Moving to the beat. Analysing motion responses to different pulse shapes
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1
University of Oslo, Dept. of Musicology, Norway
Pulse is a fundamental reference for the production and perception of groove-based rhythm. In this paper, we focus on listeners’ motion responses to changes in the shape of the pulse of the tune ‘Left&Right’ by D’Angelo (Voodoo, 2000). Part 1 of this tune (the intro) implies a specific and exact location for the pulse; part 2 (the main groove), on the other hand, features different rhythmic layers that suggest two alternative pulse locations that are approximately 80 ms apart. We first anticipate the listener’s response to this change in beat shape using theories of entrainment and dynamic attending as points of departure. Then we report on a motion-capture experiment that was aimed at engaging listeners’ responses to the tune. Our hypothesis is that the motion would change from part 1 to part 2 as a consequence of the altered shape of the pulse. To test this, we recruited twenty music students and instructed them, while standing on the floor, to move a stick held in their hand to the pulse of the music. The results for the measured quantity of motion showed that the subjects on average moved more to part 2 than to part 1, by a factor of 1.4 (SD=0.4). Plots of the responses show that, for a majority of the subjects, there was also a clear change in the motion, both qualitatively and quantitatively, from part 1 to part 2. Given the coupling between action and perception in musical rhythm, this difference in motion response might be seen to reflect a difference in perceptual response caused by the microrhythmic alterations in the groove.
Keywords:
Pulse,
beat shape,
groove,
microrhythm,
motion capture
Conference:
14th Rhythm Production and Perception Workshop Birmingham 11th - 13th September 2013, Birmingham, United Kingdom, 11 Sep - 13 Sep, 2013.
Presentation Type:
Oral Presentation
Topic:
Rhythm Production and Perception
Citation:
Danielsen
A,
Haugen
MR and
Jensenius
AR
(2013). Moving to the beat. Analysing motion responses to different pulse shapes.
Conference Abstract:
14th Rhythm Production and Perception Workshop Birmingham 11th - 13th September 2013.
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2013.214.00032
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Received:
13 Jul 2013;
Published Online:
24 Sep 2013.
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Correspondence:
Prof. Anne Danielsen, University of Oslo, Dept. of Musicology, Oslo, Norway, anne.danielsen@imv.uio.no