Meta-Emotions, Kama Muta and Being Emotionally Moved by Music
Being emotionally moved by music is not a revelation. The question is how do we know that music is meaningful? From metaphors to meta-emotions, there are several tools and techniques used to elicit affective responses to music. Meyer (2008) discusses interrelated errors for eliciting emotions historically — hedonism, atomism and universalism. These refer to sensory pleasure entwining with aesthetic experience, a misguided attempt to separate and analyse individual components of a musical piece when the whole is the cause, and an assumption that the experience is physically and subjectively received the same way by everyone. But how does musical storytelling lead to emotive replies?
Bartsch (2008) evocatively considers how the emotional experience of a viewer (or listener) is provoked and shaped by the evaluation of primary emotions through the artistic and complex arrangement of cues solicited by meta-emotions. Meta-emotions in this instance refer to our ability to have intricate thoughts and feelings about emotions. In this way, audiences respond to stimuli that aesthetically represent emotions, have narrative and visual contextualisation, or symbolic references to universal cognitive and cultural norms.
Even Aristotle (and Wiley 2003) considered emotional distance in artistic narrative. He noted that psychologically, it is possible to be too close to an emotional representation, too far resulting in indifference or having the optimal distance that leads to an almost cathartic experience or being moved by creative works. Not only is there a positive and negative balance associated with being moved, but they are linked to emotional states associated with important life events. Further, from an affect perspective, the physical and bodily experiences of being moved can include expressions of tears, warmth in the centre of the chest, and chills (Kimura et al 2019).
However, the metaphorical and often indescribable feeling described above has been discussed under a different name. Zickfeld et al (2019) recently proposed the term ‘Kama Muta’, as a universal term for the emblematic notions of being ‘brought to tears’ and ‘having one’s heart warmed’, and is named after a Sanskrit term that means ‘moved by love’.
“Kama muta is the sudden feeling of oneness — of love, belonging, or union — with an individual person, a family, a team, a nation, nature, the cosmos, God, or a kitten” (Kama Muta Lab).
More than this, nostalgia, intimate experiences and extraordinary acts of kindness or sacrifices are all signifiers that evoke Kama Muta (Fiske 2020).
A great example of this affective response to music being provoked is Hozier’s ‘Nina Cried Power’. While the song is powerful alone, the video below adds to the already overwhelming weight of the lyrics being sung. The protest song that features the dulcet tones of Mavis Staples is an ode to the musicians who came before, who rattled the chains of oppression.
The name and chorus are inspired by Nina Simone’s ‘Sinnerman’ but the track boasts references to music greats like Billie Holiday, Mavis Staples, Curtis Mayfield, Patti Smith, John Lennon, James Brown, B.B. King, Joni Mitchell, Pete Seeger, Marvin Gaye, Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie. These were all, and still are, highly influential artists leading the charge for social and political change through anthems that stand the test of time.
Talent, lyrics and musical production are incredibly important in creating emotional connections with listeners. In the case of this Hozier song, people are moved by the message of the song, the passion of the artist and the symbolic inferences. We associate our own lives with the struggles depicted in the song, and we empathise with the battles long gone and the fights still raging.
While the above song holds most of its affective impact through lyrics, it still tells a story through composition. Simultaneously, our response to music — and not only finding it meaningful but having a metaphysical reaction — is both subjective and collective. It is built on what we know about the world, our experiences, and semiotics. However, on a base level, what determines what is good or bad? And when it comes to music with no vocals or explanation, why is kama muta possible?
Take Beethoven’s ‘Moonlight Sonata’ as another example. The individual changing notes, intonations and speeds work together create a beautiful landscape of sound and expression.
What do you feel and why? Really think about it.
We know that music is a universal language, we know empathy plays a role, and we know that there are societal and cultural identities behind the scenes and influencing us always. But is it possible to find answers on a scientific level in a discourse that insists there is real and tangible physical explanations? Or are we destined to be content in never fully understanding how composers like Beethoven manage to evoke such compelling storytelling with pitched sounds lined up next to one another?
I write short stories at naomieleanor.com. Find me on Twitter. Find my book here.
References
Bartsch, A. (2008). Meta-Emotion: How Films and Music Videos Communicate Emotions About Emotions. Projections, 2(1), 45–59.
Fiske, A. P. (2020). Kama Muta: Discovering the Connecting Emotion. New York: Routledge.
Kimura, K., Haramizu, S., Sanada, K., & Oshida, A. (2019). Emotional state of being moved elicited by films: A comparison with several positive emotions. Frontiers in Psychology, 10(AUG), 1–11.
Meyer, L. B. (2008). Emotion and meaning in music. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Wiley, N. (2003). Emotion and Film Theory. Studies in Symbolic Interaction, 26, 169–187.
Zickfeld, J. H., Schubert, T. W., Seibt, B., Blomster, J. K., Arriaga, P., Basabe, N., … Fiske, A. P. (2019). Kama Muta: Conceptualizing and Measuring the Experience Often Labelled Being Moved Across 19 Nations and 15 Languages. Emotion, 19(3), 402–424.
