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Microtiming in Swing and Funk affects the body movement behavior of music expert listeners

Microtiming in Swing and Funk affects the body movement behavior of music expert listeners

Authors :
Lorenz eKilchenmann
Olivier eSenn
Source :
Frontiers in Psychology, Vol 6 (2015)
Publication Year :
2015
Publisher :
Frontiers Media S.A., 2015.

Abstract

The theory of Participatory Discrepancies (or PDs) claims that minute temporal asynchronies (microtiming) in music performance are crucial for prompting bodily entrainment in listeners, which is a fundamental effect of the groove experience. Previous research has failed to find evidence to support this theory. The present study tested the influence of varying PD magnitudes on the beat-related body movement behavior of music listeners. 160 participants (79 music experts, 81 non-experts) listened to twelve music clips in either Funk or Swing style. These stimuli were based on two audio recordings (one in each style) of expert drum and bass duo performances. In one series of six clips, the PDs were downscaled from their originally performed magnitude to complete quantization in steps of 20%. In another series of six clips, the PDs were upscaled from their original magnitude to double magnitude in steps of 20%. The intensity of the listeners’ beat-related head movement was measured using video-based motion capture technology and Fourier analysis. A mixed-design four-factor ANOVA showed that the PD manipulations had a significant effect on the expert listeners’ entrainment behavior. The experts moved more when listening to stimuli with PDs that were downscaled by 60% compared to completely quantized stimuli. This finding offers partial support for PD theory: PDs of a certain magnitude do augment entrainment in listeners. But the effect was found to be small to moderately sized, and it affected music expert listeners only.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
16641078
Volume :
6
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Frontiers in Psychology
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.0f611458ca45099062746db8a7f063
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01232