Comparison of music stimuli to support mindfulness meditation
Abbey L. Dvorak, Eugenia Hernandez-Ruiz
Psychology of Music November 11, 2019 DOI: 10.1177/0305735619878497 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Within-subjects repeated-measures design Randomized Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 57 |
| Population | Undergraduate non-musicians |
| Interventions | steady beat beat and harmonic progression |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key points | Levels of absorption in music may moderate participants' responses to auditory stimuli for mindfulness meditation, and participants preferred and found more useful the conditions with melody and harmony. |
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of and preference for different auditory stimuli in supporting mindfulness meditation. Undergraduate non-musicians (N = 57) listened to four different auditory stimuli guiding them in a mindfulness meditation: script only (i.e., Script), steady beat (i.e., Beat), beat and harmonic progression (i.e., Harmony), and beat, harmony, and melody (i.e., Melody). This study used a within-subjects repeated-measures design with the four conditions counterbalanced and randomized across participants. Participants rated responses using the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), completed the Absorption in Music Scale (AIMS), and ranked auditory stimuli according to preference and usefulness for mindfulness meditation. A repeated-measures analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) on the MAAS scores, using the AIMS as a covariate, indicated no statistically significant difference between auditory stimuli. However, with the AIMS removed, the analysis revealed significant differences between stimuli, indicating that levels of absorption in music may moderate participants’ responses to auditory stimuli for mindfulness meditation. Friedman analyses of variance (ANOVAs) and post hoc analyses indicated that participant rankings of usefulness and preference were significantly different among conditions, with the Melody and Harmony conditions ranked highest.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Cancer patients (clinical intervention study) | 2003 | Mixed methods: scale development, correlational, quasi-experimental, laboratory, experience-sampling, and clinical intervention study | |
| Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness. | 2008 | Controlled laboratory experiment | |
| Mindfulness and mind-wandering: Finding convergence through opposing constructs. | 2012 | Two studies: correlational study and experimental study | |
| Mental Training Enhances Attentional Stability: Neural and Behavioral Evidence | 2009 | Experimental study | |
| Mindfulness meditation and substance use in an incarcerated population. Incarcerated population | 2006 | Quasi-experimental with treatment-as-usual control condition |
Citations in the library
Cited by 10
- How Chanting Relates to Cognitive Function, Altered States and Quality of Life Brain Sciences October 27, 2022
- An Eight-Week Zen Meditation and Music Programme for Mindfulness and Happiness: Qualitative Content Analysis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health December 4, 2023
- Music mindfulness acutely modulates autonomic activity and improves psychological state in anxiety and depression. Frontiers in Neuroscience 2025
- The Impacts of Background Music on the Effects of Loving-Kindness Meditation on Positive Emotions. Behavioral Sciences March 4, 2024
- A 20-Minute Mindful Jazz Intervention Decreased Chronic Pain Patients' Pain and Anxiety 4 Weeks Later: Results from a Pilot Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial. European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education November 25, 2025
and 5 more in the library
Cites 7
- The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003
- Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy as a treatment for chronic depression: A preliminary study Behaviour Research and Therapy February 13, 2009
- Compassion in the landscape of suffering Contemporary Buddhism May 1, 2011
- The Psychological Benefits from Reconceptualizing Music-Making as Mindfulness Practice. Medical problems of performing artists June 1, 2015
- The posterior cingulate cortex as a plausible mechanistic target of meditation: findings from neuroimaging. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 2014
and 2 more in the library