecting,
and highlighting can be used by individual people, both young and old, to spin “biographical
threads of self-remembrance” (DeNora, 1999, p 32) in a process of ongoing identity work; thus,
constituting an individual’s private symbolic lexicon.
In a study consisting of more than 50 interpersonal interviews with women from various
corners of society, ranging from villagers in the English countryside to inhabitants of the London
metropolitan area, DeNora (1999) discovered that music was primarily used to shape emotions
and create significance in different situations. Additionally, music was viewed by subjects as
having “transformative properties”: being able to make people feel inspired, renewed, and
powerful upon listening (DeNora,1999, p 36). Such processes, argues Juslin and Laukka (2003),
could be related to the expressive auditory properties of music.
As linguistic theorists note, music may be successful as a therapeutic device because it
functions similar to discursive (verbal) communication: specifically, because both (music, and
verbal communication) share in distinctive affective qualities (such as volume, intensity, pitch,
rhythm, and duration), qualities that are also expressed during verbal communication. In this
view, music can essentially serve as a substitute for verbal discourse—effectively allowing
individual to speak, indirectly, without adding conceptual content (outside of song lyrics) (Juslin,
35

& Laukka, 2003). Some, interested in the therapeutic properties of music, even speculate that this
form of communicating can produce a type of cathartic release from tension, by expressing
oneself in a way that allows the innermost thoughts to be known (Nagata, & Tanamura, 2006)
Other linguistic theorists contend that music is experienced as a psychological
phenomenon—an otherwise “outside” objective presence—encountered by the subjective
observer, “I” (Volgsten, 2006). In this way, just as an infant discovers that the mother is beyond
its control, and interprets its experience purely in the sense of opposites (as self verses other),
before gradually learning to open itself up to trusting, so too is music first encountered as a
stranger whose relationship must be negotiated with the listener.
As Volgsten (2006) notes, “The listener becomes a ‘friend’ (or ‘enemy’) with the music”
(p 76); only once they have conceptually labeled the experience, as either good or bad, can the
listener open themselves up to allowing the music to effect their emotions. In this sense, then, the
audience can enact agency by choosing to either accept or reject their encounter with a particular
type of music or song, and additionally integrate it into their own personal narrative and lexicon
by conceptualizing the experience as significant or meaningful.
Once a song of music score has become associated with a particular meaning and added
to an individual person’s private lexicon, it effectively becomes a symbol of their character and
identity (Binder, 1993; DeNora, 1999). As such, the acoustic auditory presence of music can also
be used to enact agency by acting as a means for claiming territory. DeNora (1999) emphasizes
this feature of music as a “physical sonic medium”: writing, “The fact that it is non-verbal, nondepictive medium and that it is a physical presence whose vibrations can be felt all enhance its
ability to work at non-cognitive or subconscious levels” (p 49). In this way, when somebody
36

takes over the music or speakers at a party, they are essentially claiming the room for themselves
(Brown, 2006).

5.2 Music as Tension and Release
In many philosophical discussions concerning the aesthetic and emotional qualities of
music, many authors and scholars have similarly observed that music has the tendency to feel
like a process of intensification and release (Langer, 1953; Sellnow, & Sellnow, 2001). Most
notably, music has been compared to the sensational, biological, feeling of expectancy violation
and restoration, which can be felt at an emotional level, accompanying an invested degree of
ego-involvement. Dissanayake (2006) explains that this phenomenon can easily be interpreted as
an extension of the early infant-mother ritual relationship: where repeated actions are given
social and emotional significance, and deviation is perceived as a disturbance or assault on the
child’s overall prosperity.
More specifically, the build up of emotional tensions can be regarded as a disruption in
the emotional trajectory of the child (or general audience member); this has to do with
maintaining equilibrium, biologically. To elaborate, Morris (2012) gives detail to the process of
emotional fluctuations: explaining that emotions can best be understood as heightened states of
arousal in affective moods— which are “involved in the instigation of self-regulatory processes”
(p 15). Regulation occurs when an ordinary state of consciousness encounters a novel stimulus,
such as a noise heard off in the distance: provoking a state of anticipation (a biological freeze
response), which resolves once the brain decides how to register the disturbance (i.e. safe or

37

harmful—friend or foe?). In many cases, minor disturbances can be resolved relatively easily;
whereas, exaggerated events may be perceived as a minor crisis: causing a prolonged period of
anticipation.
As studies in the field of stress research have shown, the freeze response is one of eight
biological responses that can occur as a result of handling potential threats (McGonical, 2015).
Two of the better known responses that are associated with this type of regulatory behavior
include the defensive fight and flight reactions that are used to preserve the body. As scholars
note, the freeze response comes prior to any of the more extreme responses, such as running
away for fighting: this is because organisms are more likely to avoid exerting energy if possible,
and will attempt to make themselves invisible before taking dramatic action (Cervellin, & Lippi,
2011). To create the illusion of invisibility, creatures will typically lower their breathing by
constricting the flow of oxygen-rich blood throughout the body, and tensing up the muscles so as
to minimize bleeding in the event of an attack. Extended periods of this activity can result in both
mental and physical exhaustion, which, in turn, effects mood and emotions (McGonical, 2015).
In sum, then, the repetitive rhythmic patterns and expected affective contours (of pitch
duration, order, and intensity) found in music produce an initial anticipative reaction in the
listener, which disturbs his biological state of equilibrium and arouses defenses; the preparatory
state of anticipation can best be conceived of as a period of minor crisis, causing tension and
necessitating release (Dissanayake, 2006). The first instances where tension and release are
experienced are in the ritual interactions shared in the infant-mother relationship, where the
movements and affective contours of the parent are perceived by the child as being musical,
because of the infants lack of verbal-linguistic knowledge (Volgsten, 2006). When the pattern is
38

broken, and the infant’s expectations are violated, the infant becomes disturbed and thus
produces defensive behaviors which persist until a return to equilibrium is established in the
form of a safe, consistent, pattern (Dissanayake, 2006; Storr, 1989). Music can be considered an
extension of this mother-infant ritual because it is re-produces the initial feelings of safety,
togetherness, and assurance once felt in the interactions of the mother-infant pair (Hargreaves et
al., 2002).

5.3 Affect Regulation Theories
According to the findings of Van Goethem and Sloboda (2011), “music overall is a
successful regulation device” which “helps through affect regulation strategies like distraction,
introspection, and active coping” (p 210). In their research, a group of 23 female and 21 male
students were asked to record their own experiences, listening to music, in a diary over the
course of a three-week period. In their results, they discovered that music was primarily used to
accompany other activities (such as cleaning, studying, and exercising) (Slobod, & Van
Goethem, 2011, p 222). In this way, music can be understood as being primarily used by
individuals for a specific purpose: to aesthetically regulate the mood felt during an occasion.
One explanation for music’s role as a regulator is provided by Stefan Koelsch (2010); he
claims that the reason is neurological in origin, and related to the reward and motivation portion
of the brain: the nucleus accumbens (or NAc) (Koelsch, 2010). In his words, the NAc is mainly
used for “invigorating, and perhaps even selecting and directing, behavior in response to stimuli
with incentive value, as well as in motivating and rewarding such behavior” (Koelsch, 2010, p
131). Stated differently, the NAc is responsible for both selecting and motivating behaviors, and
39

rewarding activities; other authors also note that this is the area of the brain that becomes
stimulated during Pavlovian-response training, which is exemplified most in cases of impulsivity
and drug addiction (Berridge, & Kringelbach, 2013, p 295).
Studies on music and affect have determined that “people consciously and unconsciously
use music to change, create, maintain or enhance their emotions and moods (affect) on a daily
basis for their personal benefit” (Slobod, & Van Goethem, 2011, p 222). Music is also
interpreted as a stimulant by the same portion of the brain that selects, motivates, and rewards
behavior: thus promoting activities that might have otherwise been inhibited by more defensive,
stress-inducing, responses (such as anxiety or fear)— and releasing tensions (Berridge, &
Kringelbach, 2013; Cervellin, & Lippi, 2011; Koelsch, 2010). The compulsion to dance, for
example, is a case where acting upon an impulse is rewarded by the brain for following through
with an action that releases tension (Koelsch, 2010). With this, music can be understood as a
motivator that removes inhibitions, making listeners more open to acknowledge certain impulses
and attune to their experience of engagement with an activity.

6. Philosophical Considerations
As a temporal art form, music has always been a particular subject of fascination for
aesthetic philosophers (Langer, 1981; Zuckerkandl, 1973). Its nature as communicative medium,
able to directly express the heart of feeling—and the “soul” of emotional movement— has made
it the focus of countless philosophical musings, dating even further back than before the times of
Confucius, Plato, and Pythagoras (Sellnow, & Sellnow, 2001). This section will address some of
the most cited contemporary theories of music presented during the last two centuries. In sum,
40

the topics of for this section will include the following three theories: music as an “illusion of
life,” the making of “aesthetic setting” (matching mood with occasion), and music as a dynamic
symbol.

6.1 Music as Aesthetic Symbol: The “Illusion of Life” Perspective
One of the first people to ever make a serious academic investigation into the
communicative properties of music was the philosopher Susanne Langer (Baily, 2006). Langer
(1953) is often credited as the person who introduced music to the field of rhetorical studies, as
an artifact worthy of analysis; she also proposed a hypothesis about the symbolic significance of
music as an expressive medium—which eventually came to influence her theories of aesthetic
symbols, and the “illusion of life” (Baily, 2006, p 3).
To Langer (1981), all creative processes share a common origin in biology. In her view,
all organisms seek to avoid pain and maintain equilibrium as an ideal state; if the ideal is
compromised, the organism will experience a feeling of tension which it will seek to purge: this
then prompts a desire for a release from tension through catharsis, which is achieved through the
process of abstraction and symbolic representation (Baily, 2006; Langer, 1981). As she explains
(as cited in Sellnow, & Sellnow, 2001, p 379), “The great office of music is to…give us an
insight into what may truly be called the ‘life of feeling,’…and this it does by the same principle
that organizes physical existence into a biological design-rhythm… the setting up of new
tensions by the resolutions of former ones.”
Langer’s notion of tensions caused by emotional imbalances contends that release can
only be achieved through the production of a symbolic act (Langer, 1953; Storr, 1989). Music
41

and art are just two examples of what Langer considered to be “aesthetic,” or “non-discursive”
symbols: which operate differently than the discursive symbols found in either linguistics or
mathematics, where “separate words are assigned to separately conceived items in a one-to-one
correlation” (Langer, 1953, p. 30). Unlike their discursive counterparts, aesthetic symbols have
the liberty to be fluid— like emotions— and “express the forms of vital experience which
language is peculiarly unfit to convey (Langer, 1953, p. 32). Langer (1953) also proposed that
the abstractness of aesthetic symbols created what she called an “illusion of life”: where a
particular mood or image is intensified by an artist in order to express their experience in virtual
time (Sellnow, & Sellnow, 2001, p 398).
Langer’s emphasis on the actual experiences of music listeners and performers made a
compelling case for the potentials of music to rhetorically shape identity—by creating an
experience of virtual time where emotions can be abstracted, exercised, and ultimately released
through acts of aesthetic-symbolism—and would eventually come to serve as the framework for
later theories about communication through the medium of music (Baily, 2006; Langer, 1953).
Two of the greatest proponents of Langer’s “illusion of life” concept are the contemporary 21stcentury authors, Sellnow and Sellnow (2001): who agreed with the premise of virtual time, and
further suggested bringing focus to the entire lyrical and instrumental composition of the music
when analyzing songs.
To Sellnow and Sellnow (2001), “lyrical content and musical score work together
rhetorically to create congruent or incongruent messages for audiences” (Baily, 2006, p 9). Such
messages, they claim, can foster cultural identity, advocate social change, serve as a pedagogical
tool, or even, in certain cases, “function effectively as an authentic voice for women as a
42

marginalized group” (Sellnow, & Sellnow, 2001, p 396). In overview, their theory proposes that
songs symbolize different outlooks on life (with perspectives being either comic, positive and
triumphant, or tragic, negative and fatalistic); musical scores emphasize the emotional tone of a
concept or period of time, which is elaborated by the artist through their lyrics, and highlighted
as either a point of release or tension when the score and lyrical content converge to sound either
congruent, or incongruent; the combination of tones and lyrics together make up a virtual
experience for the listener, by symbolically portraying a particular perspective through an
illusion of life (Sellnow, & Sellnow, 2001, p 389).
To elaborate, when the content of lyrics and the emotion of musical tones are congruent,
they produce overt messages about specific concepts— which may be embraced by some
audiences (who identify with the particular narrative or message) and rejected by others;
specifically, those who identify with the particular narrative or message conveyed in a song are
more likely to find the song appealing; whereas, some may only be drawn to certain elements of
a song such as the melody, beat, or lyrics (Sellnow, & Sellnow, 2001). In contrast, scores and
lyrics that are incongruent transform the original symbolic meaning of a song by emphasizing
certain points of tension; the authors note that this may be done by the artist for a number of
reasons: such as to “couch a potentially defense-arousing message in ambiguity,” broaden the
appeal of a song to a wider audience, or to stylistically convey an impression of conflict in the
virtual narrative (Sellnow, & Sellnow, 2001, p 411).
In the illusion of life perspective—proposed by Langer, and developed by Sellnow and
Sellnow— rhetorical scholars (and music critics) are offered an approach to interpret music as a
medium of communication: one where senders can convey perspectives through non-discursive
43

symbols, emotional states can be amplified, tensions can be released, and listeners can learn how
to cope with the tragic realities of life by virtually sharing in the experiences of the artistmusician- sender (Langer, 1953; Sellnow, & Sellnow, 2001). Most significantly, however, in
terms of building a case for identity formation, is the need for similarity between the emotional
tone (or virtual narrative) of the music and the immediate mood of the listener; from this, it
becomes apparent that the listener seeks to find some level of identification with an emotional
quality in a song: whether it be an upbeat drum tempo, melodic bass line, or the energy projected
from a singer; the state must exist prior to the music in order for a feeling of likeness to be felt by
the audience.

