SURVEYS:
Here I will be documenting my research surveys, responses and evaluation.
'THE IMPORTANCE OF MUSIC TO THE PUBLIC' - RESEARCH
SURVEY
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Name of Survey: Music Research
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Purpose of Survey: The purpose of this survey is to gather personal responses to the importance of music. I'd like to evaluate how important it is to people on a daily basis and if people use it for its health benefits, for example to reduce feelings of anxiety in an overwhelming scenario.​
PHASE 2 - Carrying out surveys to
gather research
SURVEY LINK:
QUESTIONS I'D LIKE TO ASK AND WHY:​
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How old are you? - To evaluate the age that is most affected by music/has a connection to it, this could effect a potential audience I choose later on.​
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How important is music to you? - To evaluate the importance of it to that person - to gather personal responses and really understand why people listen to music.
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Do you listen to music for a particular reason? - Provide option to elaborate, to identify why people listen to music. This way I can explore other reasoning behind it.
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What's your favourite genre? - To evaluate if theres a common interest or one in particular that people listen to, to feel something specific. (Calm, motivated, excited etc)
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"Where words fail, music speaks" - Evaluate response to this, do people agree or disagree?
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Do you listen to cope with stress/anxiety? - To evaluate how many people use it for this reason/know it's effect.
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If people responded no, ask why they listen to it? - Gather different responses. Identify other ways it could be used.
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Choose an environment which appeals the most - Get an idea of the kind of environment that makes people feel safe. This could affect my chosen visual appearance later on in the project.
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Gather a response to peoples interest in how music affects us - how many people actually care about this and want to know more. This could affect the outcome of my project, could it be educational?
1. How old are you?
RESPONSE
80% of people that responded to this survey are are 18-24 years old.
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10% are 24+.
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10% are below 18.
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2. How important is music to you?
RESPONSE
90% of people answered that music is of interest to them - 7/10 with 10 being a strong interest.
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10% voted 5/10 - meaning they are not necessarily bothered.
3. Do you listen to music for any particular reason?
RESPONSES
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To feel calm/hyped depending on scenario
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Calms mood
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For fun and calms nerves
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For fun
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Stress Relief
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Fun Connect with others and friends
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Social aspect
4. What is your favourite genre of music?
RESPONSES
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Hip-hop
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Rnb
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Pop
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Rap
RESPONSES
​90% of people said Yes to the statement! Agreeing that music speaks when words fail - music can communicate something to people.
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Whereas 10% disagreed with this statement.
5. "Where words fail, music speaks" - How much do you agree?
6. Do you listen to music to cope with stress/anxiety?
RESPONSES
100% of people listen to music to cope with stress and anxiety!
RESPONSES
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Helps to take my mind off things
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Helps to remain calm
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To calm down
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Heals
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Calms me down
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Helps relax and get on with life
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It makes me relaxed
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Helps me relax
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Headspace
7. If yes, how does it help? If not, what do you do instead to cope with it?
8. Choose which environment appeals to you most based on what you might hear around you:
RESPONSES
​60% of people prefer the environment of their own bedroom and the peace that it brings them.
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20% enjoy the atmosphere of a camping site/fire.
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10% are appealed by the forest image and the park setting.
9. Your interest in how music affects us?
RESPONSES
90% of people chose between 8-10 to respond to this question. Meaning they are interested in how music affects us and understanding this a bit more.
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10% voted for 7 - however all responses were above the half mark.
EVALUATION OF SURVEY RESPONSES
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How important is music to you?
60% of responses said their interest in music is 10/10. This means over half of people that responded to my survey rely on music and have a keen interest in it, whether thats composing it, playing it or just listening to it. The other 40% voted between 5-8/10.
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From this I can evaluate that it is important to most people, including myself.
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Do you listen to music for any particular reason?
Most responses to this question were the same which I am not surprised about! Responses included to feel calm, for stress relief and a better mood. This just proves the effect of music is often used to cope with feelings of stress and to make people feel more relaxed. Some people might not be aware of it but these individuals use music as a therapy tool/coping mechanism.
