Abstract
The expressive features of music can influence the velocity of walking. So far, studies used instructed (and intended) synchronization. But is this velocity effect still present with non-instructed (spontaneous) synchronization? To figure that out, participants were instructed to walk in their own comfort tempo on an indoor track, first in silence and then with tempo-matched music. We compared velocities of silence and music conditions. The results show that some music has an activating influence, increasing velocity and motivation, while other music has a relaxing influence, decreasing velocity and motivation. The influence of musical expression on the velocity of self-paced walking can be predicted with a regression model using only three sonic features explaining 56% of the variance. Phase-coherence between footfall and beat did not contribute to the velocity effect, due to its implied fixed pacing. The findings suggest that the velocity effect depends on vigor entrainment that influences both stride length and pacing. Our findings are relevant for preventing injuries, for gait improvement in walking rehabilitation, and for improving performance in sports activities.
Highlights
Studies based on instructed synchronization of human locomotion with music show that the expressive features of music can influence the locomotion
In order to obtain a music database with songs that have either an activating or relaxing character, we started from mood labels to select the songs from a large labeled music database
The goal of this analysis is twofold: (i) can we separate songs in significantly different groups according to kinematic responses? and (ii) can we identify sonic features that are capable of predicting the kinematic response to a song? To answer those questions, we use the same approach of Leman et al [5] and Varewyck et al [18]
Summary
Studies based on instructed (and intended) synchronization of human locomotion with music show that the expressive features of music can influence the locomotion. Positive outcomes of instructed synchronization with music over no music have been reported. Psychophysical outcomes: Positive results have been found for elite triathletes running on a treadmill while listening to synchronous music [1]. Time-to-exhaustion (TTE) increased by over a minute for both running to motivational and neutral music, compared to the nomusic condition. These increases respectively represent an 18.1% and 19.7% improvement in performance. Effects on perceived exertion were small in this maximum intensity test. A study by Bood et al [2] on sub-maximal intensities, did find significant effects on ratings of perceived exertion (RPE)
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