Psychophysiological responses to isolated musical chord progressions

It is widely accepted that music is capable of inducing emotional responses, but there is a great deal of conflicting evidence among the research concerning the nature of those responses. The present study aimed to begin identifying some specific components of music that contribute to musical emotions by evaluating electrodermal activity and heart rate responses to isolated cadential chord progressions of varying conventionality. The results show a significant main effect of musical ensemble participation on heart rate; participants with any experience in a musical ensemble exhibited significantly greater heart rate responses than participants with no experience in a musical ensemble. This indicates that musical experience modulates physiological responses to isolated chord progressions.