Revealing the Mystery of Emotions in Sounds The Theory of Musical Equilibration Explains the Impact of Ordered Sounds as the Listener’s Identification with Processes of Will

Science has long been concerned with the question of how it is possible for music to elicit emotions‒so far, however, with only moderate success. The theory of musical equilibration shines a light on this problem from a new perspective. The theory was first proposed in 1997 by German music theorist, Bernd Willimek, who further developed it with his wife and fellow theorist, Daniela Willimek. Music itself, the theory goes, cannot generate emotions directly. Rather, emotions should be understood as a response to the processes of will that are encoded in music. By identifying with these processes of will, listeners experience music emotionally. This is comparable to the situation of moviegoers who identify with the protagonist on screen and thereby vicariously experience emotions. In this work, the affirmative character of the major triad and the negative character of the minor triad are substantiated. According to the theory of musical equilibration, the volume at which a minor chord is played determines whether it is perceived as sorrow or anger. Furthermore, the authors discuss issues such as why a diminished seventh chord is well suited as the score for film scenes involving fear, or how an augmented chord can convey amazement and astonishment. To show the practical application of the theory of musical equilibration, the authors carried out tests with school (K-12) and university students (basic test part A, basic test part B, Rocky test).