6.2 Mood and Occasion: The Aesthetic Setting
This was the case proposed by Robert Root (1986): “Occasion is the response element
most determined by the immediacy of the experience”— thus “what seems appropriate and
exciting in a live concert setting may be dissonant and heavy-handed on a recording listened to
privately.” Root elaborates further on this point in his widely cited article from the Journal of
Pop Culture, A Listener’s Guide to the Rhetoric of Popular Music (Root, 1986). In his article,
Root explains that the rhetorical function of music operates through a three-fold triad, which
considers music to be situated within the elements of composition, performance, and response
(Root, 1986).
In summary, a composition can broadly be conceived of as the relationship shared
between the arrangement, lyrics, and melody of a piece of music; a performance is the distance
(in time and space) between the speaker, act, and audience; and lastly, the response is the
44

reaction of an audience to the music, which is influenced by the context of the occasion, the
audience’s judgments, and their own personal tastes (Root, 1986).
In Root’s perspective, the principle of identification comes into play, once again, for
music listeners (Root, 1986). So he notes (as cited from Baily, 2006, p 5): “The taste variable
involves an intuitive response determined by the individual’s (audiences) background and
experience.” In other words, the audience already knows about their own emotional condition,
and the equivalent music that would be appropriate for that occasion and their mood. With this, it
can be understood that factors such as audience, occasion, and performance all play a hand in
shaping the aesthetic appeal and reception of certain types of music: meaning that both context
and individual history act as constraints on the rhetorical potentialities of messages sent through
songs and musical scores.

6.3 Music as a Dynamic Symbol
In many philosophical inquiries of music, the topic has been explored through the lenses
of aesthetics, ethics, metaphysics, and epistemology (Zuckerkandl, 1973). In one such case, the
philosopher Victor Zuckerkandl (1973) has taken his own approach to developing an ontology of
music, by categorizing it as a type of immaterial, yet still objectively real, force, which he calls a
“dynamic symbol.” To his mind, music acts much like a mythology: where indemonstrable
elements in nature (such as time and motion) are represented in the non-physical properties of
tones found in music; making tones a type of non-visual symbol used to signify a force.
Interestingly, Zuckerkandl (1973) explains that, in music, the movements of time and
space can be recognized in the progressions of sound in time: with space being the point from
45

which tones originate, and time being perceptible through the linear motions of melody and
rhythmic cadence (p 77). Additionally, Zuckerkandl (1973) contends that music reveals the unity
of space and time in Being, by disclosing the dynamic and immaterial nature of phenomena
through the perceptions of the ear: which encounters actions, made apparent through physical
events, such as striking a key on a piano, as moving “through bodies but not upon bodies”
(Zuckerkandl, 1973, p 182); unlike the perceptions of the eye, which do not disclose the depth of
space, but merely the otherness of a juxtaposed object.
Zuckerkandl (1973) attempts to bring clarity to this point in the following passage from
Sound and Symbol:

Far from taking us out of space—as common opinion
holds—music discloses space which, instead of consolidating the
boundaries between within and without, obliterates them; space
which does not stand out over against me but with which I can be
one; which permits encounter to be experienced as communication,
not as distance; which I must apprehend not as universal place but
as universal force. (p 393)

In this sense, then, drawing on Heidegger’s definition of space— as “that whence
something encounters me”— Zuckerkandl (1973), agues that music reveals space as a
participatory experience of dynamic interacting forces: where “there is only the one from… the
one dimension of auditory space…an experience of space streaming towards the hearer from all
46

sides…” (Zuckerkandl, 1973, p 291); in other words, making the listener more aware of their
experience in the external world, where sounds of music are encountered. More specifically,
music can be viewed as bringing the subjective “I,” isolated in a symbolically distinct world
from the object (you, it, or thou), together with its phenomenal experience in earth (a term
used by Heidegger in his essay, The Origin of the Work of Art: “earth” simply refers to the
background from which objects can appear to a consciousness) (Anderson et al., 2004; Harman,
2011).

7. Summary of Chapter Two
In this Chapter, some of the most widely cited theories concerning the influences of
music on identity were mentioned, and the domains that comprise identity (including the
cognitive, social, and emotional domains) were specified as the cites which inform personal,
subjective, development. Additionally, some philosophical considerations about the nature of
aesthetics were also provided; these will be used to guide further research and the development
of grounded theory.
In the next section of this study, Chapter Three, the methods used to collect research data
will be outlined, and a new set of more refined research questions will be posed for
consideration; these will become relevant when information is collected from participants by
means of qualitative interview. The next chapter of this study will also address the initial plans,
and alterations that were made to the design of this research project following the federal
declaration of a national state of emergency and the outbreak of a global pandemic. Alterations

47

to the design of this study will be discussed in the ethical proceedings portion of the
methodology section of this paper.

48

CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY
1. Summary of Literature Review
In the previous two chapters of this study, the importance of forming identities was
established, and the concept of musical identities was introduced. To summarize briefly, musical
identities can be defined as a personal assertion of a particular representation of self through
music Hargreaves et al. (2002) cite the famed ethnomusicologist Nicholas Cook when they frame
this point as follows: “In today’s world, deciding what music to listen to is a significant part of
deciding and announcing to people not just who you ‘want to be’…but who you are” (p 6). With
this idea in mind, the cross-disciplinary literature on the topic contends that such identities are
ultimately the product of three things: personal agency (selective mood regulation), cognitive
associations, and social interaction (DeNora, 1999; Firth,1996; Hargreaves et al., 2002; Martin,
2006).
Additionally, philosophies of music have sought to explain why the temporal art form
known as music is particularly suited to serve as an aesthetic symbol of self (Langer, 1981;
49

Sellnow, & Sellnow, 2001; Zuckerkandl, 1973). Authors in this line of inquiry have largely
confirmed the statements made by sociologists: music is used primarily for the purpose of
identification, both with others and with one’s own personal experience (Sellnow, & Sellnow,
2001). Theorists who have approached musical identities from this angle have also made credible
the historical, narrative-forming perspectives of psychologists: who argue that conceptions of
self are negotiated, often linguistically, between the “I” and its environment— where it will
encounter tensions, caused by broken affect contours, and seek release from crises that arise
throughout various stages of development (Juslin, & Timmers, 2010; Langer, 1981; Volgsten,
2006; Zuckerkandl, 1973).
2. Expanding The Central Research Question
From the existing body of literature, discussing the ways in which music influences
identity, the topics of social, emotional, and cognitive motivation can be distinguished as the first
major themes to emerge as recurring concepts found throughout the research (Brown, 2006;
Dissanayake, 2006; Hargreaves et al., 2002; Martin, 2006). As Juslin (2013) explains, music is
intended to serve a practical function for listeners by attending to the three aforementioned
domains: the cognitive, emotional, and social needs of humans; in general, these can be
conceptualized as the sites where identity is directly experienced by individuals, and the three
areas of life which are also capable of being influenced by music.
Music is primarily believed by theorists to be a mechanism used to promote social
cooperation; additionally, music is used to distinguish membership status in distinct social ingroups, and similarly fulfill certain psychological needs for belonging (Brown, 2006; Martin,
50

2006; Nettl, 2010). Music is also viewed as a tool for social learning, mood regulation, and
expressing emotions (Solboda, & Van Goethem, 2011; Volgsten, 2006). As a product of culture,
music is used to teach about the values, beliefs, and attitudes shared by particular social groups
within society; many cognitive theorists contend that the underlying reasons for attempting to
learn through music are to meet with social and emotional needs that might arise in the future
(Brown, 2006; Hargreaves et al., 2002; Miller, 2000).
With knowledge of the functional uses of music, the focus of the central research
question can now be narrowed into sub-questions that address the necessary domains involved in
the process of identity formation (the cognitive, social, and emotional domains). According to
Glaser and Strauss (2017), developing sub-questions can assist in addressing central research
questions that are broad in scope. This step is necessary for the development of grounded theory,
as it allows the researcher to approach the central research question from multiple angles, and
gather knowledge of processes through concepts found in data. For this reason, the following
sub-questions, derived from the central research question, will be explored using grounded
theory:
RQ: How are individual people using music inform the process of identity formation?

Q1: What social needs are people attempting to satisfy using music?
a. Also, how does music help them to satisfy these needs?

51

Q2: Additionally, how are individuals viewing music in relation to their current sense of selfidentity?
a. Is music being used as a way to vicariously explore alternate identities?
b. Is it used to affirm or justify personal decisions, beliefs, or lifestyle choices?
c. Or, are people viewing music as some type of moral authority, used to teach them
about certain virtuous qualities that might make them better people in the eyes of
their current culture?

Q3: What psychological needs are individuals attempting to satisfy using music?
a. And, why do certain individuals feel that these needs are being satisfied by turning to
music?
b. What function is music playing in the lives of individual people (namely, in this case,
music lovers)?
c. How does music help to inform the decision-making process?
Answers to these questions will be worked though in the analysis section in Chapter
Four. Briefly, it should be mentioned that not all of the newly posed research questions may be
answered by the end of this study. However, each question will be considered as a topic of
interest that will be explored in interview sessions.
This section, Chapter Three, will describe how the concept design of this study was
created and also why this particular design was selected to conduct research. This analysis will
be approached using grounded theory, and seek to gain insight using qualitative interviews as
sources for collecting information. These procedures will be discussed in greater detail over the
52

course of the next few pages of this chapter. The design of this study will be described in the
pages below.

3. Concept Design
The following section will seek to expand upon the newly proposed sub-questions,
formed form the central research question: in attempts to systematically hone in on the answer to
the central research question (posed as “RQ” in the section above). Given that the focus of this
study is concerned with the ways individuals view themselves through music, an in-depth,
qualitative, approach to research would be more appropriate than collecting a larger sum of lessrefined information. For this reason, the research methodology of this study will be inductive in
nature and will follow an interpretivist philosophy, throughout.
The design of this study will seek to refine the answers provided by individuals so as to
locate similarities that occur within their stories. Information will be gathered from individuals
through qualitative interview and observation: in order to provide greater context for responses.
Answers will then be explored in a line-by-line content analysis of transcripts produced from
interviews, which will be recorded initially as hard-copy notes, taken during interview session,
and revisited via audio recording later on in the research process. In sum, this paper will be using
a grounded theory methodology to collect information for a proposal, which will be framed using
the most prevalent concepts that emerge from the coded interviews, and supported by the
accompanying literature. Afterwards, the collected data will be used to support an observational
hypothesis.

