Concerts can be emotionally moving experiences for music-lovers, stirring deep feelings of awe, joy, melancholy or excitement. But they are also literally moving, prompting heads to bob, hearts to flutter and breaths to catch in synchrony, according to new research.
A classical music concert synchronized heart rate, breathing and movement across 132 audience members, according to a study published Thursday in the journal Scientific Reports. The find underscores the power of music to influence our minds and bodies in ways that might be fundamental to the human experience.
Past lab-based studies have demonstrated music’s power to shape someone’s physiology, but few have involved people listening to music in the real world. In this study, researchers looked at 132 audience members at three classical string quartet concerts in Germany and measured their heart rate, breathing, skin conductance (a measure of arousal), and recorded their movements using overhead cameras as the music played. Study participants also filled out questionnaires about their personality and mood before and after the concert.
Each concert included three pieces: Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Op. 104 in C minor,” Brett Dean’s “Epitaphs” and Johannes Brahms’ “Op. 111 in G major.”
The researchers found significant synchronization of heart rate, electrodermal activity, breathing rate and movement across all pieces, though the level of synchrony varied (Brahms was highest). Notably, the concerts were conducted during social distancing restrictions in Germany, with audience members sitting at least 6 feet apart, suggesting that the synchronization stems from the act of listening to the music, and not from taking physical cues from one’s neighbor.
Some people were more in sync than others. Those who scored higher on measures of agreeableness and openness before the concert tended to match other audience members most, the study found. Extroverts and people with higher levels of neuroticism tended to sync up less.
Whether similar responses occur for other types of music remains to be seen, the authors say. It may be that certain genres of music evoke more synchronization than others.
