When working on international Sound Branding projects clients often ask me whether music is international and can be used all over the world. So far to me classical, pop and Hollywood film music can be titled as international music which will be understood nearly all over the world. Nevertheless to be on the safe side on a Sound Branding project which is to be implemented worldwide local market research is the only safe way to go. You can imagine that the budget for such a research project is sky high.

So I am happy for every little piece of information about the recognition of music in an international setting, as academic research is limited. Now we have some more insights regarding this issue. It has long been debated which aspects of music perception are universal and which are developed only after exposure to a specific musical culture.

In a crosscultural study with participants from a native African population (Mafa) and Western participants results show that basic emotions in Western music can be recognized universally (Academic article: “Universal recognition of three basic emotions in music” Current Biology, Volume 19, Issue 7, 573-576, 19 March 2009).

In a first step the international researcher team … Continue reading →