Leonard Meyer’s theory is best described as...

• A. Expectancy-based emotions: emotions arise when expectations are fulfilled or violated
• B. Emotion is solely determined by rhythmic complexity
• C. Emotion is solely determined by loudness
• D. Emotion is predetermined and independent of musical structure

Answer: (A)

Leonard Meyer’s approach to musical emotion centers on expectancy. He argues that listeners continually form predictions about what will come next in a piece, based on tonal cues, rhythm, patterns, and prior experience. Emotions arise from how those predictions are fulfilled or violated. When events align with what we expect, we feel relief or satisfaction; when they surprise us or violate expectations, we experience tension, surprise, or heightened arousal, often followed by a resolve when the music meets our expectations again.

This focus on prediction-driven emotion is why the best answer is expectancy-based emotions: emotions are tied to how our expectations are met or broken by the music’s structure. The other ideas reduce emotion to a single feature like rhythmic complexity or loudness, or claim emotion is fixed and independent of musical structure—claims that Meyer's theory does not support.