53

3.1 A Case for Using Grounded Theory
For the following few reasons, grounded theory will be distinguished as a particularly
useful method for gathering the types of qualitative information required for the purposes of this
study. Primarily, grounded theory is useful for refining information. Unlike other forms of
quantitative analysis, or more observationally descriptive methods such as phenomenology,
grounded theory allows researchers to revisit information collected directly from original sources
and assess individual interpretations of events and concepts (Glaser, & Strauss, 2017). Grounded
theory also allows for data to be adjusted throughout the process of collection, giving researchers
room to develop new ideas without having to fit them into existing theoretical frameworks
(Glaser, & Strauss, 2017). Additionally, grounded theory allows researchers to gain knowledge
about the situated contexts in which social phenomenon occur, which can help to identify
similarities underlying differing social and cultural conditions (Glaser, & Strauss, 2017). This
method will be applied to a diverse sample set of individuals with different backgrounds to
consequently determine commonalities from their stories as to why people gravitate towards
music to fulfill certain needs.
In the case of this research study, the phenomenon of humans selectively collecting,
highlighting, and discriminating between certain songs and styles of music can be considered as
a curious pattern of behavior: one that may not be described easily using an established formal
theory. For this reason, a generative rhetorical criticism approach will be used in addition to
grounded theory. As questions arise, and data begins to reveal itself through observation and
detailed note taking, the answers to how and why individual people use music to influence
perceptions of themselves will gradually become clearer towards the end of the research study.
54

3.2 Participants: Who are They and Why Were They Chosen?
Participants for this study were selected for their clear enthusiasm and in-depth
knowledge of particular musical genres. These participants were collected through a convenience
sampling method and then interviewed. Most of the participants have either worked with the
principal researcher directly, either on music or academic-related projects in the past, or have
been found through suggestions made by reliable sources. Out of all of the participants— eight in
total—four identified as either practicing performing artists or musicians, who are active in either
a local or regional music scene. As for the other four participants, one self identified as a formerpracticing musician, two admitted to having no experiences playing instruments or performing,
and one self identified as an inactive musician (who currently plays an instrument but does not
participate in any kind of organized musical activity).
The perspectives that are represented though these interviews are intended to account for
a variety of musical tastes and personal lifestyles, as well as demonstrate the ways that diverse
peoples, found in different circumstances, from different walks of life, can all be exposed to and
impacted, personally, by music. The interview group consisted of both male and female
participants, with five participants being male (four of European descent, and one of African
descent), and three participants being female (one of European descent, and two of Hispanic
descent).
Information about participants’ ethnic backgrounds will be considered relevant for this
study solely because it is an influential factor which shapes individual ideas about identity,
worldview, culture, and aesthetics; ethnicity will thus be considered as a starting point for
identity formation, and eventual worldview construction. This information will be used to
55

provide context about how participants view their identities in relation to others: including those
of the similar, and of different, ethnic backgrounds.
Some limitations of this study include an oversampling bias of people of European
descent, and of male participants. Some areas of improvement for future research studies may
include a larger sampling group with a more diverse population, and wider geographic area of
selection for choosing possible interview participants. Additional limitations may also include a
bias favoring a college-educated perspective (as six of the interview participants claim having
bachelor’s-level education), and a bias favoring the perspective of musicians, artists, and
performers. Further recommendations for future studies include a research sample comprised of
people with less formal training and in-depth knowledge of music.

3.3 Ethical Proceedings
All research proceedings were followed in accordance with the standards proposed by the
Institutional Review Board (IRB) of East Stroudsburg University. Any data collected from
research participants through qualitative observational interviews was gathered with the consent
of the person being interviewed; these participants were made fully aware of the nature of the
research study, and were made fully aware of all proceedings prior to agreeing to meet. No
coercive or deceptive tactics were used to gather data in this study; all participants were willing
to abide by the proposals made by the principal interviewer in the premier email (attached in
appendix B).
Fortunately, no serious issues occurred that held direct implications towards this study.
Society as a whole was greatly affected by the sudden outbreak of COVID-19 (nicknamed
56

“novel coronavirus”) for a time, prior to the official approval for this study from the IRB
committee of East Stroudsburg. Major implications that occurred from this outbreak— which
prompted a national state of emergency on March 13, 2020, and caused many state-funded
universities (like East Stroudsburg) to suspend activities on campuses for an extended time—
resulted in a delay in IRB approval, forcing the principal researcher to reschedule with all
interview participants.
Following the state of emergency declaration, all U.S citizens were advised by both state
and federal agencies to avoid making direct contact with people, and maintain a minimum social
distance of six feet from others whenever possible; by this time, IRB approval had been granted
to the primary researcher via email. After seeking out additional approval from both the IRB and
the thesis committee review board, the principal researcher was granted permission to conduct
interviews with participants using video-conference technology (specifically, Skype, Zoom, and
Facebook-video messenger). All interviews were then conducted in a video conference setting.

3.4 Background Information about Interview Population
To protect the identities of participants, each interviewee will be given a pseudonym
name to accompany their provided information. Other information pertaining to participants,
such as stage names, artist labels, band (or group) names, and specified geographic locations will
also be withheld so as to ensure the participants’ rights to privacy and overall safety. Only
necessary information is included in the following introductory background summaries of
participants, and will merely be used as a frame for context for developing essential concepts
later on.
57

•

Participant One; alias name: “Scott”; current age: 27; ethnic background: EuroAmerican; musical genre of interest: “Hardcore Heavy Metal”
o Favorite Song: “Schism” by Tool
o Instrument/ artist status: Sings vocals, currently, for a heavy metal band
o Age of first discovering genre: 14 years of age
o Method of initial exposure: “Family…older cousins introduced”
o Stated reasons for listening: “It helps me to articulate core self when words can’t
describe feelings…metal has this sort of emotional energy…it lifts me out of the
monotony of everyday existence…it gives me this type of emotional, cathartic,
release from my anxieties…it makes me feel alive.”

•

Participant Two; alias name: “Rosie”; current age 30; ethnic background: Hispanic
American; musical genre of interest: “Bachata (Spanish Dance) Music”
o Favorite song: “La Vie en Rose” by Edith Piaf
o Instrument/artist status: Does not play an instrument or perform
o Age of first discovering genre: 14 years of age
o Method of initial exposure: “Family…family parties”
o Stated reasons for listening: “I like the structure of it…the rhythm and beat…and
how its simple enough to have fun with.”

58

•

Participant Three; alias name: “Jack”; current age 24; ethnic background: EuroAmerican; musical genre of interest: “Progressive Rock”
o Favorite song: “My Wave” by Soundgarden
o Instrument/ artist status: Currently plays drums for three different bands of
varying genres
o Age of first discovering genre: 16 years of age
o Method of initial exposure: “Friends from high school”
o Stated reasons for listening: “It feels empowering…motivational…helps me
enhance my mood and envision success…it also helps me make decisions.”

•

Participant Four; alias name: “Mia”; current age 57; ethnic background: Euro-American;
musical genre of interest: “Country Music”
o Favorite song: “Stay with Me” by Sam Smith
o Instrument/ artist status: Played guitar and sang for a folk band in the 1980’s
o Age of first discovering genre: 9 years of age
o Method of initial exposure: “Parents…mother, specifically”
o Stated reasons for listening: “It makes me feel empowered…emotional… relate to
issues…it makes me feel good and brings myself in experience...music helps me
to find meaning.”

•

Participant Five; alias name: “Seymour”; current age 21; ethnic background: EuroAmerican; musical genre of interest: “Jam Band Music”
59

o Favorite song: “Franklin’s Tower” by The Grateful Dead
o Instrument/ artist status: Currently practices keyboard-piano and plays music
casually with friends
o Age of first discovering genre: 19 years of age
o Method of initial exposure: “Dad…friends in college”
o Stated reasons for listening: “It relaxes me, helps me zone out, and just lets me
forget my problems, overall…it helps me to just keep going when I’m stressed,
and really lets me just be in the now.”

•

Participant Six; alias name: “Levi”; current age 24; ethnic background: Euro-American;
musical genre of interest: “Deep House/ EDM (Electronic Dance Music)”
o Favorite song: “Throw it All Away” by Madnap & Smile
o Instrument/ artist status: Does not play an instrument or perform
o Age of first discovering genre: 17 years of age
o Method of initial exposure: “Older brother brought it back from college”
o

Stated reasons for listening: “I like how its conceptual…I mainly use music as an
enhancer…it gives me energy…gives me confidence…music makes me want to
go out and chase that feeling.”

•

Participant Seven; alias name: “Ashley”; current age 23; ethnic background: Hispanic
American; musical genre of interest: “Pop Punk”
o Favorite song: “Fine, Great” by Modern Baseball
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o Instrument/ artist status: Played bass guitar for a touring band in college, but does
not perform currently
o Age of first discovering genre: 16 years of age
o Method of initial exposure: “High school friends”
o

Stated reasons for listening: “It feels authentic…relatable and expressive…it
helps me enhance my moods.”

•

Participant Eight; alias name: “Mike”; current age 24; ethnic background: African
American; musical genre of interest: “Hip-hop/ Rap”
o Favorite song: “Fire Squad” by J Cole
o Instrument/ artist status: Digitally mixes and produces music. Currently, makes
electronic beats, and raps on YouTube/Soundcloud. Does not perform live.
o Age of first discovering genre: 13 years of age
o Method of initial exposure: “Older brother”
o

Stated reasons for listening: “It feels relatable…gives me good vibes…helps me
to feel motivated and get me into the right mindset to go do things.”

4. Limitations of Study
As with all qualitative approaches to research, the methods used to gather and interpret
the data found in this study were prone to certain limitations. This may have resulted in an
unintentional skew of the information that was presented in the research findings. In sum, the
limitations of this study can be traced back to the methodologies that were chosen, the sample of
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participants that were interviewed, and the oversights, biases, and limitations of the principal
researcher and interviewer.
The first limitation to be mentioned was the scope of the central research question.
Should future researchers choose to pursue the same line of inquiry as this study, they would do
well to narrow the scope of their central research question. Additionally, the methods that were
used for sampling in this study may have introduced a significant amount of bias into the
research findings: as most of the interview participants were Euro-American, college educated,
male musicians with personal ties to the principal researcher and interviewer. To reduce the risk
of bias in future projects of this nature, researchers would likely find less-biased information by
collecting from a larger, more diverse, and less familiar sample group.
A second limitation to mention was the amount of time spent gathering research. Future
studies would also do well to plan in advance for extended data gathering and analysis.
Additionally, the scope and depth of discussion of the research findings would improve under
better time conditions.
A third limitation to mention are the inherent limitations that come from using grounded
theory. In short, grounded theory is best suited to providing interpretations of information. The
concepts and categories found through research are initially influenced by the perceptions of the
principal researcher, which may result in biased interpretations of findings, and trouble
establishing validity and reliability for certain claims.

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5. Summary of Chapter Three
In this chapter, the first concepts from the literature were identified, new questions were
posed, and the merits of both grounded theory and rhetorical criticism were discussed.
Additionally, the design of this study was also discussed in this chapter, as well as the methods
used for sampling, and the backgrounds of the various interview participants.
The next section of this paper, Chapter Four, will discuss the process of comparison and
analysis of the research data. Specifically, it will include the initial listing of codes from
participant interview transcripts, the grouping of codes into concept categories, and a discussion
and analysis of the information; this will be done to establish a basis for the rhetorical criticism
which will take place in Chapter Five; the propose of which will be to propose a particular frame
for viewing the presented data.

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CHAPTER FOUR: ANALYSIS
1. Introduction to Analysis Section
In this section, grounded theory will be used to identify and refine the most prevalent
themes and concepts found throughout the participants’ interview responses. Once initial
concepts are picked out, they will be clustered together into categories, where they will again be
coded for even more refined concepts, which will also be placed into categories. All concepts
(and themes) that emerge throughout the process of coding will be analyzed in comparison to the
existing literature written about the effects of music on identity formation, found in Chapter
Two. After the intermediate stage of coding is completed, and the more abstract concepts are
placed into secondary categories, the missing information linking the intermediate concepts will
be filled in by means of theoretical speculation in the advanced stage of coding. The goal of
speculating in the advanced (third) stage of coding will be done with the intention of integrating
the intermediate concepts together into a cohesive storyline and used to support the proposal of a
theory grounded in data.
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2. Initial Coding
After reviewing the information collected by the interview participants, which described
their personal histories, outlooks, experiences, and interpretations of how they view music in
relation to themselves, the transcripts (summarized above, and also captured in audio) were
subject to a line-by-line content analysis: where relevant concepts were identified, picked out,
and placed into categories. In the initial reading, the most prevalent words that appeared
throughout the participant’s answers included some of the following:

1. Family/ friends
2. Motivation/Empowerment
3. Setting the mood (matching moods with music)
4. Mood enhancer/ regulator/ energy giver
5. Emotional expression/ articulation
6. Evoking memories/ sentiments/ nostalgia
7. Inspiration
8. Reflection
9. Authenticity
10. Diversity/ open mindedness/ seeing other perspectives
11. Relatable lyrics (identifying with music artist/performer)
12. Self improvement/ development
13. Confidence
14. Past relationships (i.e. romantic)
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15. Being noticed/ recognized (acknowledgement)
The topics presented above can be considered the initial concepts that emerged upon first
inspection of the participants’ interview transcripts. Many of these concepts (such as initial
exposure through family, and attempting to match mood with music) were discussed explicitly
and in-depth during discussions, and thus seemed to be the most relevant. The numerical order in
which each concept is presented is intended to show the rate of frequency in which each concept
appeared throughout the interviews.

