Editing Music theory (section)

===Music perception and cognition===
{{Further|Music psychology|Fred Lerdahl|Ray Jackendoff}}

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.{{sfn|Tan, Peter, and Rom|2010|loc=2}}{{sfn|Thompson|n.d.|loc=320}} Modern music psychology is primarily [[Empirical research|empirical]]; its knowledge tends to advance on the basis of interpretations of data collected by systematic [[observation]] of and interaction with [[Human subject research|human participants]]. Music psychology is a field of research with practical relevance for many areas, including music [[musical technique|performance]], [[music composition|composition]], [[music education|education]], [[music criticism|criticism]], and [[music therapy|therapy]], as well as investigations of human [[aptitude]], skill, [[intelligence]], creativity, and [[social behavior]].

Music psychology can shed light on non-psychological aspects of [[musicology]] and musical practice. For example, it contributes to music theory through investigations of the [[perception]] and [[Cognitive musicology|computational modelling]] of musical structures such as [[melody]], [[harmony]], [[tonality]], [[rhythm]], [[Meter (music)|meter]], and [[Musical form|form]]. Research in [[music history]] can benefit from systematic study of the history of [[musical syntax]], or from psychological analyses of composers and compositions in relation to perceptual, affective, and social responses to their music.