Music psychology, or the
psychology of music, may be regarded as a branch of both
psychology and
musicology. It aims to explain and understand
musical behavior and
experience, including the processes through which music is perceived, created, responded to, and incorporated into everyday life. Modern music psychology is primarily
empirical; its knowledge tends to advance on the basis of interpretations of data collected by systematic
observation of and interaction with
human participants. Music psychology is a field of research with practical relevance for many areas, including music
performance,
composition,
education,
criticism, and
therapy, as well as investigations of human
aptitude,
skill,
performance,
intelligence,
creativity, and
social behavior.