Music on the timing grid: The influence of microtiming on the perceived groove quality of a simple drum pattern performance

Abstract

In general, microtiming is considered to be an important factor for the perceived quality of rhythms. Our experiment analyzed the influence of early or late time shift of both bass drum and snare drum on the perceived musical quality of a short, simple drum pattern in rock style. In a web-based study, music students (N = 93) listened to a simple drum pattern played on a snare and a bass drum and evaluated the musical quality (in terms of the "groove quality") of five degrees of microtiming deviations (early and late time shifts of the two instruments by −25 ms, −15 ms, 0 ms, +15 ms, and +25 ms). We found 5 significant results: (a) The highest ratings of perceived drum pattern quality were given for the rhythmically accurate (quantized) version; (b) the increasing deviation in microtiming resulted in lower quality ratings; (c) the evaluation of drum pattern quality showed a characteristic asymmetry of ratings for the two directions of deviations: early time shift was rated more negatively than the comparable late time shift; (d) in general, microtiming deviations on the snare drum were rated worse than comparable deviations on the bass drum; (e) the subjects' degree of expertise in rock and pop music had no influence on the ratings. We conclude that at least some styles of modern groove-oriented music are characterized by an aesthetics of "exactitude" and a groove effect independent of microtiming deviations. Consequences for the aesthetic appreciation of different styles of music are discussed.

Audio Features Underlying Perceived Groove and Sensorimotor Synchronization in Music

“…Earlier theoretical considerations emphasized the roles of subtle timing deviations (microtiming; participatory discrepancies) between players/instruments (Keil & Feld, 1994;Iyer, 2002;Pressing, 2002), but recent studies failed to find a positive correlation between microtiming and perceived groove (Madison et al, 2011;Davies et al, 2013;Frühauf et al, 2013). In fact, as timing deviations increase, perceived groove decreases, particularly among musically trained individuals (Davies et al, 2013).…”

The Psychology of Music: Rhythm and Movement

“…In many styles associated with groove (e.g., jazz, R&B), rhythms are swung to varying degrees and, thus, systematically deviate from deadpan timing. Other studies have found that microtiming deviations were not required to give a sense of groove (Butterfield 2010, Fruhauf et al 2013, Madison 2006, Senn et al 2016, and in some cases, deadpan timings were preferred. These results make some sense, as Repp (2005) has noted that the phase corrections one makes in following fine-grained timing variations are often subliminal and involuntary, whereas only larger shifts in tempo (i.e., period corrections) involve conscious awareness and volitional control.…”

Filling In: Syncopation, Pleasure and Distributed Embodiment in Groove

“…Perhaps surprisingly, only a few experiments have shown that microtiming is positively related to the experience of groove (Klichenmann and Senn ). Most studies have shown the opposite – that the more microtemporally extreme the rhythm, the less listeners experience the desire to move (See Madison and Sioris ; Butterfield ; Davies, Madison, Silva and Gouyon ; and Frühauf, Kopiez and Platz ) . Psychological experiments have found another rhythmic feature that more reliably relates to the pleasurable desire to move in groove: syncopation .…”