Rhythm or Music? Contrasting Two Types of Auditory Stimuli in the Performance of a Dancing Routine

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether rhythmic beats only or music would be more effective as accompaniment for the motor performance of specific rhythmic-dance steps by 30 female students of physical education (M age 20.1 yr.), without prior experience in music or dance. They performed a dance routine in synchronization with a musical phrase of eight rhythmical meters, with the general value of 4/4 each. Each meter involved representative steps of the rhythmical values of 4/4, 1/4, 1/8, and 1/16 like rhythmical walking, small kicks, galloping, chassé, cat leap, and different ways of balancing. Subjects performed these in synchronization to the rhythm played on a tambourine or to music played on an harmonium. All movement performances were registered using two video cameras. Differences between the two groups ("rhythm" and "music") and across the different meters (4/4, 1/8, 1/8, 1/16, 1/4) were analyzed by a mixed between-within subjects 2 x 3 analysis of variance with repeated measures of "meter." Students who performed with the tambourine showed better synchrony with that external auditory stimulus than students who performed the same routine guided by music played on the harmonium. Also, students showed better synchrony with the external rhythm when performing a whole (4/4 meter) than when performing either the 1/8 or the mixed 1/8-1/16-1/4 meters. These findings suggest that for highly complex artistic movements such as the ones involved in dance, beginners perform much better when their movements are guided by a rhythmical sequence of single beats than when guided by a musical phrase having identical metrical structure.

Dancers’ Somatic of Musicality

“…As mentioned in the section “Introduction” (see also Large, 2000), people tend to synchronize their movement to rhythm. Pollatou et al (2003) found that dancers managed to synchronize their movements to a tambourine rhythm, whereas they were less successful in doing the same when the harmonium guided their movements.…”

Effects of Expertise and Auditory Guidance on Traditional Dance Performance

“…This hypothesis is further supported by research showing that novice performers had increased consistency in the performance of a modern dance routine when their steps were guided by a rhythmical sequence of single beats compared to a musical phrase of identical metrical structure. 22 Thus, novices seem to perform better when the guiding auditory stimulus is provided in a more coarse or abstract form, such as, in this case, the verbal counting. Only with experience in music-motor entrainment can dancers accommodate to different aspects of a step pattern, such as the time-lag differences between limbs, variance in oscillations (which in this study were greater in the Irish steps), and frequency power (which was higher in the Greek steps).…”

Analysis of Dance Performance

“…It has been found, for instance, that for highly complex artistic movements such as the ones involved in dance, beginners perform much better when their movements are guided by a rhythmical sequence of single beats than by a musical phrase having identical metrical structure. 1 Also, soloists in classical ballet demonstrate significantly greater muscular powers compared to principals and corps, who in turn have significantly greater aerobic capabilities. 2 The scientific study of elite athletic performance has increased our understanding of the stresses placed on the body during competition, and in so doing has improved training tech-niques, enhanced performance, and helped control the incidence of injuries in many different sports.…”