Feel the bass: Music presented to tactile and auditory modalities increases aesthetic appreciation and body movement.

Abstract

Music is both heard and felt-tactile sensation is especially pronounced for bass frequencies. Although bass frequencies have been associated with enhanced bodily movement, time perception, and groove (the musical quality that compels movement), the underlying mechanism remains unclear. In 2 experiments, we presented high-groove music to auditory and tactile senses and examined whether tactile sensation affected body movement and ratings of enjoyment and groove. In Experiment 1, participants (N ϭ 22) sat in a parked car and listened to music clips over sound-isolating earphones (auditory-only condition), and over earphones plus a subwoofer that stimulated the body (auditory-tactile condition). Experiment 2 (N ϭ 18) also presented music in auditory-only and auditory-tactile conditions, but used a vibrotactile backpack to stimulate the body and included 2 loudness levels. Participants tapped their finger with each clip, rated each clip, and, in Experiment 1, we additionally video recorded spontaneous body movement. Results showed that the auditory-tactile condition yielded more forceful tapping, more spontaneous body movement, and higher ratings of groove and enjoyment. Loudness had a small, but significant, effect on ratings. In sum, findings suggest that bass felt in the body produces a multimodal auditory-tactile percept that promotes movement through the close connection between tactile and motor systems. We discuss links to embodied aesthetics and applications of tactile stimulation to boost rhythmic movement and reduce hearing damage.

Collective music listening: Movement energy is enhanced by groove and visual social cues

“…High-groove music has been shown to increase the desire, readiness, and propensity to move ( Janata et al, 2012 ; Madison, 2006 ; Stupacher et al, 2013 ). The evidence as to whether it increases the actual amount and/or energy of movement remains inconclusive ( Hove et al, 2020 ; Hurley et al, 2014 ; Leman et al, 2017 ; Leow et al, 2014 ; Witek et al, 2017 ). Movement energy, defined more broadly as vigour, has emerged as a window on the interaction between reward prediction and motor control ( Shadmehr et al, 2019 ).…”

Beat Perception in Polyrhythms: Time is Structured in Binary Units

“…Low-pitched rhythmic elements increase the sensitivity to timing variation on behavioral and neural levels (Hove et al, 2014), and EEG activity at meter-related frequencies increases with low-pitch sounds (Lenc et al, 2018). In general, high energy in bass frequencies are important for inducing movements, such as tapping in time with the beat and dancing (Hove et al, 2020; Stupacher at al., 2016; van Dyck et al, 2013; Varlet et al, 2020). When investigating the effect of pitch on beat perception in polyrhythms, Handel and Oshinsky (1981) found that participants tended to perceive the lower pitched pulse train as the beat, and that this preference counteracted preferences related to the timing of the pulse trains.…”

“…Whether pitch or subdivision grouping has a stronger effect on beat perception in polyrhythms likely depends on individual factors, such as taste and familiarity, as well as on physical attributes of the stimulus, such as the size of the pitch interval between the two pulse trains, their peak frequencies, and the ratio of the polyrhythm (Moelants & van Noorden, 2005). Physiological not mutually exclusive factors that drive the bass superiority effect include tactile stimulation (Hove et al, 2020), vestibular stimulation (Todd & Lee, 2015), and encoding in the auditory pathway (Hove et al, 2014). Other factors influencing the close connection between bass, beat, and movement might be learned by exposure to music with important rhythmic information produced by bass instruments.…”

Experience of Groove Questionnaire

“…Factors linked to the person of the listener have also been investigated; for example, listeners' taste, musical expertise, and background. Finally, the concrete listening situation (such as live vs. recorded music) and the interaction of auditory, visual, and tactile modalities have also been studied (for a recent overview, see Eaves et al, 2019;Hove, Martinez, & Stupacher, 2020;Matthews et al 2019;Senn, Rose, et al, 2019, Swarbrick et al, 2019.…”