Final answer:
True, emotional associations with music contribute to individual relationships with music and can be recognized cross-culturally, suggesting they may be universal.
Step-by-step explanation:
True, associations are formed between emotions and certain music, which indeed contributes to our individual relationships with music. Research by Thomas Fritz and others has provided evidence that music has the ability to evoke emotional responses across different cultures, suggesting that emotional responses to music might be a sort of universal language. These findings support the idea that even without prior exposure to a specific kind of music, individuals can recognize emotions such as happiness, sadness, and fear.
Furthermore, music plays a critical role in establishing a sense of community. It transcends the barriers of verbal communication, allowing connections to form across different societies and cultures. Overall, these insights align with the concept that our emotional associations with music are both personal and, to some extent, universally understood.