MP3 Lab

Our Music Psychology, Music Performance Science, and Music Performance Teaching (MP3) Lab comprises a multidisciplinary team of dedicated researchers. Our work explores fundamental questions about the nature of musicality for individuals and societies, and we recognise the diverse ways in which musical engagement enriches everyday life.

The MP3 lab was founded in 2020 with the mission to foster a collaborative community where staff and graduate researchers work together to explore the psychological dimensions of music and its influence on individuals and society. As a leading research lab situated within Australia’s top university, we are committed to advancing the fields of music psychology, performance science, and performance teaching, through innovative and impactful research. We strive for excellence in all aspects of our work, promoting a supportive environment that encourages the next generation of scholars and thought leaders.

Our researchers collaborate with other disciplines and departments at the University of Melbourne, as well as national and international institutions, in ways that promote exploration, innovation, and experimentation. In addition to our commitment to academic rigor, we pride ourselves on cultivating a creative environment where curiosity and the joy of music are at the heart of everything we do.

Keep an eye out for upcoming research you could be a part of.

Postdoctoral Researchers

Thomas Bell - Master of Music Psychology

Thomas researches the relationship between music and language processing. His research takes a focus on the multistable elements of music and language perception, and how our expectations guide the reality of what we experience.

Ruth Blythman - PhD, Music Performance

Ruth's research sits within the field of neuroaesthetics which explores how cultural experiences impact our health and wellbeing. She is investigating how amplifying sensory stimuli may deepen audience connection with the classical music experience, culminating in a series of sensory-enhanced interdisciplinary recitals

Joanna Brooke - PhD, Music Psychology

Joanna's research is currently exploring the use of play and improvisation to promote psychosocial wellbeing outcomes in singing interventions with university students.

Ben Loveridge - PhD, Music Psychology

Ben is investigating the intersection of music performance and virtual reality. Ben’s research aims to improve musical outcomes through the use of performance simulation in virtual environments.

Xanthe Lowe-Brown - PhD, Music Psychology/Human-Computer Interaction

Xanthe’s research aims to enhance wellbeing outcomes for music listeners by improving recommendation algorithms used by music streaming services such as Spotify to recommend music helps users regulate their emotions.

Nicholas Matherne - PhD, Music Psychology

Nick's research explores the motivation for lifelong music-making, including factors which contribute to participation in music-making and the perceived benefits of music-making on well-being.

Simone Maurer

Simone is researching the embodied cognition of solo flute players.

Dr Merrick Powell is a postdoctoral researcher working in the fields of creativity, health and wellbeing. Merrick completed his PhD in 2023, with his research focusing on passion, motivation, and wellbeing in music fans, especially those who engage with music that contains violent content. Merrick has continued his work in wellbeing across several post-doctoral research project, which currently includes the physical musicality project at the University of Melbourne. This project seeks to understand the cognitive and motor benefits of music-supported movement and creativity for older adul

Sabrina McKenzie - PhD, Music Psychology

Sabrina's research focuses on how music listening can help us ease and acknowledge suffering within ourselves, which is a concept known as self-compassion. She is exploring both the positive and negative ways people experience music emotionally and how these experiences can be leveraged for better mental health.

Bernard Monaghan - Master of Performance Science

Bernard's research examines "movement efficiency" in the context of piano technique both conceptually, seeking to clarify what is meant by the term in pedagogical literature, and empirically through a study involving 3D motion analysis of twenty pianists performing different piano touch procedures.

Will Morrissey - Master of Professional Psychology

Not currently undertaking any research.

Hannah Taylor - PhD, Music Psychology

Hannah’s research aims to add to knowledge of the mechanisms underpinning experiences of reward and pleasure, which will better inform therapeutic practices with music for people with eating disorders and provide novel music-based intervention approaches.

Liam Whitbourn - PhD, Music Psychology and Music Education

Liam's research aims to explore how adapting and applying an established language teaching methodology within music teaching may assist instrumental music students in their acquisition of music skills.

Eloise Whitehead - Master of Music (Research) - Music Psychology

Eloise's research seeks to explore the ways in which synesthesia impacts the creative process of music composers.

Courses in Music Psychology

Subjects in Music Psychology

Krause, A. E., Forbes, M., & Lowe-Brown, X. (2025). Does reality television-style singing influence singing self-concept? Journal of Voice, 39(1), 280.e15-280.e24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2022.06.024

Osborne, M., Glasser, S., & Loveridge, B. (2025). Bridging realities: Pacific Journal of Technology Enhanced Learning, 7(2), 43–44. https://doi.org/10.24135/pjtel.v7i2.233

Krause, A. E., Yeom, D., Osborne, M., & Glasser, S. (2024). Can we categorise listeners: A latent profile analysis. 32–32. https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/83048/

Yeom, D., Haslam, N., Tan, Y. T., McPherson, G. E., & Wilson, S. J. (2024). Twin data support a sensitive period for singing ability. Twin Research and Human Genetics, 27(4–5), 204–214. https://doi.org/10.1017/thg.2024.30

McKenzie, S., Glasser, S., Krause, A., & Osborne, M. (2024). Exploring music listening’s influence on self-compassion through an adapted scale. 36–36. https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/83046/

Glasser, S., Osborne, M. S., & Krause, A. E. (2024). High levels of synesthetic endorsement in a study on music listening styles. First Joint UKSA and ASA International Synaesthesia Conference, Oxford, UK. https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/83012/

Yeom, D., Stead, K. S., Tan, Y. T., McPherson, G. E., & Wilson, S. J. (2023). How accurate are self‐evaluations of singing ability? Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1530(1), 87–95. https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.15081

Yeom, D., Tan, Y. T., Haslam, N., Mosing, M. A., Yap, V. M. Z., Fraser, T., Hildebrand, M. S., Berkovic, S. F., McPherson, G. E., Peretz, I., & Wilson, S. J. (2022). Genetic factors and shared environment contribute equally to objective singing ability. iScience, 25(6), 104360. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2022.104360

Krause, A., Osborne, M., Glasser, S., & McKenzie, S. (2022). “I value music so much more”: The impact of COVID-19 on the value of music listening. SEMPRE 50th Anniversary Conference, London, UK. https://sempre.org.uk/50th

Fraser, T., Crooke, A. H. D., & Davidson, J. W. (2021). “Music has no borders”: An exploratory study of audience engagement with youtube music broadcasts during covid-19 lockdown, 2020. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.643893

Vidas, D., Larwood, J. L., Nelson, N. L., & Dingle, G. A. (2021). Music listening as a strategy for managing covid-19 stress in first-year university students. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.647065

Vidas, D., Calligeros, R., Nelson, N. L., & Dingle, G. A. (2020). Development of emotion recognition in popular music and vocal bursts. Cognition and Emotion, 34(5), 906–919. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699931.2019.1700482

Find out more about MP3 Lab or ask our team a question mp3-lab@unimelb.edu.au