3. Intermediate Coding: Comparative Analysis
Across discussions, shared with interview participants, the frequency and application of a
participant’s word choice varied both by context and by individual usage. Given the
individualized nature of each person’s responses, the answers provided by participants needed to
be deconstructed in order to identify the underlying concepts that each participant was
addressing using their own language. To do this, the concepts which appeared most often (listed
above) during interviews were assessed in the contexts in which they appeared, and compared to
the language used by other participants in response to the same question; this was done in order
to triangulate concepts underlying language.
3.1 Emotional Motivation
In the example of participant one— the heavy metal listener, code named Scott— the
interviewee explained that he primarily turns to his favorite music during instances of boredom,
or when experiencing lethargy. When asked what he was looking for in music (as in, what does
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he seek to accomplish by listening to music), he gave his reasoning in the form of the following
response: “I’m mainly looking for energy to feel emotion that can lift me out of the monotony of
everyday existence…I listen to music to feel like I’m alive”: a closer look at this answer would
reveal that the most essential words being used in this sentence are energy and alive. In this
sense, the participant is looking for some kind of aid or stimulant that can rouse him into what is
being described as a type of action— feeling, the primary verb of the sentence. The second half
of his statement makes evident this point: feeling emotions are being equated to being alive, and
life is also being equated to movement.
In a similar case, the progressive rock listener (code named Jack) also explained that his
reason for listening to music was “because it feels empowering…and…helps me enhance my
mood and get motivated, especially during rough times.” Empowerment, one of the key words in
this sentence, was also the reason given by the country listener (Mia) for seeking out her favorite
songs: Mia, herself, also explained that she viewed “empowerment and movement as one in the
same.” Interestingly, Levi, the fan of electronic-dance music, also shared the view that
empowerment and movement are one in the same; as he explained in his statement: “I mainly use
music as an enhancer…it gives me energy…gives me confidence…music makes me want to go
out and chase that feeling.” From this, the concepts of energy, motivation, empowerment, and
mood enhancement/regulation can all be viewed as synonymous terms being used to express the
same idea: namely, that music is used to inspire action, emotion, and life as opposed to lethargy
and boredom. With this, then, the first category can thus be conceived of simply as
empowerment.

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3.2 Social Connections and Memory
A second group of terms that should be explored are those that relate to one’s social
connections. One of the most noticeable topics that could be identified from participant
responses was the subject of family; all eight of the different interview participants mentioned
being initially exposed to music by a family member, although, the music mentioned did not
always account for the particular genre each person listed as their preferred music of interest.
What did emerge as a trend running through discussions, however, was the theme of listening to
certain music associated with the past for the purpose of evoking feelings of nostalgia.
When asked what specifically each participant experienced during their nostalgic
moments, answers tended to vary among persons; however, the most common answers were
related to the topics of family, friends, relationships, and places. As studies on memory
activation suggest, the phenomenon of nostalgia is a mechanism used to cope with feelings of
isolation, by eliciting memories of close social relations for the purpose of improving mood;
thus, feelings of nostalgia can be identified as an attempt to find support by recalling memories
of connection found in past relationships (Barrett et al, 2010; Eich et al, 2007). In this case, then,
interpersonal relationships and places, which would more appropriately be considered as events
in time, can all be placed under a unifying category of connections.
3.3 Identification for the Sake of Self Improvement
Another interesting relationship that appeared as a theme throughout the interviews was
the idea of relating to, or identifying with particular musical artists. This topic was discussed in
depth by several interview participants, most notably, in the cases of the country, rap, and pop
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punk listeners: Mia, Mike, and Ashley. In one perspective, Mike, the rap listener, explained why
he feels the need to connect to musical artists: “I like him [J Cole] because he just feels
relatable…I like how he talks about the struggles…things like getting older, trying to find ways
to make money, trying to learn how to talk to girls…everything he says just feels really
genuine…it hits me at a really deep personal level.”
Adding to his statement, Mike also noted that “J Cole just seems like a regular guy who’s
good at articulating his perspectives on life through rap…I think he serves as a more positive role
model for children in the black community…To me, he stands as a reminder to stay focused and
keep working towards your dreams.” From this, it can be gathered that Mike’s need to connect
with his favorite artist is done to maintain a positive influence in his life; more specifically, Mike
admitted that he views J Cole as a positive role model: one who has experienced similar
struggles to him and has overcome them. In this way, though not stated overtly, Mike has shared
that he sees his favorite musical artist as an inspirational figure. Inspiration was also one of the
recurring themes which appeared throughout participant interviews.
In one view, the country listener Mia gave her perspective on the importance of finding
inspiration through music; in her wording, “I find inspiration from relatable song lyrics. They
show me that I can be strong and persist through whatever challenges life throws at me.” From
this, it can be noted that the idea of motivation is also recognizable in this sentence. In this way,
it seems that the reason for identifying the self with artists is done for the purpose of finding
inspiration (or empowerment) from a relatable figure who has experienced similar challenges to
the listener and managed to overcome them. What can be gained from this is knowledge that
listeners seek to find relatable artists to identify with for social learning purposes (a cognitive
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function of music); this can also be recognized in the statement made by the pop punk listener,
Ashley, who shared in her perspective that “I like punk because it feels like the artists are really
being true to themselves and their values…I really like the DIY aspect of it…it’s like anybody
can learn how to do it.” In this case, then, the concept of knowledge gathering can be added as an
additional category code.
3.4 Comparative Analysis: Expression, Articulation, and Authenticity
After determining that knowledge gathering is one of the reasons people turn towards
music to influence their identities, the question that immediately must follow is “exactly, what
are people attempting to learn from music and musical artists?” One answer that seemed to be a
common response given by musicians was the idea of self improvement; specifically, self
improvement in terms of one’s own social and musical capabilities.
The theme of participants studying musical artists was one that appeared most
prominently in responses given by those that identified themselves as either musicians or
performers (six out of eight participants). However, non-musicians did also admit to seeking out
other perspectives through narratives in music; one participant (Rosie, a non-musician) even
explained that she enjoys analyzing non-English song lyrics because she is “fascinated by the
similarities that people have past language” and also wants “to be more open minded.” Similarly,
Levi (another non-musician) explained that listening to diverse music “is about expanding
reality, and what reality might possibly be.”
As for the participants who identified as musicians and admitted to following certain
artists closely, their responses showed that they only followed certain artists whom they admired
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and wanted to learn from their approaches to making music. Scott (the heavy metal listener)
expressed this point when he admitted that he wanted to “embody Mike Patton while
performing,” and similarly Jack (the progressive-rock listener) shared that he “always [tries] to
play like John Bonham or Stewart Copland while drumming.”
In both the statements provided by the participants that identified as musicians, and those
who identified as non-musicians, the theme of knowledge gathering could be recognized from
their initial responses. Additionally, in all cases, the reason for gathering knowledge was to
improve some aspect of self-identity: so as to appear worldly, open minded, skilled, or articulate
in communication. From this, the theme of knowledge gathering (or diversifying knowledge) can
be understood as being done for the sake of “self improvement,” by expanding the catalog of
responses that an individual might potentially use to express themselves (Dissanayake, 2006;
Martin, 2006).
Additionally, related to the concepts of expression is authenticity. This concept was
addressed either directly or indirectly by all eight of the interview participants. In Scott’s view,
expression is a means of achieving authenticity, but can only be enacted at certain times, such as
during live performances. In his words, “I see the stage as a platform that lets me go to almost id
levels of authenticity.” Similarly, the jam band listener, Seymour, also distinguished between
what he referred to as “at-home music,” and “social music”: to quote him, “I mainly like to listen
to what I consider ‘my music’ when I’m at home, and know that I don’t have to worry about
being social…it helps me get free from stress…I mostly like it when I’m trying not to be rooted
in my ego.” In a third example, the pop punk listener, Ashley, also admitted to viewing

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authenticity as a virtuous quality; in her words: “I like punk because it feels like the artists are
really being true to themselves and their values.”
In the descriptions given by interview participants, the concepts of authenticity and
confidence were often linked together. Additionally, authenticity was described as a rare and
infrequent style of style of behavior, which could only be accessed around select groups of
people. In Jack’s description of authenticity, he claimed that “I act most authentic when I’m
around people I know and who know me, like my friends.” Other descriptions of authenticity
seemed to suggest that it was the objective of the self-improvement process; hence, Mike’s
statement of striving towards his dream of being a “genuine person…who’s good at articulating
his perspectives through rap,” and Ashley’s comments about how “anybody can learn how to do
it…the DIY aspect of…being true to [oneself] and [one’s] values.” Given that authenticity
emerged as a recurring theme across interviews, and is also an important concept in the
philosophies of existentialism and aesthetics, it will be listed in relation to expression and be
placed under the category of expression.

3.5 Summary of Categories
From the initial 15 themes that appeared most often throughout participant interviews, the
following four core categories have been identified as the concepts being referred to by the
interview participants: note, the titles of the following categories were developed as codes by the
principle researcher. The first category, connections, can be conceptualized as feelings of
support, stability, safety, and protection. The second category, empowerment, can be thought of
as one of the functional effects of music; primarily, it helps to regulate moods and emotions. The
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third category, knowledge gathering, is another functional use for music; in this process,
individuals seek to find relatable sources that can provide them with strategies to overcome
crises. Lastly, the fourth category, expression can be interpreted as the method of communication
someone uses to convey an idea, attitude, or emotion.

4. Intermediate Categories
With the newly refined labels now made available, the information that was initially
coded from participant interviews can be re-envisioned as sub-concepts existing within thematic
categories. This information can be conceptualized in the following way:

1. Connections
a. Friends
b. Family
c. Past romantic relationships
2. Expression
a. Acknowledgement (Being noticed/ recognized)
b. Authenticity
3. Knowledge gathering
a. Seeking diversity/ other perspectives/ inspiration
b. Identifying with musical artists
4. Empowerment
a. Enhancing/ regulating moods
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i. Matching moods with music
ii. Evoking memories/ nostalgia

Now that the most relevant concepts have been identified from the participants’ responses
and organized into thematic categories, an attempt to bring the information together into a
unified theory can be made. According to Strauss and Glaser (2017), the final stage of coding in
grounded theory is the advanced stage, where seemingly isolated concepts and categories are
synthesized into a coherent whole in a process known as “theoretical coding.” In this phase of
research, the authors recommend using the “storyline technique”: a procedure that “builds a story
that connects the categories and produces a discursive set of theoretical propositions”: note,
“This tends to work if one reads them not for detail but rather for general sense.” (Glaser, &
Strauss, 2017, p 148). Ideally, this will be able to fill in the gaps that might exist between the
various points of data.

5. Advanced Coding: Weaving a Story Grounded in Data
Individuals who enjoy music seem to exist along a continuum, with those who express
having the the deepest appreciation for it often learning how to play some sort of musical
instrument themselves. When asked why they were initially drawn to start playing music, the
responses shared by interview participants included statements such as “it served as an outlet for
me to express myself” or “I wanted to be heard.” In both of these statements, as well as in others,
the theme of wanting acknowledgement seemed to be a primary reason for learning how to play
an instrument.
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When asked at what age most musicians started playing, the average response given was
14. According to Erikson’s psychosocial stages of identity development, individuals at this time
will be transitioning between stages—competence and fidelity— and thus will be seeking to
prove to others that they are capable of learning skills and filling roles in relation to social groups
(Hargreaves, North, Tarrant, 2002). For many, this time of life may be one of dramatic changes
and seemingly important decisions. Children at this age may feel a sense of powerlessness, or
lack of control in their abilities to predict the outcomes of their decisions for the future. This
uncertainty may result in feelings of insecurity, low confidence, or even inferiority (as children
will also be comparing themselves to others who have already selected careers for the future)
(Hargreaves, North, Tarrant, 2002). Additionally, at this stage, adolescents are also likely to be
dealing with insecurities related to body image, sex roles, and interpersonal skills: thus reducing
their feelings of control and security even further (Marcia, 1966).
It is at this stage, during adolescence, that social groups will begin to have more of an
influence on an individual’s decisions, as they will likely require the assurance of others opinions
to feel secure (Hargreaves, North, Tarrant, 2002). Here, music may enter the scene initially as a
socializer: bringing certain people together into in-groups, and also filtering out others into outgroups. The circumstances in which music becomes introduced to the children may vary;
although, most participants stated during interviews that they were originally exposed to music
by older relatives: specifically, older siblings, friends, or cousins.
Most participants made it a point to mention that parents were often the first to expose
them to music in general, but secondary sources—typically from outside the home—

