Rocking to the Music: A Study of Motor Patterns and Physiological Measures
Date Issued
2010
Date
2010
Author(s)
Wang, Li-Ching
Abstract
There is a close relationship between music and body movements. Even those who are musically untrained tap their feet or nod their heads with music automatically. What are the reasons and the mechanisms that make music players and listeners move with music? How do different motor patterns affect music perception? This study combines fieldwork and physiological signal measurements to investigate these issues. Observations of the motor patterns in different music fields were followed by two experimental studies that examined the phase relationships between music beats and body movements. The first experiment analyzed music traditions of beat-counting. The acceleration of the hand movements of nanguan musicians, beiguan musicians and conductors in western classic music were measured, and the relationships between the motor patterns and the metrical structures were analyzed. In the second experiment, the EEG (electroencephalography) signals, body acceleration and skin conductance of listeners were recorded when they were moving with music. It was found that most people are used to nodding their heads on downbeat. For musicians, both tactile and proprioceptive feedbacks facilitate the perception for metrical structure. The tactile feedback is the most important one followed by the proprioceptive feedback induced by the movement which is in the same direction as gravity. Head movements influenced the brain wave recorded above the mid-frontal cortex and evoke significant increases in skin conductance, which may indicate listeners’ deep involvement in music.
Subjects
rhythm
metrical structure
motor pattern
EEG
vestibular stimuli
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