International

"Sounds of Wa­ter": New re­search project with Prince­ton

The collaborative project between researchers from HU and Princeton investigates how water-related music evokes ideas and thoughts. Photo: Adobe Stock / Anton Maltsev

Supported by the Princeton-Humboldt Strategic Partnership Initiative, researchers from both universities are launching the project "Sounds of Water: Mapping Multimodal Music-Evoked Imaginings through Citizen Science". The project will run for two years and is led by Dr. Mats Küssner (HU) and Prof. Dr. Elizabeth Margulis (Princeton University).

It investigates how water-related music evokes thoughts and mental imagery and how social and cultural factors shape music-induced imaginings. A central component of the project is a citizen science game, which will be launched as part of the "Water" exhibition at the Humboldt Labor in October 2025. Visitors will be invited to listen to musical pieces and share their inner images and associations. By integrating music psychology, cognitive science, and imagination research, the project will make a significant contribution to understanding musical perception and creative processes.

04.03.2025