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(such as friends, cousins, or older siblings) introduced them to specific styles, bands, artists,
genres, and subcultures. In this way, music becomes an important way for individuals to gather
knowledge of other lifestyles outside of their homes, and diversify their perspectives in ways that
allow them explore their potential social options: also, by this time, social groups will already
begin to become associated with certain genres of music, a phenomenon which Tagg (2006)
argues is related to music’s semiotic properties, which allow it to act as an auditory symbol
connoting different group identities.
For adolescents, the significance of identifying distinctions through music is largely
related to with the patterns of behavior that are either observed or stereotypically expected from
members of certain groups: for instance, a study conducted by Hargreaves, North, and Tarrant
(2002), revealed that 14- and 15-year-old British children tend to identify genres such as rap and
pop music with extraversion and social prestige, and genres such as jazz, classical, and heavy
metal with “people who do not have many friends.” Interestingly, one of the participants
(Seymour, a college-age musician) also described how he preferred listening to jam band music
while in private, but would “listen to different music to regulate [his] mood” so that he could
“get in the mindset of being more social.”
In this case, then, music initially serves as a way for individuals to gain both
acknowledgement from peers and acceptance into different social groups, by identifying
themselves as members of a particular in-group, and distinguishing themselves from others
designated as out-groups. In this way, the first social function of music is to act as a badge of
someone’s symbolic “identity in music”: a social category defined by knowledge of a particular
in-group culture (Firth, 1996; Hargreaves et al., 2002).
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As for its second social function, music can also act as a social filter to narrow broader
social categories (e.g. emos, hipsters, punks, etc.). Specifically, in the cases of those who identify
themselves as “musicians,” participants noted that music was able to provide a common set of
activities designed around the interests of individual in-group members, which inevitably
allowed them to form bonds, find friends, and make connections that lasted them both through
and beyond high school. Additionally, by establishing more intimate connections with similarminded people, adolescent individuals may begin to feel secure and somewhat in control of their
immediate situations, giving them confidence.
However, as Seymour noted, individuals also exist outside of social groups. As
individuals pass through school, and eventually into adult life, their identities will expand and
become more flexible as they adapt to interacting with different people, and switching between
styles of self projection. In this case, some versions of self may seem more or less authentic than
other versions. To that point, one participant made this comment: “I’m probably the most
authentic when I’m with my friends.” In this way, following the establishment of an individuals
“identity in music,” an identity primarily shared with friends and in-group members (outside of
the household), music will begin to serve more as a coping mechanism and taking on an
expressive function.
Initially, the coping function of music may be used expressively to gain
acknowledgement from parents: specifically, for the child’s newly formed competencies and
identity as an in-group member, worthy of control over personal decisions and movements. In
this way, adolescent individuals (who now feel more authentic around their in-group of friends,
rather than their families) will use music to signify group differences and mark territorial
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boundaries with parents. Additionally, individuals may use music to speak on their behalf, and
articulate different moods and emotions that they themselves might not be able to put into words,
or might be too afraid to say out loud. Music can also be used to stimulate escapist fantasies, and
recreate feelings of lost security, connection, and acceptance by evoking nostalgia, a
psychological defense mechanism used to prevent feelings of loneliness (Barrett et al, 2010;
George et al., 2007).
For some people, the experience of listening to music in private may eventually become
preferable to listening to music in groups. Of the participants who were interviewed, six out of
eight admitted to enjoying music more while in private rather than with others. As it was
explained by one participant, “Some songs you really have to listen to in order to appreciate
them, and it’s just easier to do that when you’re alone rather than when you’re with people.” A
second explanation for preferring to listen to music privately might be because privacy allows
the listener to become more vulnerable, and thus authentic with the reactions and responses to
certain songs: this much was described to be the case for musical artists who prefer to write their
songs in private; as explained by one participant, “Some songs you share with people, but others
you just to keep for yourself.”
For many, the expressive function of music begins to take on new meaning for the private
listener, past its original boundary-marking function. As Volgsten (2006) notes, “The listener
becomes a ‘friend’ (or ‘enemy’) with the music” (p 76): due to the verbal discourses which
become associated with different genres and songs (Juslin, & Laukka, 2003). Primarily, towards
the latter end of adolescence, the regular ritual activities of music listening (and practicing) may
now stand in for the security once afforded by in-group members. In this way, music can fill in
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for the absence of social connections when none are made available. Additionally, it is likely that
individuals at this stage will begin actively searching for new music to listen to on their own: this
music will likely be different from the music of the in-group, and will also be analyzed closely
for personally relevant messages.
In DeNora’s view, “the ostensibly private matter of individual musical use is part and
parcel of the cultural constitution of subjectivity”; this subjectivity—reflected in an individual’s
selective patterns of listening, returning, and highlighting certain songs and music—is what
Hargreaves et al. (2002) refer to as music in identity (DeNora, 1999). As DeNora (1999) argues,
this concept of music in identity can accurately be conceived of as a reflection of an individual’s
self-identity; in her words, “musical practice serves to index the ways in which music
consumption may provide a means for self-interpretation, for the articulation of self-image and
for the adaptation of various emotional states associated with the self in social life” (DeNora,
1999, p 32). In other words, privately playing and listening to music is a form of self-reflection:
one that can bring about feelings of control, security, empowerment, and knowledge about selfidentity.
In later years of adolescence (between the ages of 17 and 19), individuals have
established a temporary sense of security in their conditions and have entered into a period of
moratorium (Marcia, 1966). The routine interactions of the adolescents’ daily lives have allowed
them time to postpone thinking about the future, and has given them a sense of controlled
predictability over their situations: allowing them freedom to explore, be creative, and engage in
self-improvement practices (such as learning skills, or developing fitness). At this time,
individuals may also identify with a role model (or hero) who embodies the imagined
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characteristics and style of the ideal self: such a figure will, in turn, become influential in shaping
the individual’s attitudes, values, and behavior—and will also be important to the decision
making process during times of identity crisis.
For many, the hero may come in the form of great storyteller, artist, songwriter, or
musician: individuals will most likely select heroes who are relatable or are viewed as being
similar to themselves in some way. As Sellnow and Sellnow (2001) note, individuals will form
identifications with songs that are considered relevant to their own experiences, by drawing from
events in their own lives’ to fill in for missing visual elements in songs. Those that identify
closely with artists may seek to gather knowledge from them by studying their perspectives,
strategies, and attitudes, which are expressed by the artist thought the narratives in their songs.
Knowledge gathering may be performed because listeners seek to learn from the musical artists,
so that they might develop new attitudes or strategies for overcoming their own personal crises
through adaptive coping.
As Heidegger (as cited by Harman, 2011, p 76) notes, “I should not adopt every aspect of
my hero’s life, but adopt his or her possibilities while projecting or translating them into my own
experiences.” In this way, a person’s hero may serve as a type of authority figure with expert
power, whose life and teachings offer conventional wisdom for those who are faced with having
to make their own decisions about lifestyles and identities. For individuals passing between
different life stages, such as adolescents transitioning into young adulthood, the hero can serve as
an empowering figure (and moral authority), whose ethos allows them to bestow permission onto
individuals so that they might feel secure in performing certain actions, or committing to
impulses and decisions.
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In the cases of many musicians, the sense of empowerment experienced through music
may make them wish to inspire others to feel confident in themselves and adopt the artist’s
attitudes or perspectives. Initially, this may be what motivates musical artists to begin
performing for live crowds or recording music. In the statements shared by interview
participants, some explained that their motivations for performing were done to inspire audience
members to share in the artist’s mood or perspective, and to empower audiences; however, an
alternate explanation for artists performing may also be that they make music to gain
acknowledgement or feel in control of themselves and others.
In later stages of life, following the adolescent stage, individuals can be expected to face
many different types of crises. Individuals are expected to be alone during this period—in the
stage Erikson refers to as “intimacy vs. isolation”—where they will be considered as bachelors,
in search of meaningful long-term connections with romantic partners: connection can also be
expected to be dependent on the degree of authentic self sharing (i.e. intimacy) experienced in
relationships. According to Hargreaves et al. (2002), Erikson posited that the search for
connection is one that will take place between the ages of 18 and 40. Individuals
transitioning through this stage are likely to be evaluating their identities constantly, and may
rely on familiar strategies for coping (such as turning to music).
In the statements collected from the eight interview participants (seven of whom are
between the ages of 18 and 40), reasons for listening to music varied from wanting motivation
and empowerment to seeking inspiration and diverse perspectives. Furthermore, all eight of the
interviewed participants described seeking music on occasions where strong emotions were
prominent. Some of the most popular uses for music, listed by participants, included responses
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such as “regulating emotions” and “enhancing moods,” while others provided answers such a “to
be in the now,” or “to give me confidence.” In all of the answers provided by participants, music
was described as fulfilling a function for listeners, often in the context of attempting to control an
outcome (such as using music to help empower others) or fill a need for psychological security
and social connection.
In short, the strategies that people use to cope with unfulfilled needs and adapt to
evaluated weakness eventually become part of their social selves and self-identities. Music is one
coping mechanism that individuals may use to gain acknowledgement, join groups, and feel
secure by remembering past connections. Music also allows individuals to explore, find role
models, feel empowered, and evaluate themselves in certain ways based on in-group attitudes
and values. Moreover, music provides individuals with an outlet in which they can come to
understand themselves through reflection, and develop certain pathways of identity that can help
to shape them throughout life.

6. Conclusions from Advanced Coding: Developing Grounded Theory
As Glaser and Strauss (2017) suggest, when attempting to find connections between
categories and concepts, it helps to ask “What is the main issue or problem with which these
people seem to be grappling?” (p 148). From the suggestions found throughout much of the
literature on musical identities, the purposeful selection of music by individuals is performed for
purely functional reasons (Barett et al, 2010; Juslin, 2013; Sloboda, & Van Goethem, 2011)
Stated Differently, music is used to serve a particular purpose for the listener when it is selected.
Because of this, it can be recognized that music is used to satisfy certain needs which originate
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from the domains of identity: the social, emotional, and, cognitive domains (Hargreaves, North,
& Tarrant, 2002). In this way, music in relation to identity formation can be understood as a type
of coping mechanism used to help individuals adapt to unfulfilled (social, emotional, and
cognitive) needs and perceived weaknesses in identity presentation.
More specifically, the conclusion that music is used to help individuals cope (i.e. adapt to
crises caused by unfulfilled needs) can be refined, by specifying that individuals cope to resolve
crises arising from evaluations of self-identity (Hargreaves, North, & Tarrant, 2002; Marcia,
1966). To elaborate, in Erikson’s stages of development, individuals are believed to experience
periods of crisis throughout their lives while attempting to develop identities (Hargreaves, North,
& Tarrant, 2002). James Marcia (1966) added onto Erikson’s theory, by proposing a period of
exploration, where individuals evaluate available options before committing to a stable identity;
additionally, while exploring, uncommitted individuals are presumed to be in an ongoing state of
existential crisis, which resolves upon selecting an identity category (Marcia, 1966). From this, it
can be proposed that music is used to gather knowledge which informs the development of an
individual’s self-identity— which, in turn, effects the process of decision making, self-evaluation
and the outward expression of identity. Thus, the conclusion that listening to music is employed
as a coping strategy used to inform decision making can be proposed with the support of
developmental theory.
Furthermore, since music is intended to serve a practical function, and thus be used to
attend to the needs of individuals, the categories labeled in the intermediate coding section can
be identified as reflecting personal needs, and individual uses for music (i.e. strategies used for

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coping with unmet needs). Specifically, the first and second categories (connections, and
expression) can now be understood as relating to deeper needs for security and for control—
needs which motivate adaptation and self-identity development. As for the third and fourth
categories (empowerment, and knowledge gathering), they can be recognized as adaptive coping
strategies used for attaining identity goals— goals which include the fulfillment of the needs
listed in the first two categories.
With the inferred connections between concepts and categories now developed through
story, a third re-envisioning of the original data can now be made to adjust to new relationships:
note, many of the concepts discussed in the storyline section may overlap; what is important is to
recognize is that all participant responses present the underlying concepts of needs (for control
and security) and strategies for adapting perceptions and behaviors (i.e. coping) to resolve certain
crises affecting personal conceptions of identity and self-concept. Hence, a third recasting of the
data can be depicted as follows:

1. Needs
a. Security (In decisions about behavior/ self-identity)
i. Connections
1. Friends
2. Family
3. Past romantic relationships
b. Control (Confidence in behavior/ security in predictions about outcomes)
i. Acknowledgement (Being recognized/ accepted)
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ii. Authenticity
2. Coping Strategies
a. Knowledge gathering (Diversifying knowledge about responses to crisis)
i. Seeking to learn from / identify with artist’s/ role model’s attitudes or
behaviors
ii. Self-improvement (seeking new strategies for expression)
iii. Inspiration (adapting attitudes/ behavior)
b. Empowerment (affirming attitudes/ gaining security)
i. Enhancing/ regulating moods
1. Matching moods with music (seeking security to act)
2. (Authentic) Expression
3. Evoking memories/ nostalgia
4. Helping Others (giving security/ control)

