Much Harder To Deal With

A Study of Mental Well-Being, Listening Behaviours, and Musical Practices during the COVID-19 Lockdown in Switzerland in 2020

Abstract

The mutual influence between people’s mental well-being and their musical listening and practicing behaviors has been examined in many recent studies. The following experiment aims to identify changes in this relationship during the COVID-19 lockdown in Switzerland in early 2020. In an online survey, fourteen interviewees were asked about potential changes in their mental well-being, listening behaviors, and musical practices caused by the precautionary government measures. The results showed an equal division between people noticing their mental well-being worsening and participants not observing any changes or feeling better than they did before. These mental changes, or lack thereof, were further contextualized with regard to situations such as job insecurities or changes in the working environment of the participants.

Notwithstanding the various effects perceived on their mental well-being, all interviewees stated experiencing changes in their listening behaviors and their musical practices. The explanations ranged from external factors like cancelled rehearsals and more time spent at home to internal factors, such as a lack of motivation or feeling the need to listen to what the participants considered sad music when experiencing negative emotions. Based on research in the field of music psychology, possible correlations between the mental state of the participants and those changes are considered.