Exploring movement entrainment in an ecologically valid concert setting

Abstract

Moving to the beat is one of the most natural human reactions while listening to music and can be defined as movement entrainment. Listeners' reactions to music have been discussed as the result of the music, the context, and the listener. However, as music is a social phenomenon typically performed in live settings, movement entrainment and its contributing factors have never been investigated in ecologically valid concerts. In a preliminary study (n = 42) during a rock/pop concert, we confirmed the validity of our method of measuring acceleration data of the audience with portable devices on the arm and torso. In our main study (n = 69), we measured audience data at two big band concerts with different conditions: One was seated, the other unseated. With several consecutive Hierarchical Linear Models, we identified factors predicting movement entrainment: location of measurement (arm vs. torso), metrical level (BPM vs. half- and double-time level), musical factors (the different pieces), concert condition (seated vs. unseated), and the personal characteristic of urge to dance. Our study shows that there are multiple factors contributing to movement entrainment and can be seen as a first step towards studying this phenomenon in ecologically valid concert settings.

Keywords: Dance; Live concert; Movement entrainment; Popular music.

Fig. 1

Overview of the experimental procedures.

Fig. 2

Mean values of movement entrainment calculated for the target BPM values of all pieces compared to values for movement entrainment calculated for control BPM values. Results for the two locations of measurement (arm and torso) and the three metrical levels (half-time level, standard beat level and double-time level) are shown in the six plots. For the control values, movement entrainment was analyzed for + and − 10, 20 and 30 BPM around the target value, then averaged. Error bars mark 95% confidence intervals. ***p < 0.001. Effect sizes represent differences between movement entrainment calculated for target and control BPM values.

Fig. 3

Estimates of the final hierarchical linear model with location of measurement, metrical level, pieces of music, concert situation, and urge to dance as predictors of movement entrainment.