6.1 Clarifying Concepts: Control, Security, and Crisis
To clarify, the concept labeled as control can be interpreted as the need to feel confident
in the outcome; at its most basic level, control can appear as confidence in one’s abilities to
perform bodily movements and express intentions or ideas. In the answers provided by the eight
interview participants, the concept of control appeared most often when participants described
using music to control their emotions. Many participants described using music to either
“enhance” or “regulate” their emotions, with some also sharing that they like to use music to
“shape” their emotions and “gain energy.” Other mentions of control were made in explicit
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statements, such as the one shared by Jack (the progressive rock listener), who described feeling
“in control” while playing drums, or Scott (the heavy metal singer) who noted that “It’s such a
satisfying feeling, being able to control your voice.”
Likewise, the concept labeled as security can be considered as preceding the need for
control. In short, security can be regarded as the need for emotional stability (McGonical, 2015;
Storr, 1989). In other words, security can be interpreted as the need to feel safe from harm and
free from threat, which may sometimes include threats to reputation and perceptions about selfidentity (Marcia, 1966; McGonical, 2015; Storr, 1989). For many, the need for security can come
in the form of validation from trusted sources or other in-group members, so as to affirm both
attitudes and perceptions about social reality and the self (Anderson et al., 2004; Hamlin, 2001;
Marcia, 1966).
As symbolic interactionists posit, social connections can stabilize (i.e. secure) self
conceptions, by serving as reference points for identity that both guide behavior and help to
define social reality: thus providing the individual with a sense of psychological security
(Hamlin, 2001). From this, it can be understood that connections are essential to developing
feelings of safety, order, and belonging— as well as emotional stability and self-identity. In this
way, then, social connections are capable of granting psychological security to individuals by
assuring them that their actions will be supported by others. To that end, the concept of security
can thus be identified as the underlying reason for seeking social connections, and losing security
can also be regarded as the primary cause of crisis.
Furthermore, the concept of crisis can also best be thought of as the disturbance of an
individual’s biological equilibrium (i.e. their feelings of safety and security) (Dissanayake, 2006;
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McGonical, 2015). At times when biological requirements are met, and an individual feels safe
with those around him, the patterns of daily life will develop into an emotional trajectory,
marked by the continuous fulfillment of expectations (Dissanayake, 2006; Volgsten, 2006). By
contrast, when a pattern of expectancy becomes disrupted, or the security of the individual’s
connections or supply lines is perceived to be under threat, his emotional trajectory will become
imbalanced, causing his body to go into a defensive state of crisis (known as “fight or flight”);
thus, necessitating an adaptation through coping (i.e. behavioral adjustment) so that the body can
remove the stress and return to a secure state of equilibrium (McGonical, 2015; Storr, 1989).
In this way, then, the concept of crisis can otherwise be interpreted as the perception of a
threat with no resolved strategy for adaptation—a need without a solution—or, in the case of an
identity crisis, a question posed without an answer (“Who am I?”). As McGonical (2015) notes,
coping can take many forms, and may include strategies such as seeking connection, gathering
knowledge, behavioral adaptation, or attempting emotional management: all of which are
strategies that can be identified in the functional uses for music.

6.2 Proposing a Theory Grounded in Data
In summary of the information collected through the course of this study, by interview
and by comparative research on the existing body of literature, the following theoretical
interpretation about music’s role in the process identity formation can be made with the support
of evidence grounded in data.
As findings from the research show, people have a need to feel secure in their selfidentities so that they feel confident in their abilities to make decisions (DeNora, 1999;
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Hargreaves et al., 2002; Marcia, 1966). More specifically, people have a need to minimize risk
while making decisions that could impact their self-identities or eventual futures: hence, the
period of inhibition, experienced as existential angst or crisis (where the mind is overwhelmed
with possibilities), which occurs prior to making decisions that might appear to be important,
such as answering the question of “Who am I”? (Harman, 2011; Marcia, 1966).
Decision making can be regarded as essential to the overall process of identity formation
for it can have both short- and long-term impacts on an individual’s self-esteem and self-image,
and also their feelings of security and control (DeNora, 1999; Harman, 2011). In many cases,
people will experience inhibitions prior to making decisions which can impact feelings of control
or self-esteem; in cases of important life decisions, Erikson noted that avoiding decision making
altogether can leave individuals in a state of “moratorium,” an extended identity crisis where
individuals will feel insecure and have low self-esteem (Hargreaves et al., 2002; McGonical,
2015; Marcia, 1966; Storr, 1989).
As Hargreaves et al. (2002) note, in a summary Tajfel’s social identity theory,
“Individuals have a fundamental motivation to develop and maintain high levels
of self-esteem…this is established by identifying with groups of people who have positive
image” (p 9); furthermore, to their point, “For adolescents striving to increase their self-esteem,
identifying with particular genres of music which they rate highly and distancing themselves
from less-valued genres allows them to establish favorable social and personal identities”
(Hargreaves et al., 2002, p 9). In this way, affiliating with particular music genres during
adolescence may be one way for individuals to decide upon initial social identities and establish
positive self-images— images that can consequently raise their self-esteem.
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Furthermore, making a decision to act upon desired impulses will be interpreted by the
actor as an “authentic” decision, while inhibiting oneself will either have no impact or a negative
impact on self-esteem: depending on the degree of emotional interest invested into the decision
(Brown, 2006; Harman, 2011). For this reason, individuals who are attempting to resolve a crisis
in decision making, which could potentially have impacts on their self-esteem, will attempt to
cope by collecting information (i.e. knowledge gathering) from trusted sources so as to confirm
their decisions: this may include assurances from friends, family, or other loved ones—however,
in the absence of close personal sources (i.e. connections), individuals may also seek
confirmation from other sources found in their environments, such as background music (Brown,
2006; Hargreaves, & North, 2006).
Moreover, after receiving confirmation to act upon an authentic desire (the original
intuitive impulse), individuals will experience feelings of empowerment as they have been
granted security to take control over their decisions and act authentically. In this sense,
empowerment can be interpreted as a coping strategy used to motivate individuals to act upon
authentic desires: thus creating the aesthetic image of the self in motion towards the ideal self
(the self who is always secure and in control) (Langer, 1981; Storr, 1989; Zuckerkandl, 1973).
In this way, individuals will experience threats to self-esteem and seek to cope through
different mediums. Individual reasons for seeking to cope may vary, but the need to cope will
always be in response to a stressor, typically related to social pressures (described in Erikson’s
model of development: i.e. competency vs. inferiority, identity vs. role confusion, intimacy vs.
isolation). As DeNora (1999) notes, “the perceived ‘need’ for regulation described by our
participants emerges with reference to the exigencies and situational ‘demands’ made upon them
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in and through their interactions with others” (p 49). For this reason, the virtual medium of music
may provide an ideal space for individuals to fantasize, escape, reflect, vent aggressions, or
perform other types of self-identity “maintenance” activities that can help to reflexively prepare
them to make decisions that shape who they are and how they inevitably come to see themselves.
As DeNora (1999) writes, “When respondents are choosing music as part of this care of
self, they are engaging in self-conscious articulation work, thinking ahead about the music that
will ‘work’ for the purpose at hand” (p 48). From their experiences shared with music, both in
social situations and in private, individuals may come to imbue certain pieces of music with
symbolic meaning. As cognitive theorists note, music is capable of inducing psychological
arousal, which can support the creation of memories (Brown, 2006; Volgsten, 2006).
Furthermore, as Hargraves, & North (2006) have noted, music may act both as a mnemonic and
metonymy, capable of activating subordinate categories of knowledge associated with certain
pieces of music. Put differently, music is particularly suited to forming cognitive associations
and acting as a type of auditory symbol which can retrieve memories (particularly, those imbued
with emotional significance).
In this case, as DeNora (1999) notes, music “serves also as putting actors in touch with
their capabilities, reminding them of their accomplished identities which in turn fuels the ongoing projection of identity from past to future.” In this sense, the act of coping through
knowledge gathering can also empower individuals by reminding them of past experiences and
decisions; this is what DeNora (1999) refers to when she contends that individuals “weave
autobiographical narratives of self” through music; as she explains, “Music can be used as a

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device for the reflexive process of remembering/constructing who one is, a technology for
spinning the apparently ‘continuous’ tale of who one ‘is” (DeNora, 1999, p 45).
To that end, music can be regarded as a coping mechanism used to assist in the process of
decision making and identity forming. Specifically, music provides individuals with feelings of
both security and control: by comforting them through memories, providing a means for social
interaction, acting as an initial material for self-image construction, and empowering individuals
by removing inhibitions that might prevent them from acting upon authentic motivations.
Additionally, as Martin (2006) writes, music can provide individuals a with “structured pathway”
through life “giving them, as it were, one road to live by with all the detailed expectations about
behavior, content, rituals, values, and social relationships that this implies.” Stated differently,
musical pathways provide individuals with criteria through which they can come to evaluate
themselves and make decisions that develop their identities for the future.

7. Summary of Chapter Four
In Chapter Four, information that was collected from eight interview participants was
analyzed for recurring concepts, which were then labeled as initial concept codes. The initial
concept codes were then compared to one another in an intermediate coding section, where more
refined concepts were then developed and placed into categories. Following the development of
categories, the concepts were then weaved into a story that sought to develop advanced codes
from theoretical relationships that existed between both concept codes and categories. Using the
advanced codes that were developed through the theoretical relationships in the story, the
findings of the research were used to compose a theoretical observation: positing that music
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informs self-identity which, in turn, influences decision making and the projection of social
identity to others.
In the next chapter, Chapter Five, an overview of the research from this study will be
provided, and a statement about the contributions of this study will made. Additionally,
conclusions from research will be summarized, and the sub-questions that were formed in
Chapter Three will be answered along with the central research question. Lastly,
recommendations for future research will also be proposed, along with the implications and
limitations of the research from this study.

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CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION
1. Overview of Study
The objective of this research was to discover the ways in which individuals use music to
inform the process of identity formation. Scholars of communication have long been interested in
investigating the rhetorical, sociocultural, and semiotic functions of music (Brown, 2006; Binder,
1993; Koskoff, 1987; Nettl, 2010). However, relatively few studies have addressed the uses of
music to form and articulate self-identity (Crafts, 1993; DeNora, 1999; Firth, 1996; Hargreaves
et al., 2002). For this reason, further research into the connection between identity and music
seemed warranted.
Additionally, given the personalized nature of the research topic, the study called for a
qualitative approach with a flexible methodology; hence, the topic was explored using a

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grounded theory methodology, where data was collected from eight participants (all of whom
possessed an in-depth knowledge of music) by means of qualitative interview and audio
recording. Following the initial data collection, the responses provided by participants were then
coded, placed into categories, and weaved into a narrative using supporting evidence found from
relevant literature. These measures were taken in order to address the central research question of
the study:

RQ: How are individual people using music to inform the process of identity formation?

2. Answering Sub-Questions from Research
The central research question was posed in order to guide the course of the investigation.
However, given nature of grounded theory, the development of sub-questions was necessary in
order to gain perspective on the topic, by approaching it from multiple angles (Glaser, & Strauss,
2017). After a thorough review of the literature addressing the topics of music and selfpsychology, it became apparent that individuals use music for functional reasons related to needs
inherent to the social, emotional, and cognitive domains of identity. For this reason, several subquestions were developed with respect to those domains. The answers to those questions can be
viewed as follows:

Q1: What social needs are people attempting to satisfy using music?
a. Also, how does music help them to satisfy these needs?

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After comparing the responses provided by the eight research participants with the
proposals made by authors in the literature, the results determine that individuals are attempting
to satisfy needs for security, community, and connection within social groups (Martin, 2006;
Nettl, 2010). Music allows individuals to satisfy these needs by providing an activity and
atmosphere that can relieve social tensions and promote bonding (Dissanayake, 2006). Music
also provides a means for acknowledging similarities between individuals, by connoting shared
attitudes and values through aesthetics (Fridman, & Ollivier, 2020; Volgsten, 2006). Music can
then satisfy the needs for security by providing a means in which individuals can connect with
others who share similar aesthetic tastes and form in-groups based around the values and
attitudes that are expressed in the aesthetics of a particular genre style (Martin, 2006).

Q2: Additionally, how are individuals viewing music in relation to their current sense of selfidentity?
a. Is music being used as a way to vicariously explore alternate identities?
b. Is it used to affirm or justify personal decisions, beliefs, or lifestyle choices?
c. Or, are people viewing music as some type of moral authority, used to teach them
about certain virtuous qualities that might make them better people in the eyes of their
current culture?

In the responses shared by the interview participants, all eight individuals explained that
music that is felt to be relatable to current life situations is overall most preferable for listening.
These findings agree with information provided in the literature. According to Brown (2006),
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“Music would seem to work through a peripheral route of persuasion, operating more as a
reinforcer than a direct message”; in other words, “music directly reinforces beliefs of central
importance” but also “in the case of lightly felt beliefs…where people’s attitudes are swayable,
music may serve more as an instrument of attitude change” (Brown, 2006, p 23). In this way,
music is used to confirm existing beliefs that are already strongly felt, and may also influence
decision making for lightly felt issues. To that end, music may not act as a moral authority per
se, but may serve as a reminder of existing in-group values and beliefs.
As this relates to self-identity, it can be regarded that individuals who are performing
evaluations for self-esteem will do so by collecting information that either confirms or negates
their perceptions of social value. According to Hargreaves et al. (2002), who cite Henry Tajfel’s
social identity theory, individuals will form evaluations of self-esteem by comparing themselves
to others within society, including both out-groups and in-groups, who set the standards that
individuals use appraise self-image. In this way, music may be used by individuals to confirm
evaluations that are made while appraising self-esteem.
Additionally, as noted by McGonical (2015), individuals will often turn to fantasy as a
form of defensive coping when met with unsatisfactory conditions. In this case, the experience of
virtually escaping through music (and into the security of nostalgia, or the control of sexual,
aggressive, or grandiose fantasy) may also be used by individuals to cope with negative selfevaluations and restore self-esteem (Barrett et al, 2010; DeNora, 1999). However, the exact
reasons and contents of fantasy cannot be known fully.

