Effects of pitch and musical sounds on body-representations when moving with sound

Abstract

The effects of music on bodily movement and feelings, such as when people are dancing or engaged in physical activity, are well-documented—people may move in response to the sound cues, feel powerful, less tired. How sounds and bodily movements relate to create such effects? Here we deconstruct the problem and investigate how different auditory features affect people’s body-representation and feelings even when paired with the same movement. In three experiments, participants executed a simple arm raise synchronised with changing pitch in simple tones (Experiment 1), rich musical sounds (Experiment 2) and within different frequency ranges (Experiment 3), while we recorded indirect and direct measures on their movement, body-representations and feelings. Changes in pitch influenced people’s general emotional state as well as the various bodily dimensions investigated—movement, proprioceptive awareness and feelings about one’s body and movement. Adding harmonic content amplified the differences between ascending and descending sounds, while shifting the absolute frequency range had a general effect on movement amplitude, bodily feelings and emotional state. These results provide new insights in the role of auditory and musical features in dance and exercise, and have implications for the design of sound-based applications supporting movement expression, physical activity, or rehabilitation.

Exploring multisensory integration of non-naturalistic sounds on body perception in young females with eating disorders symptomatology: a study protocol

“…The MAIA have shown adequate internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha 0.64 to 0.83 for all subscales) X Auditory trials Presented in four conditions: an anchor task (20 trials); a practice task (3 trials); an experimental block (30 trials) and a questionnaire block (3 trials) X X Estimation of body position (finger/waist) To assess estimation of location or position of fingertip/knuckle (allowing to calculate the estimated finger length can be calculated) and waist width after each auditory experimental trial X Confidence task It has been found that the reliability of perception might be linked to subjective rather than objective accuracy [ 41 ]. For example, previous studies using body illusions report that confidence was not accompanied by increases in objective accuracy (i.e., [ 42 , 43 ]). Therefore, to assess the reliability of their estimations, after each auditory experimental trial, the feeling of confidence with the estimation of body part position will be explicitly assessed by asking the participants: “From one to seven, how confident are you of your estimation?” (7-point Likert scale) X X Body feelings questionnaire (finger/waist) [ 25 ] To assess subjective feelings about their finger/waist after the trials (susceptibility to the illusion).…”

Sonification for Personalised Gait Intervention

“…Figure 5 below illustrates the DRC algorithm being used to increase/decrease the level of gain using a threshold. To investigate the influence of pitch, a study evaluated the effects of pitch on participants' emotional response to audio during movement-based tasks [54]. The study uncov- To investigate the influence of pitch, a study evaluated the effects of pitch on participants' emotional response to audio during movement-based tasks [54].…”

“…To investigate the influence of pitch, a study evaluated the effects of pitch on participants' emotional response to audio during movement-based tasks [54]. The study uncov- To investigate the influence of pitch, a study evaluated the effects of pitch on participants' emotional response to audio during movement-based tasks [54]. The study uncovered that higher pitch frequencies not only elevated participants' sense of capability but also boosted their motivation and comfort during physical movement.…”

Altering body-representation through non-naturalistic sounds: study protocol for an experimental study in a subclinical eating disorders sample

“…It has been found that the reliability of perception might be linked to subjective rather than objective accuracy [40]. For example, previous studies using BIs report that con dence was not accompanied by increases in objective accuracy (i.e., [41,42]). Therefore, to assess the reliability of their estimations, after each auditory experimental trial, the feeling of con dence with the estimation of body part position will be explicitly assessed by asking the participants: "From one to seven, how con dent are you of your estimation?"…”