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What is your favourite genre?
The favourite genres varied amongst people, and from my research I learned that different genres/songs have different effects on people depending on their preferences, likes and dislikes.
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"Where words fail, music speaks"
90% of people agreed with this statement suggesting they use music as a communication tool. Meaning the music they listen to is relatable and makes them feel safe, providing them with comfort and reassurance. This can also convey that music is more powerful than words itself - some people prefer to communicate via song-writing or even journalling.
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Do you listen to music to cope with stress/anxiety?
100% of people said yes to this question! This just shows how impactful music can be and that people have recognised this so use it as a technique/method to help with these feelings and reduce them.
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How does it help do this? Elaborate.
Most people answered that it helps to ease the mind and distract their thoughts. Music can make them feel calm and relaxed. One of the most repetitive responses was linked to 'relaxation'. This suggests that to cope with these feelings of stress and anxiety, music is listened to in order to feel relaxed.
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Choose an environment based on its sounds.
60% of people chose a comfortable looking bedroom as the environment which appeals to them the most. This space is where people go for silence, to take a time-out and to wind down. This can bring inner peace and make one feel safe.
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40% of others chose alternative environments such as the park, outdoors or by a fire - nature sounds can be very relaxing and research shows nature sounds are great for meditation such as rain falling or birds chirping.
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Your interest in how music affects us.
I asked this question to evaluate how many people care about the impact of music and want to learn more about it. From my research I can see that people are aware of its benefits and use it to help them manage feelings of stress, anxiety and overwhelm. However, most people placed their interest in learning more between 7 and 10.
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SUMMARY
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To summarise, it's clear that the majority of people use the benefits of music to cope with feelings of overwhelm. Therefore, they choose music as a way to distract them for this or promote well-being. Music is a powerful tool which affects people on a daily basis and I feel the advantages of this could be used in a way to benefit others.
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How could I apply this to Games Design?
As a Games Designer, this is an important bit of information which I could apply to the creation of a product. Sound is a huge part of gaming and I believe it adds another dimension to gameplay! During the design of my Project Proposal, I can outline the importance of sound/audio and establish my reason for using music as a main element of my game.
'THE IMPORTANCE OF MUSIC TO THE PUBLIC' - RESEARCH
SURVEY 2
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Music Research gathered from responses through Instagram:
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Purpose of Survey: I went to Instagram to gather responses from a wider audience! This way I can either support what I have concluded already, or identify new opinions!
SURVEY LINK:
Questions asked via Instagram.
Why do you listen to music?
RESPONSES
COMMON RESPONSES
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Helps to escape reality
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To chill
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Helps to escape
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Lyrics can tell a story
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Escape reality
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Stop overthinking
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Distract from reality
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Elicit emotion
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Helps to concentrate
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To calm the mind
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Makes me feel happy
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Coping mechanism
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To feel less alone
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Tranquility, peace, relax
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Help with mood swings
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Enhance mood
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Safe space
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Entertainment
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To keep the mind occupied
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Motivation/preparation
Is music your safe space? Yes/No
RESPONSE
RESULT
194 people answered this question.
​95% of people said that Music was their safe space, whereas 5% disagreed with this.
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184 people answered yes, with only 10 people voting no!
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This suggests that the majority of people use music to feel comfort and a sense of ease. Music can calm people, better mood, and promote well-being.
EVALUATION & SUMMARY
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From these results I can see that the impact of music affects the majority of us and we all use music for the same thing! Many of the responses I gathered were repeated which just proves how beneficial it can be to promoting well-being and impacting mental health. It's clear many of us are grateful for music for so many different reasons - it's an important element of media too, which is why sound is important from a Games Designers perspective. Within games it's used to inform players and also set the tone, but I am keen to explore other ways this can be used in games, to benefit us mentally.
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It proves that this is a crucial aspect of design that'll need to be considered, and even more so if I consider the effects of music on people and involve this into my design in some way.