Q3: What psychological needs are individuals attempting to satisfy using music?
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a. And, why do certain individuals feel that these needs are being satisfied by
turning to music?
b. What function is music playing in the lives of individual people (namely,
in this case, music lovers)?
c. How does music help to inform the decision-making process?

After assessing the statements made by research participants through the process of
comparative analysis, the findings of advanced coding determined that individuals have
psychological needs for security and control. In this context, these concepts can be considered as
being related to evaluations of self-esteem (i.e. secure in self-image and confident in identity).
Across interviews, participants tended to describe music as being either a “reflection” or
an “extension” of their immediately-felt emotional conditions: one participant even went as far
as to say that “music is my being…it rules me”; while another musician also described that
practicing music is “a way of life.” According to DeNora (1999), the activity of music listening
(and playing) can take on a symbolic significance for individuals: recovering memories of
themselves from the past, while shaping (and empowering) their identities moving into the
future. Over time, she argues, these activities can create a stable self-image that exists in relation
to private music consumption (DeNora, 1999).
With this sense of stability in self-image, afforded from music listening (and playing),
individuals may feel empowered and confident because of their reinforced reminders of past
accomplishments, which for musicians might include memories such as learning how to play an
instrument; as one participant shared “I’m probably the most confident in myself when I’m
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playing the drums”: similar stories of confidence inspired through music were also shared by
other participants, who made statements like “music helped me to become extraverted,” and
“music gives me confidence.” In this way, by using music as a reminder of personal capabilities
and past achievements, people who frequently listen to music may feel more confident in
deciding to act upon authentic ambitions and desires: thus expressing themselves in a way that
makes them feel in control (and more like the ideal self).

3. Answering The Central Research Question
RQ: How are individual people using music to inform the process of identity formation?

Through research, it was discovered that identity is a dynamic process which is
experienced both cognitively and emotionally (as self-identity), and expressed socially through
decisions about behaviors, which communicate identity to others (DeNora, 1999; Hargreaves et
al., 2002; Martin, 2006). Music informs this process by influencing self-identity— which, in
turn, influences decisions about behavior—and the consequent expression of identity to others.
Through the use of grounded theory, which was discussed at the end of the analysis
presented in Chapter Four, a theory was formed that posited that individuals have an inherent
need for control (i.e. confidence in outcomes) and security (i.e. feelings of safety from threat),
and use knowledge gathering strategies as a form of adaptive coping to relieve stress and
empower decision making during times of crisis (Brown, 2006; McGonical, 2015). Additionally,
music was identified as a coping mechanism used for resolving crises, by removing inhibitions
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that prevent individuals from making decisions that might affect future evaluations of selfidentity (Koelsch, 2010). Moreover, it was also noted that music is used both to inform and
affirm self-image by precipitating memories of past experiences and social connections, which
secure self-image, and empower individuals to take control over their decisions and act
authentically (DeNora, 1999; Hargreaves, McDonald, & Miell, 2002). In sum, this theory
proposes that music is used to inform identity formation by enlightening individuals to their own
authentic identity goals, and additionally giving them the confidence to act on those goals.

4. Implications from Study
By exploring the ways that individuals use music to understand themselves and form
identities, this study contributes to the growing body of research being conducted on identity
formation. What is unique about the contribution of this study, specifically, is that it attempts to
shed light on the active evaluations of self that are being made throughout the process identity
formation, and the strategies that are used to regulate those evaluations. Through evaluations of
the self, individuals make inferences about their own self-identities and capabilities, which in
turn translates into their decision making and the way that they express their identities to others.
In this way, implications from this study could assist future researchers in developing further
understandings of how environmental factors such as exposure to music contribute the overall
process of identity formation.

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5. Limitations and Recommendations for Future Research
Limiting factors of this study included time constraints, lack of diversity in the participant
population, and oversights that may have occurred due to grounded theory and biases of the
principle researcher. As mentioned in Chapter Three, grounded theory is a useful method for
providing interpretations of data, but is prone to internal bias.
A recommendation for future researchers would be to gather strong evidence of the
existence of categories before making claims, by finding external sources that can prove validity.
Other recommendations for research would be to narrow the scope of study by focusing on just
one part of the identity forming process, and also to use a larger participant population to collect
data.

6. Finding Self in Sound: Music in the Process of Identity Formation
The central research question of this study sought to answer how music informs the
process of identity formation. Through the use of qualitative interview, literature analysis, and
grounded theory, a theoretical conclusion was eventually drawn, positing that music informs
individuals about their authentic motivations and identity goals, and also influences them to act
upon those goals. One theme which emerged through research (and was eventually developed
into the proposed concept of control) was that individuals find that they gain confidence from
music, and that that confidence also translates into other areas of their lives, outside of playing
and listening to music. With this, further investigation into the connections between music and
identity formation are encouraged. The ways in which music and identity intertwine has still yet

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to be fully understood by researchers (DeNora, 1999; Hargreaves et al., 2002). This thesis was an
attempt to bring research closer to understanding.

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108

Appendix A: Recruitment Email

109

Appendix B: Consent Forms
East Stroudsburg University
Department of Communication
INFORMED CONSENT
Finding Self in Sound: Music in the Process of Identity Formation
NOTE: DO NOT SIGN THIS DOCUMENT UNLESS AN IRB APPROVAL STAMP
WITH CURRENT DATES HAS BEEN APPLIED TO THIS DOCUMENT.)
You are invited to participate in a research study to learn about the influences of music on the
identity development process. The study is being conducted by Thomas Monahan, a graduate student
working under the direction of Dr. Cem Zeytinoglu in the East Stroudsburg University Department
of Communication. You were selected as a possible participant because you are have clearly shown
interest in music and you are 19 or older.
If you decide to participate in this research study, you will be asked to discuss the role that music
has played in your life by means of qualitative interview. Your total time commitment will be
approximately thirty minutes.
There will be no risks to participants in this study. Audio from interviews may be recorded for
review by the researcher. All audio information will be deleted once the full study has been finalized.
The only cost required of participants at least thirty minutes of their time.
Any information obtained in connection with this study will remain confidential.
If you change your mind about participating, you can withdraw at any time during the study. Your
participation is completely voluntary. If you choose to withdraw, your data can be withdrawn as long
as it is identifiable. Your decision about whether or not to participate or to stop participating will not
jeopardize your future relations with ESU, the Department of Communication or the principal
investigator, Thomas Monahan.
If you have questions about your rights as a research participant, you may contact the East
Stroudsburg University Institutional Review Board by phone (570)-422-3336 or e-mail at sdavis@pobox.esu.edu.
110

Participants Initials ________

Page 1 of 2

HAVING READ THE INFORMATION PROVIDED, YOU MUST DECIDE
WHETHERE OR NOT YOU WISH TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS RESARCH STUDY.
YOUR SIGNATURE INDICATES YOUR WILLINGNESS TO PARTICIPATE.

____________________________
Participant Signature
Date

_______________________________3/26/2020
Investigator obtaining consent Date

____________________________
Printed Name

___________Thomas Monahan______
Printed Name
_________________________________
Co-Investigator
Date
_________________________________
Printed Name

111

East Stroudsburg University
Department of Communication
INFORMED CONSENT
Finding Self in Sound: Music in the Process of Identity Formation
NOTE: DO NOT SIGN THIS DOCUMENT UNLESS AN IRB APPROVAL STAMP
WITH CURRENT DATES HAS BEEN APPLIED TO THIS DOCUMENT.)
You are invited to participate in a research study to learn about the influences of music on the
identity development process. The study is being conducted by Thomas Monahan, a graduate student
working under the direction of Dr. Cem Zeytinoglu in the East Stroudsburg University Department
of Communication. You were selected as a possible participant because you are have clearly shown
interest in music and you are 19 or older.
If you decide to participate in this research study, you will be asked to discuss the role that music
has played in your life by means of qualitative interview. Your total time commitment will be
approximately thirty minutes.
There will be no risks to participants in this study. Audio from interviews may be recorded for
review by the researcher. All audio information will be deleted once the full study has been finalized.
The only cost required of participants at least thirty minutes of their time.
Any information obtained in connection with this study will remain confidential.
If you change your mind about participating, you can withdraw at any time during the study. Your
participation is completely voluntary. If you choose to withdraw, your data can be withdrawn as long
as it is identifiable. Your decision about whether or not to participate or to stop participating will not
jeopardize your future relations with ESU, the Department of Communication or the principal
investigator, Thomas Monahan.
If you have questions about your rights as a research participant, you may contact the East
Stroudsburg University Institutional Review Board by phone (570)-422-3336 or e-mail at sdavis@pobox.esu.edu.

112

Participants Initials ________

Page 1 of 2

HAVING READ THE INFORMATION PROVIDED, YOU MUST DECIDE
WHETHERE OR NOT YOU WISH TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS RESARCH STUDY.
YOUR SIGNATURE INDICATES YOUR WILLINGNESS TO PARTICIPATE.
_____________________3/19/2020 ______Thomas Monahan______3/19/2020
Participant Signature
Date
Investigator obtaining consent Date
___Lisa Truffi___________
Printed Name

_____________Thomas Monahan_
Printed Name
_________________________________
Co-Investigator
Date
_________________________________
Printed Name

113

East Stroudsburg University
Department of Communication
INFORMED CONSENT
Finding Self in Sound: Music in the Process of Identity Formation
NOTE: DO NOT SIGN THIS DOCUMENT UNLESS AN IRB APPROVAL STAMP
WITH CURRENT DATES HAS BEEN APPLIED TO THIS DOCUMENT.)
You are invited to participate in a research study to learn about the influences of music on the
identity development process. The study is being conducted by Thomas Monahan, a graduate student
working under the direction of Dr. Cem Zeytinoglu in the East Stroudsburg University Department
of Communication. You were selected as a possible participant because you are have clearly shown
interest in music and you are 19 or older.
If you decide to participate in this research study, you will be asked to discuss the role that music
has played in your life by means of qualitative interview. Your total time commitment will be
approximately thirty minutes.
There will be no risks to participants in this study. Audio from interviews may be recorded for
review by the researcher. All audio information will be deleted once the full study has been finalized.
The only cost required of participants at least thirty minutes of their time.
Any information obtained in connection with this study will remain confidential.
If you change your mind about participating, you can withdraw at any time during the study. Your
participation is completely voluntary. If you choose to withdraw, your data can be withdrawn as long
as it is identifiable. Your decision about whether or not to participate or to stop participating will not
jeopardize your future relations with ESU, the Department of Communication or the principal
investigator, Thomas Monahan.
If you have questions about your rights as a research participant, you may contact the East
Stroudsburg University Institutional Review Board by phone (570)-422-3336 or e-mail at sdavis@pobox.esu.edu.

114

Participants Initials ________

Page 1 of 2

HAVING READ THE INFORMATION PROVIDED, YOU MUST DECIDE
WHETHERE OR NOT YOU WISH TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS RESARCH STUDY.
YOUR SIGNATURE INDICATES YOUR WILLINGNESS TO PARTICIPATE.

_____________________3/25/2020 ______Thomas Monahan______3/25/2020
Participant Signature
Date
Investigator obtaining consent Date
____________Scott Woodean
Printed Name

_____________Thomas Monahan_
Printed Name
_________________________________
Co-Investigator
Date
_________________________________
Printed Name

115

East Stroudsburg University
Department of Communication
INFORMED CONSENT
Finding Self in Sound: Music in the Process of Identity Formation
NOTE: DO NOT SIGN THIS DOCUMENT UNLESS AN IRB APPROVAL STAMP
WITH CURRENT DATES HAS BEEN APPLIED TO THIS DOCUMENT.)
You are invited to participate in a research study to learn about the influences of music on the
identity development process. The study is being conducted by Thomas Monahan, a graduate student
working under the direction of Dr. Cem Zeytinoglu in the East Stroudsburg University Department
of Communication. You were selected as a possible participant because you are have clearly shown
interest in music and you are 19 or older.
If you decide to participate in this research study, you will be asked to discuss the role that music
has played in your life by means of qualitative interview. Your total time commitment will be
approximately thirty minutes.
There will be no risks to participants in this study. Audio from interviews may be recorded for
review by the researcher. All audio information will be deleted once the full study has been finalized.
The only cost required of participants at least thirty minutes of their time.
Any information obtained in connection with this study will remain confidential.
If you change your mind about participating, you can withdraw at any time during the study. Your
participation is completely voluntary. If you choose to withdraw, your data can be withdrawn as long
as it is identifiable. Your decision about whether or not to participate or to stop participating will not
jeopardize your future relations with ESU, the Department of Communication or the principal
investigator, Thomas Monahan.
If you have questions about your rights as a research participant, you may contact the East
Stroudsburg University Institutional Review Board by phone (570)-422-3336 or e-mail at sdavis@pobox.esu.edu.

