Against the backdrop of the worldwide spread of COVID-19, this study aims to validate a model for coping with psychological distress and examine the effect of music listening, as a coping strategy, in moderating and lessening the effects of stressors on psychological distress. Based on 198 returned questionnaires from preservice kindergarten teachers, this study suggests students experienced such common mental health issues as stress, anxiety and depression due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Time pressures, general social mistreatment, academic alienation and developmental challenges were significant stressors predicting students' anxiety. Music listening played a prominent moderating role on the relationship between stressors and psychological wellbeing mental health/psychological distress. However, music with lyrics with a positive meaning may lessen the moderating effect of musical elements. This study suggests that music listening has a prominent moderating effect on health/psychological distress, while the implicit or explicit musical meaning of the music perceived by the audience determines its moderating effect. Copyright ©2021 SAGE Publications.