EUROMUSE Research: Full Summary

Research findings point toward a broader shift in how music is conceptualized in museum contexts.

• Rather than functioning as a decorative or supplementary element, music emerges as a form of sonic mediation, shaping the relationship between visitors, space and heritage.
• The specific function of music is highly dependent on context. In Greece, it primarily supports orientation and accessibility; in Italy, it contributes to regulation and modulation of a complex sensory environment; and in Portugal, it reinforces identity, memory and connection to local heritage.
• Participatory processes further enhance this dynamic by ensuring that musical interventions are contextually grounded and socially meaningful.
• The inclusion of visually impaired participants highlights the dual role of music as a connecting element of experience and a contributor to accessibility of museum resources.

EUROMUSE research was designed to learn more about the place of original applied museum music, i.e. Synomusic, as a permanent element of exhibition design.

The research explored the effects of music on multiple dimensions of visitors’ experience, focusing not only on whether music works, but how music becomes a meaningful part of exhibition design.

Because museums often already have high baseline visitor satisfaction, the research placed emphasis on dimensions such as emotional experience, mindfulness and memory as important channels through which Synomusic could exert its effects.

• What are the effects of participative processes involving composers, curators and visitors through Community Muse Boards?
• What are the effects of Synomusic versus no music on visitors’ experience in different museum contexts?

The study used mixed qualitative and quantitative methods to capture both lived experiences and measurable effects of music on large visitor groups.

• 4 curators and 6 composers were interviewed.
• 32 dedicated museum visitors participated in Community Muse Boards, diaries and group discussions.
• 23 blind and visually impaired museum visitors were interviewed.
• 1,337 visitors completed exit surveys in silent and music conditions across three museums, including 474 parents of children in Museo dei Bambini.
• 45 children aged 3 to 15 participated in cognitive tasks at Museo dei Bambini.

• Kotsanas Museum of Ancient Greek Technology, Athens: ancient technology museum, demonstrations, interactive narrative and large city context.
• Museu de Arte Pré-Histórica e do Sagrado do Vale do Tejo, Mação: heritage and archaeology museum, reflective pacing and smaller town context.
• Explora! Museo dei Bambini, Rome: children’s museum, high activity, layered noise and large city context.

Across all three museums, different target groups expressed similarities in line with their roles in the project.

• Curators framed music in relation to institutional objectives, audience engagement and programme development.
• Composers approached music as a process of translating spatial and contextual constraints into sound.
• CMB members engaged with music through meaning-making, evaluation, personal experience and community perspectives.
• Visually impaired visitors emphasised music’s functional and sensory dimensions, especially clarity, orientation and accessibility.

Music was generally perceived as a supportive and integrative component of museum experience, enhancing atmosphere, continuity and immersion without demanding focused attention.

“Music can be used to create a more enjoyable and pleasant atmosphere in the museum.”

“I think that music really contributed to improving the atmosphere in the museum. It is more articulated now.”

Kotsanas Museum, Athens

In the Kotsanas Museum case, music was most strongly articulated in relation to accessibility and spatial orientation. Visually impaired participants highlighted the potential of sound to support navigation and cognitive mapping of space.

“Music helped me feel more oriented in space and made the environment feel more complete.”

Museum Mação

In Mação, music foregrounded heritage, collective memory and community identity. It was perceived as connected to local traditions, environmental sounds and intangible cultural heritage.

“I think that it connects us with Mação. And I think they connect us with space, with the Museum.”

Museo dei Bambini, Rome

The Museo dei Bambini case highlighted the challenge of implementing music in a dynamic, interactive and acoustically complex children’s museum. Music was understood as a tool for modulating energy and structuring experience.

“As we are a children's museum, of course it is still noisy, but we noticed a shift towards more articulated ambience.”

The study found that effects of Synomusic may not always be visible through simple satisfaction scores, particularly where museum visits are already highly pleasurable experiences.

However, more subtle effects became visible through context-specific layers of meaning, mindfulness, atmosphere, emotional engagement and visitors’ quality of presence in the museum.

In Kotsanas Museum, visitors exposed to music felt more drawn into the story of the exhibition and reported higher satisfaction with the atmosphere. In Kotsanas and Mação, visitors in music conditions expressed more pronounced states of mindfulness, slower pacing and reduced “autopilot” visiting.

The effects of Synomusic on emotional experience varied significantly across contexts.

In Kotsanas Museum, music was associated with reduced negative emotional states and increased positive experiences, including calmness, relaxation, interest, surprise, insight, motivation and aesthetic appreciation.

In Museum Mação, emotional shifts were more subtle and oriented toward quieter, more reflective states, aligned with the curatorial intention to evoke respect for heritage and contemplative engagement.