Interplay of synchronized music.

Abstract

Rhythmic activities are ubiquitous in nature. Synchronization of rhythmic patterns can be found in interacting inanimate systems where the mechanism of the coupling can usually be identified and understood; it is also commonly observed in living systems where the mechanisms of the interaction are less apparent, and sometimes even mysterious. To characterize the statistical properties—and to develop a simple mathematical model—of these couplings can shed some light on an important class of phenomena of interacting living systems. In PNAS, Hennig (1) examines the cross-correlation of tempo time series: that is, the time intervals between successive musical beats, between two people playing rhythmic music in synchrony. Hennig finds long-range (power-law decayed) cross-correlation between the two synchronized tempo sequences. To simulate the observed phenomenon, Hennig proposes a simple mathematical model that might also be helpful in providing some insights into other synchronization processes in nature.