Abstract

As Music Information Retrieval (MIR) technologies evolve, their potential lies not only in analyzing acoustic features but in deeply understanding the human experience of music. In this talk, I will share work from our laboratory exploring how people perceive, enjoy, and create music, and how these insights can inspire the design of more human-centric MIR systems. Drawing on cognitive and physiological studies, we show that signals such as EEG and heart rate can reveal individual differences in music preference and expertise. We also extend this perspective to diverse populations, including individuals with hearing impairments and cochlear implants. While our work has so far focused on understanding how these listeners experience and emotionally respond to music, we see this as a first step toward imagining music generation and recommendation systems that adapt to their needs—making music more accessible and engaging for all. Finally, we investigate how shared music experiences can enhance social bonding and enjoyment, and discuss how these dynamics might be incorporated into MIR platforms. By weaving together cognitive, physiological, and social dimensions of music experience, I will open a discussion on how next-generation MIR technologies can put human values, personalization, and inclusivity at the center.