116

Participants Initials ________

Page 1 of 2

HAVING READ THE INFORMATION PROVIDED, YOU MUST DECIDE
WHETHERE OR NOT YOU WISH TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS RESARCH STUDY.
YOUR SIGNATURE INDICATES YOUR WILLINGNESS TO PARTICIPATE.

______________________8/19/2020 _____________________________8/19-2020
Participant Signature
Date
Investigator obtaining consent Date
_Kimberly Luciano____________
Printed Name

_______Thomas Monahan__________
Printed Name
_________________________________
Co-Investigator
Date
_________________________________

117

East Stroudsburg University
Department of Communication
INFORMED CONSENT
Finding Self in Sound: Music in the Process of Identity Formation
NOTE: DO NOT SIGN THIS DOCUMENT UNLESS AN IRB APPROVAL STAMP
WITH CURRENT DATES HAS BEEN APPLIED TO THIS DOCUMENT.)
You are invited to participate in a research study to learn about the influences of music on the
identity development process. The study is being conducted by Thomas Monahan, a graduate student
working under the direction of Dr. Cem Zeytinoglu in the East Stroudsburg University Department
of Communication. You were selected as a possible participant because you are have clearly shown
interest in music and you are 19 or older.
If you decide to participate in this research study, you will be asked to discuss the role that music
has played in your life by means of qualitative interview. Your total time commitment will be
approximately thirty minutes.
There will be no risks to participants in this study. Audio from interviews may be recorded for
review by the researcher. All audio information will be deleted once the full study has been finalized.
The only cost required of participants at least thirty minutes of their time.
Any information obtained in connection with this study will remain confidential.
If you change your mind about participating, you can withdraw at any time during the study. Your
participation is completely voluntary. If you choose to withdraw, your data can be withdrawn as long
as it is identifiable. Your decision about whether or not to participate or to stop participating will not
jeopardize your future relations with ESU, the Department of Communication or the principal
investigator, Thomas Monahan.
If you have questions about your rights as a research participant, you may contact the East
Stroudsburg University Institutional Review Board by phone (570)-422-3336 or e-mail at sdavis@pobox.esu.edu.

118

Participants Initials ________

Page 1 of 2

HAVING READ THE INFORMATION PROVIDED, YOU MUST DECIDE
WHETHERE OR NOT YOU WISH TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS RESARCH STUDY.
YOUR SIGNATURE INDICATES YOUR WILLINGNESS TO PARTICIPATE.

________________________3/22/2020 _______________________________3/22/2020
Participant Signature
Date
Investigator obtaining consent Date
___Brenda Rosas______________
Printed Name

_________________Thomas Monahan___
Printed Name
_________________________________
Co-Investigator
Date
_________________________________
Printed Name

119

East Stroudsburg University
Department of Communication
INFORMED CONSENT
Finding Self in Sound: Music in the Process of Identity Formation
NOTE: DO NOT SIGN THIS DOCUMENT UNLESS AN IRB APPROVAL STAMP
WITH CURRENT DATES HAS BEEN APPLIED TO THIS DOCUMENT.)
You are invited to participate in a research study to learn about the influences of music on the
identity development process. The study is being conducted by Thomas Monahan, a graduate student
working under the direction of Dr. Cem Zeytinoglu in the East Stroudsburg University Department
of Communication. You were selected as a possible participant because you are have clearly shown
interest in music and you are 19 or older.
If you decide to participate in this research study, you will be asked to discuss the role that music
has played in your life by means of qualitative interview. Your total time commitment will be
approximately thirty minutes.
There will be no risks to participants in this study. Audio from interviews may be recorded for
review by the researcher. All audio information will be deleted once the full study has been finalized.
The only cost required of participants at least thirty minutes of their time.
Any information obtained in connection with this study will remain confidential.
If you change your mind about participating, you can withdraw at any time during the study. Your
participation is completely voluntary. If you choose to withdraw, your data can be withdrawn as long
as it is identifiable. Your decision about whether or not to participate or to stop participating will not
jeopardize your future relations with ESU, the Department of Communication or the principal
investigator, Thomas Monahan.
If you have questions about your rights as a research participant, you may contact the East
Stroudsburg University Institutional Review Board by phone (570)-422-3336 or e-mail at sdavis@pobox.esu.edu.

120

Participants Initials ________

Page 1 of 2

HAVING READ THE INFORMATION PROVIDED, YOU MUST DECIDE
WHETHERE OR NOT YOU WISH TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS RESARCH STUDY.
YOUR SIGNATURE INDICATES YOUR WILLINGNESS TO PARTICIPATE.

________________________3/22/2020 _______________________________3/22/2020
Participant Signature
Date
Investigator obtaining consent Date
___Jackson Meyerhof________
Printed Name

_________________Thomas Monahan___
Printed Name
_________________________________
Co-Investigator
Date
_________________________________
Printed Name

121

East Stroudsburg University
Department of Communication
INFORMED CONSENT
Finding Self in Sound: Music in the Process of Identity Formation
NOTE: DO NOT SIGN THIS DOCUMENT UNLESS AN IRB APPROVAL STAMP
WITH CURRENT DATES HAS BEEN APPLIED TO THIS DOCUMENT.)
You are invited to participate in a research study to learn about the influences of music on the
identity development process. The study is being conducted by Thomas Monahan, a graduate student
working under the direction of Dr. Cem Zeytinoglu in the East Stroudsburg University Department
of Communication. You were selected as a possible participant because you are have clearly shown
interest in music and you are 19 or older.
If you decide to participate in this research study, you will be asked to discuss the role that music
has played in your life by means of qualitative interview. Your total time commitment will be
approximately thirty minutes.
There will be no risks to participants in this study. Audio from interviews may be recorded for
review by the researcher. All audio information will be deleted once the full study has been finalized.
The only cost required of participants at least thirty minutes of their time.
Any information obtained in connection with this study will remain confidential.
If you change your mind about participating, you can withdraw at any time during the study. Your
participation is completely voluntary. If you choose to withdraw, your data can be withdrawn as long
as it is identifiable. Your decision about whether or not to participate or to stop participating will not
jeopardize your future relations with ESU, the Department of Communication or the principal
investigator, Thomas Monahan.
If you have questions about your rights as a research participant, you may contact the East
Stroudsburg University Institutional Review Board by phone (570)-422-3336 or e-mail at sdavis@pobox.esu.edu.

122

Participants Initials ________

Page 1 of 2

HAVING READ THE INFORMATION PROVIDED, YOU MUST DECIDE
WHETHERE OR NOT YOU WISH TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS RESARCH STUDY.
YOUR SIGNATURE INDICATES YOUR WILLINGNESS TO PARTICIPATE.

________________________3/21/2020 _______________________________3/21/2020
Participant Signature
Date
Investigator obtaining consent Date
___Alan Garcia______________
Printed Name

_________________Thomas Monahan___
Printed Name
_________________________________
Co-Investigator
Date
_________________________________
Printed Name

123

East Stroudsburg University
Department of Communication
INFORMED CONSENT
Finding Self in Sound: Music in the Process of Identity Formation
NOTE: DO NOT SIGN THIS DOCUMENT UNLESS AN IRB APPROVAL STAMP
WITH CURRENT DATES HAS BEEN APPLIED TO THIS DOCUMENT.)
You are invited to participate in a research study to learn about the influences of music on the
identity development process. The study is being conducted by Thomas Monahan, a graduate student
working under the direction of Dr. Cem Zeytinoglu in the East Stroudsburg University Department
of Communication. You were selected as a possible participant because you are have clearly shown
interest in music and you are 19 or older.
If you decide to participate in this research study, you will be asked to discuss the role that music
has played in your life by means of qualitative interview. Your total time commitment will be
approximately thirty minutes.
There will be no risks to participants in this study. Audio from interviews may be recorded for
review by the researcher. All audio information will be deleted once the full study has been finalized.
The only cost required of participants at least thirty minutes of their time.
Any information obtained in connection with this study will remain confidential.
If you change your mind about participating, you can withdraw at any time during the study. Your
participation is completely voluntary. If you choose to withdraw, your data can be withdrawn as long
as it is identifiable. Your decision about whether or not to participate or to stop participating will not
jeopardize your future relations with ESU, the Department of Communication or the principal
investigator, Thomas Monahan.
If you have questions about your rights as a research participant, you may contact the East
Stroudsburg University Institutional Review Board by phone (570)-422-3336 or e-mail at sdavis@pobox.esu.edu.

124

Participants Initials ________

Page 1 of 2

HAVING READ THE INFORMATION PROVIDED, YOU MUST DECIDE
WHETHERE OR NOT YOU WISH TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS RESARCH STUDY.
YOUR SIGNATURE INDICATES YOUR WILLINGNESS TO PARTICIPATE.

________________________3/21/2020 _______________________________3/21/2020
Participant Signature
Date
Investigator obtaining consent Date
___Jodan Mayer_____________
Printed Name

_________________Thomas Monahan___
Printed Name
_________________________________
Co-Investigator
Date
_________________________________
Printed Name

125

Appendix C: Interview Questions
Interview Questions General
•

What is your favorite music genre?

•

How did you first encounter this type of music?

•

Can you describe why you like this type of music?

•

What qualities draw you to it (ex: beats, lyrics, emotions)?

•

What does music do for you in general (ex: socializing, learning, coping, motivation)?

•

Do you like this type of music during every occasion? Or, do you only find yourself
listening to different styles at different times?

•

Do you associate certain music with things you’ve encountered?

•

When do you find yourself listening to music? Can you describe what makes you want to
listen at those times, or in those situations?

•

When did you first begin to actively seek out music to listen to on your own?

•

Would you say that your tastes have changed over the years? If so, can you recall what
made you start expanding?

•

Would you say that you were influenced by music? If so, how so?

•

Do you think that music has ever influenced your behavior (like have you ever been
compelled to dance)?

•

What are you looking for when you listen to a song?

•

Do you have any favorite songs? What do those songs mean to you?
126

•

Do you try to look up explanations to songs, or do you like to make up your own
meanings?

•

Why do you keep returning to these (your favorite) songs?

•

Do you get specific feelings from specific songs?

•

Do you have any favorite artists? Or, do you follow any artists closely?

•

Have these people influenced you at all? If so, how so?

•

What is it that you value about these artists in particular?

•

Has music shaped any of your views about the world (any of your attitudes, values,
beliefs, philosophies, mantras)? In what way?

•

Was this an attitude, belief, or value that you were felt strongly about before?

•

Do you think that other people would be able to guess that your personality judging by
your music tastes? Why?

•

Do you think that you’d be able to tell somebody’s personality if you knew somebody’s
music tastes?

•

Can you describe your personality for me?

•

What is your favorite song right now?

•

Do you think that it reflects your personality?

Questions about identity
•

Would you say that you are confident in your current self image (your identity as you are
right now)?
127

•

Have you always felt confident in your image?

•

If no, what changed to make you confident in your self right now?

•

How do you think someone else would describe you?

•

Do you usually try to act the same when you around different people? Or, do you change
how you act depending on the situation?

•

How do you usually tend to act around people you don’t know?

•

What part of your identity do you think distinguishes you from your peers?

•

Do you count yourself as part of any kind of community or subculture?

•

If so, do you find that others in your community share the same tastes in music?

•

Are there people that you feel most comfortable being around?

•

If yes, why do you feel more comfortable around them than others?

•

Would you say you act like the same person when you’re not around these people?

•

Do you have anything that stresses you out?

•

What calms you down when your stressed?

•

If you would want to be remembered for one thing, what would it be?

Interview Questions Artist specific
•

What made you want to start playing your instrument/ performing?

•

When did you start practicing your craft?

•

How often would you say that you practice?

•

What motivates you to practice now?
128

•

Have you always had the same motivations?

•

If no, then, what changed? Was it an event that changed you, or a gradual change over
time?

•

Do you find this change reflected in your approach to making music? Can you describe
how it changed?

•

If music was important to you growing up, why do you think that is?

•

What do you normally try to accomplish when you make music? Are you trying to
convey an idea, express an emotion, or just release some tension?

•

Describe your style to me.

129

Appendix D: IRB Documentation

130

131

132

133

134

135

136

137