Activating and relaxing music entrains the speed of beat synchronized walking.
Inspired by a theory of embodied music cognition, we investigate whether music can entrain the speed of beat synchronized walking. If human walking is in synchrony with the beat and all musical stimuli have the same duration and the same tempo, then differences in walking speed can only be the resul...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2013-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3707869?pdf=render |
| _version_ | 1819236511740067840 |
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| author | Marc Leman Dirk Moelants Matthias Varewyck Frederik Styns Leon van Noorden Jean-Pierre Martens |
| author_facet | Marc Leman Dirk Moelants Matthias Varewyck Frederik Styns Leon van Noorden Jean-Pierre Martens |
| author_sort | Marc Leman |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Inspired by a theory of embodied music cognition, we investigate whether music can entrain the speed of beat synchronized walking. If human walking is in synchrony with the beat and all musical stimuli have the same duration and the same tempo, then differences in walking speed can only be the result of music-induced differences in stride length, thus reflecting the vigor or physical strength of the movement. Participants walked in an open field in synchrony with the beat of 52 different musical stimuli all having a tempo of 130 beats per minute and a meter of 4 beats. The walking speed was measured as the walked distance during a time interval of 30 seconds. The results reveal that some music is 'activating' in the sense that it increases the speed, and some music is 'relaxing' in the sense that it decreases the speed, compared to the spontaneous walked speed in response to metronome stimuli. Participants are consistent in their observation of qualitative differences between the relaxing and activating musical stimuli. Using regression analysis, it was possible to set up a predictive model using only four sonic features that explain 60% of the variance. The sonic features capture variation in loudness and pitch patterns at periods of three, four and six beats, suggesting that expressive patterns in music are responsible for the effect. The mechanism may be attributed to an attentional shift, a subliminal audio-motor entrainment mechanism, or an arousal effect, but further study is needed to figure this out. Overall, the study supports the hypothesis that recurrent patterns of fluctuation affecting the binary meter strength of the music may entrain the vigor of the movement. The study opens up new perspectives for understanding the relationship between entrainment and expressiveness, with the possibility to develop applications that can be used in domains such as sports and physical rehabilitation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-23T13:05:36Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-33a988956ba5477d9216777b38942abe |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-23T13:05:36Z |
| publishDate | 2013-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-33a988956ba5477d9216777b38942abe2022-12-21T17:45:54ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032013-01-0187e6793210.1371/journal.pone.0067932Activating and relaxing music entrains the speed of beat synchronized walking.Marc LemanDirk MoelantsMatthias VarewyckFrederik StynsLeon van NoordenJean-Pierre MartensInspired by a theory of embodied music cognition, we investigate whether music can entrain the speed of beat synchronized walking. If human walking is in synchrony with the beat and all musical stimuli have the same duration and the same tempo, then differences in walking speed can only be the result of music-induced differences in stride length, thus reflecting the vigor or physical strength of the movement. Participants walked in an open field in synchrony with the beat of 52 different musical stimuli all having a tempo of 130 beats per minute and a meter of 4 beats. The walking speed was measured as the walked distance during a time interval of 30 seconds. The results reveal that some music is 'activating' in the sense that it increases the speed, and some music is 'relaxing' in the sense that it decreases the speed, compared to the spontaneous walked speed in response to metronome stimuli. Participants are consistent in their observation of qualitative differences between the relaxing and activating musical stimuli. Using regression analysis, it was possible to set up a predictive model using only four sonic features that explain 60% of the variance. The sonic features capture variation in loudness and pitch patterns at periods of three, four and six beats, suggesting that expressive patterns in music are responsible for the effect. The mechanism may be attributed to an attentional shift, a subliminal audio-motor entrainment mechanism, or an arousal effect, but further study is needed to figure this out. Overall, the study supports the hypothesis that recurrent patterns of fluctuation affecting the binary meter strength of the music may entrain the vigor of the movement. The study opens up new perspectives for understanding the relationship between entrainment and expressiveness, with the possibility to develop applications that can be used in domains such as sports and physical rehabilitation.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3707869?pdf=render |
| spellingShingle | Marc Leman Dirk Moelants Matthias Varewyck Frederik Styns Leon van Noorden Jean-Pierre Martens Activating and relaxing music entrains the speed of beat synchronized walking. PLoS ONE |
| title | Activating and relaxing music entrains the speed of beat synchronized walking. |
| title_full | Activating and relaxing music entrains the speed of beat synchronized walking. |
| title_fullStr | Activating and relaxing music entrains the speed of beat synchronized walking. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Activating and relaxing music entrains the speed of beat synchronized walking. |
| title_short | Activating and relaxing music entrains the speed of beat synchronized walking. |
| title_sort | activating and relaxing music entrains the speed of beat synchronized walking |
| url | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3707869?pdf=render |
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