Music is known to be capable of reducing perceived exertion during strenuous physical activity. The current interpretation of this modulating effect of music is that music may be perceived as a diversion from unpleasant proprioceptive sensations that go along with exhaustion. Here we investigated the effects of music on perceived exertion during a physically strenuous task, varying musical agency, a task that relies on the experience of body proprioception, rather than simply diverting from it. For this we measured psychologically indicated exertion during physical workout with and without musical agency while simultaneously acquiring metabolic values with spirometry. Results showed that musical agency significantly decreased perceived exertion during workout, indicating that musical agency may actually facilitate physically strenuous activities. This indicates that the positive effect of music on perceived exertion cannot always be explained by an effect of diversion from proprioceptive feedback. Furthermore, this finding suggests that the down-modulating effect of musical agency on perceived exertion may be a previously unacknowledged driving force for the development of music in humans: making music makes strenuous physical activities less exhausting.sport | civilization | emotional motor control | jymmin' | aesthetics A thletes often use music in fitness studios and during preparation for sport competitions (1). The reason for this is probably that music can have positive effects on sports performance. The musical parameters tempo and rhythm, for example, have been shown to have a motivating and ergogenic influence on performance in sports (2, 3). Also, the perceived exertion during strenuous physical tasks can be diminished by music listening (4, 5), at least in a specific range of aerobic metabolism (6). The modulating influence of music on perceived exertion is thought to be due to a distracting effect of the music, such that the athlete pays less attention to (partly unpleasant) proprioceptive sensations that go along with bodily exhaustion (6, 7). Here, we question whether the diminishing effect of music on perceived exertion is due only to distraction from proprioceptive feedback. For this, we varied musical agency during a sports activity with fitness machines. In the present study, among a number of control tasks, the participants either created musical sounds while working out or just listened to similar music produced by others during their workout.Importantly, during the musical agency condition the participants are not simply distracted from the proprioceptive feedback. On the contrary, the proprioceptive feedback is essential to the source of agency that we introduce.In the current study, we adapt a definition of agency as a performance of bodily movement guided by an agent and governed by a goal or intention. We use the term "musical agency" because the goal/intention in the agency condition is a modulation of musical sounds. Musical agency is an essential aspect of many (if not most) rituals i...

THE PRESENT STUDY AIMS TO GAIN BETTER INSIGHTinto the connection between music and dance by examining the dynamic effects of the bass drum on a dancing audience in a club-like environment. One hundred adult participants moved freely in groups of five to a musical sequence that comprised six songs. Each song consisted of one section that was repeated three times, each time with a different sound pressure level of the bass drum. Hip and head movements were recorded using motion capture and motion sensing. The study demonstrates that people modify their bodily behavior according to the dynamic level of the bass drum when moving to contemporary dance music in a social context. Participants moved more actively and displayed a higher degree of tempo entrainment as the sound pressure level of the bass drum increased. These results indicate that the prominence of the bass drum in contemporary dance music serves not merely as a stylistic element; indeed, it has a strong influence on dancing itself.

BackgroundSince accumulating evidence suggests that step rate is strongly associated with running-related injuries, it is important for runners to exercise at an appropriate running cadence. As music tempo has been shown to be capable of impacting exercise performance of repetitive endurance activities, it might also serve as a means to (re)shape running cadence. The aim of this study was to validate the impact of music tempo on running cadence.MethodsSixteen recreational runners ran four laps of 200 m (i.e. 800 m in total); this task was repeated 11 times with a short break in between each four-lap sequence. During the first lap of a sequence, participants ran at a self-paced tempo without musical accompaniment. Running cadence of the first lap was registered, and during the second lap, music with a tempo matching the assessed cadence was played. In the final two laps, the music tempo was either increased/decreased by 3.00, 2.50, 2.00, 1.50, or 1.00 % or was kept stable. This range was chosen since the aim of this study was to test spontaneous entrainment (an average person can distinguish tempo variations of about 4 %). Each participant performed all conditions.ResultsImperceptible shifts in musical tempi in proportion to the runner’s self-paced running tempo significantly influenced running cadence (p < .001). Contrasts revealed a linear relation between the tempo conditions and adaptation in running cadence (p < .001). In addition, a significant effect of condition on the level of entrainment was revealed (p < .05), which suggests that maximal effects of music tempo on running cadence can only be obtained up to a certain level of tempo modification. Finally, significantly higher levels of tempo entrainment were found for female participants compared to their male counterparts (p < .05).ConclusionsThe applicable contribution of these novel findings is that music tempo could serve as an unprompted means to impact running cadence. As increases in step rate may prove beneficial in the prevention and treatment of common running-related injuries, this finding could be especially relevant for treatment purposes, such as exercise prescription and gait retraining.Key PointsMusic tempo can spontaneously impact running cadence.A basin for unsolicited entrainment of running cadence to music tempo was discovered.The effect of music tempo on running cadence proves to be stronger for women than for men.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40798-015-0025-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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