Original Research

Experiences of music listening among rugby players at North-West University

Tamaryn L. Aslett, Liesl Van Der Merwe, Jaco H. Kruger
The Journal for Transdisciplinary Research in Southern Africa | Vol 13, No 1 | a372 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/td.v13i1.372 | © 2017 Tamaryn L. Aslett, Liesl Van Der Merwe, Jaco H. Kruger | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 04 August 2016 | Published: 26 April 2017

About the author(s)

Tamaryn L. Aslett, School of Music, North-West University, South Africa
Liesl Van Der Merwe, School of Music, North-West University, South Africa
Jaco H. Kruger, School of Music, North-West University, South Africa

Abstract

This article documents a study that investigated the reasons why a group of student rugby players habitually listen to music as part of their pre-match routine. The investigation followed a hermeneutic phenomenological approach that allowed the players to verbalise their personal music listening experiences. The investigation links the music listening practices of the players with the concept of musical experience as an innate human capacity directed towards general well-being. For the players, well-being is a basic condition of happiness and optimism. Achieving and maintaining this condition draws on the emotive qualities of musical sound patterns, as well as the powerful, socially situated meanings of song lyrics. Consequent states of mind conceptualise a rewarding existence by integrating experiences in sport as well as in music. Directed towards rugby practice, the study found that music listening is an informal, individual activity that involves the use of earphones. The sense of personal isolation this induces is a prerequisite for generating focus as well as controlled energy, a state of mind regarded as essential for effective participation in rugby. The pervasive use yet informal application of this strategy by rugby players points to an officially undervalued psychological resource. This finding has implications for fuller exploitation and incorporation of music listening into rugby training programmes.

Keywords

music listening; music psychology; rugby; sport psychology; sport training routines

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Crossref Citations

1. Put Some Music on: The Effects of pre-Task Music Tempo on Arousal, Affective State, Perceived Exertion, and Anaerobic Performance
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