The sensation of groove is affected by the interaction of rhythmic and harmonic complexity

Abstract

48Groove is defined as the pleasurable desire to move to music. Research has shown that 49 rhythmic complexity modulates the sensation of groove but how other musical features, such as 50 harmony, influence groove is less clear. To address this, we asked people with a range of musical 51 experience to rate stimuli that varied in both rhythmic and harmonic complexity. Rhythm 52 showed an inverted U-shaped relationship with ratings of pleasure and wanting to move, whereas 53 medium and low complexity chords were rated similarly. Pleasure mediated the effect of 54 harmony on wanting to move and high complexity chords attenuated the effect of rhythm. While 55 rhythmic complexity is the primary driver, harmony both modulates the effect of rhythm and 56 makes a unique contribution via its effect on pleasure. These results may be accounted for by 57 predictive processes based on rhythmic and harmonic expectancies that are known to contribute 58 to musical pleasure or reward.When listening to music we often find ourselves tapping or moving along to the beat. 93 This has led to the study of groove, which is the pleasurable desire to move to music [1][2][3]. 94 Certain types of music are more likely to induce the sensation of groove than others. However, 95 which specific aspects of music contribute to this sensation is less clear. Research on groove has 96 focused on rhythmic complexity, and syncopation in particular, showing an inverted U-shaped 97 relationship between degree of syncopation and ratings of pleasure and wanting to move [3]. 98 That is, medium levels of syncopation are rated higher than low or high levels. This research has 99 largely examined rhythm in isolation, but other musical properties likely contribute to the 100 sensation of groove. Harmony in particular may be a strong contributor because it modulates 101 affective responses [4]. However, the extent to which harmony affects groove has not been 102 investigated. Furthermore, few studies have examined the impact of musical training on the 103 sensation of groove. Therefore, in the current study we developed a set of rhythmic stimuli that 104 varied in both their degree of rhythmic and harmonic complexity. We asked people with a broad 105 range of musical training to listen to and rate how much the stimuli made them want to move and 106 how much pleasure they experienced. Our goals were to investigate whether harmonic 107 complexity and its interaction with rhythm affects the sensation of groove. In addition, we 108 investigated the effects of rhythmic complexity and musical training on groove. 109

Cultural Familiarity and Individual Musical Taste Differently Affect Social Bonding when Moving to Music

“…When compared to high levels of syncopation, low and moderate syncopation levels in both movement synchrony conditions resulted in higher interpersonal closeness. This finding might relate to the inverted U-shaped relationship between syncopation, pleasure, and body movement: rhythms with moderate levels of syncopation are more enjoyed and induce more movement than rhythms with low and high levels of syncopation 41,42 . This inverted U-shape can also explain why differences in interpersonal closeness between synchronous and asynchronous movements were higher for videos with moderate syncopation levels compared to high syncopation levels.…”

“…This inverted U-shape can also explain why differences in interpersonal closeness between synchronous and asynchronous movements were higher for videos with moderate syncopation levels compared to high syncopation levels. Matthews and colleagues 41 showed that stimuli with moderate syncopation levels are enjoyed most and high syncopation levels least. Assuming that the current auditory stimuli, which were selected from Matthews and colleagues, evoked the same pattern of enjoyment, our finding confirms the synchrony × enjoyment of the music interactions found in Studies 1 and 2.…”

Analysis of the Movement-Inducing Effects of Music through the Fractality of Head Sway during Standstill

“…The significant fixed effects of the Pysh and Neelix tracks in all sway directions (see Table 6), renders additional evidence to the links between high-event, high-groove music with entrainment and spontaneous body movement (Madison et al, 2011;Janata et al, 2012;Gonzalez Sanchez et al, 2018;Matthews et al, 2019). The effect of stimuli with lower onset density were less predominant (Rhythm, Metronome, Bratten), with no statistical significance in the AP direction.…”

Motivation States for Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior: Desire, Urge, Wanting and Craving

“…To tackle this issue, the concepts of wants, desires, appetence, groove and the action impulse (i.e., action readiness) were all plotted on a field distinguishing them by ostensible differences in valence (negative or positive tension) and their specificity to movement (see Figure 1). The concept of groove, for instance, is specific to a felt need to move, and is ostensibly conceived as a positive force or tension (17). It is highly contextual to the influence of music, however.…”

“…The concept of "appetence" (i.e., strong and provoking desires for movement) has shed light on mechanisms of addiction (16). In musicology, the concept of "groove" describes the ability of music to generate feelings of urge to move (17). There appears to be considerable overlap in the concepts of desires, wants, urges and related constructs, yet they seem to vary by the dimensions of magnitude, specificity to movement behavior, whether the desire is conscious and felt, as well as valence.…”