The effects of group keyboard music making on the mood states of college students

Abstract

Our pilot study explored the effects of a new, five-session group keyboard music-making protocol on the mood states of non-musician college students. Twenty-five math and engineering students participated in a keyboard music-making program without the expectation or need for extensive technical preparation or regular music practice. To assess changes in mood states before and after music-making activities, we administered the Profile of Mood States-Short Form (POMS-SF) questionnaire. Here, we show significant and lasting improvements in participant’s negative and positive mood states, which were more robust than mood improvements reported with other Recreational Music Making (RMM) protocols, suggesting a strong therapeutic potential of our group keyboard music-making program.