Exploring the Practicality of Portable EEG Equipment for Visualising Emotional Responses When Listening to Meaningful Songs

A Position Paper

Authors

  • Kyung Min Mindy Kim The University of Melbourne, Australia https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6825-0995
  • Jinah Kim The University of Melbourne, Australia
  • Katrina Skewes McFerran The University of Melbourne, Australia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15845/voices.v25i2.4353

Keywords:

portable EEG technologies, Emotiv Insight, distressed young people, music therapy, intentional music listening, self-report scales

Abstract

Portable EEG technologies have gained popularity in investigating the effect of music on people’s emotional responses by affective neuroscience, music psychology, and music therapy researchers. This paper provides a brief overview of current literature on music, emotion, and EEG, and a reflection on Kim’s use of one portable EEG technology (Emotiv Insight) to explore distressed young people’s emotional responses during intentional listening of their meaningful songs. Inconsistent results in Kim’s study and across music and emotion research studies revealed the reality of the still-emerging state of EEG technologies and thus, researchers should approach the tool with vigilance and some suspicion. In our experiment, the Emotiv Insight offered distressed young people novel and interesting opportunities to reflect on their emotional distress with a new lens. However, distressed young people did not perceive that the EEG visual data actually represented the complexity of their emotional worlds. Rather, they suggested that listening to their meaningful songs, selecting emotion-related words from self-report scales, and discussing their emotions with someone was more useful to better understand their emotional worlds.

 

Acknowledgements

Kyung Min Mindy Kim was supported in conducting this research by Melbourne Research PhD Scholarship. The Emotiv technology was purchased with support from a strategic Faculty of Fine Arts and Music internal grant.

Author Biographies

Kyung Min Mindy Kim, The University of Melbourne, Australia

Kyung Min MindyKim is a PhD candidate and graduate researcher within the Creative Arts and Music Therapy Research Unit at the University of Melbourne. She has diverse educational and clinical experiences with music therapy in the United States, South Korea, and Australia. Her research interests include adolescents and young people, receptive music therapy interventions, emotions/emotional understanding, quality of life, interpretivist research, reflexivity, and teaching.

Jinah Kim, The University of Melbourne, Australia

Jinah Kim, PhD, is an associate professor of music therapy at the University of Melbourne and serves as the editor of the Australian Journal of Music Therapy. Before moving to Melbourne, she was a professor and the head of the Creative Arts Therapies department at JeonjuUniversity in South Korea. Her research focuses on autism, child welfare, and cultural perspectives in music therapy.

Katrina Skewes McFerran, The University of Melbourne, Australia

Katrina McFerran, PhD, is Professor and Head of the Creative Arts and Music Therapy Research Unit at the University of Melbourne, where she is also currently Director of the Researcher Development Unit within Chancellery, Research and Enterprise. Kat has published frequently onthe topic of youth and distress, including working with teenagers in schools, adolescents in mental health services, and youth in community programs. She frequently integrates young people’s voices through qualitative data but is also interested in exploring objective markers of the benefits young people experience from music therapy and using music for personal development in their everydaylives. She has published 6 books, 32 book chapters, 131 refereed journal articles, created a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on How Music Can Change Your Life, and aTedX talk about Returning from the Darkside with music. She remains committed to the value of music in young people’s lives as they navigate the uncertainty of the world we have left them.

Author photo 4353 Kim et al

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Published

2025-07-01

How to Cite

Kim, K. M. M., Kim, J., & McFerran, K. S. (2025). Exploring the Practicality of Portable EEG Equipment for Visualising Emotional Responses When Listening to Meaningful Songs: A Position Paper. Voices: A World Forum for Music Therapy, 25(2). https://doi.org/10.15845/voices.v25i2.4353

Issue

Section

Position Papers