Music is one of the most pleasurable human experiences. However, the determinants of the variation in individual sensitivity to musical reward are not yet fully unraveled. Empathy has been identified as a determinant of musical affect, including consciously experiencing pleasure from listening to sad music. Additionally, higher musical expertise may enhance pleasurable responses to music, whereas aging decreases individual sensitivity to musical pleasure. We conducted a study to investigate the contribution of empathy and musical abilities on musical pleasure, measured by Interpersonal Reactivity Index, Musical Ear Test, and Barcelona Musical Reward Questionnaire, respectively. To this purpose, we performed a developmental comparison between 48 children (9–11 years old) and 42 adults (18–32 years old). Our findings suggest that individual sensitivity to musical reward is positively correlated with empathy trait in both adults and children, but not with musical abilities. However, when inserted in a regression model including empathy, musical abilities are also predictive of musical reward, but only among adults. These results show that empathy plays a crucial role in determining the individual sensitivity to music reward, whereas musical abilities are less influential. More broadly, this study contributes to shed light on the determinants of the emotional responses to music affect.

Since ancient Greece, major and minor modes in Western tonal music have been identified as the primary responsible musical feature for eliciting emotional states. The underlying correlates of the major-minor mode dichotomy in music perception have been extensively investigated through decades of psychological and neuroscientific research. This comprehensive systematic review aims to synthesise the literature on musical mode perception and its behavioural and physiological correlates. The qualitative synthesis resulted in 70 studies, showing great diversity in how the major-minor dichotomy has been empirically approached. Most studies were conducted on adults, considered participants' expertise, employed real-life musical stimuli, performed behavioural evaluations, and were published from 2010 onwards. Based on our findings, a framework to describe a Major-Minor Mode(l) of music perception and its behavioural and physiological correlates is proposed, incorporating individual factors such as age, expertise, cultural background, and emotional disorders. Limitations, implications, and suggestions for future research are discussed, including putative clinical applications of major-minor perception and best practices regarding stimulation paradigms for musical mode investigation.