Canadian researchers are trying to answer this question!
Many audiophiles and disco enthusiasts are convinced: low frequencies are essential to get into the dance, just like rhythm or tempo. But is this phenomenon quantifiable and scientifically observable?
This is what a Canadian study published in the magazine Current biology claims following an experiment conducted in a concert hall. According to the researchers, adding bass to any piece of music in a random way would spontaneously increase the dancers' body activity by 12%. However, it is important to note that this experiment was conducted during an electronic music concert, a style that lends itself well to heavy bass. The frequency balance in a song is obviously the most important thing, what is commonly called "the Mix". However, the result of this study is surprising, because the frequency activity triggered by the researchers is too low for the human ear, it is in the inaudible. It is a question of a feeling rather than a real awareness on the part of the guinea pigs.
course of the experiment
The experiment took place in a university auditorium, halfway between club and laboratory. An electronic music group called Orphx performed for an hour in front of an audience of 130 people, half of whom were equipped with motion detection headbands. During the concert, the researchers triggered and removed very low frequencies at regular 2-minute intervals, without following the dynamics and other "drops" dictated by Orphx. As mentioned above, these same frequencies are undetectable to the participants. But once turned on, they cause a 12% increase in the dancers' activity.
explanations
It's a fact, bass music makes us want to move. But why? The first explanation comes from a scientific track studied for more than 15 years, notably by the Institute of Technology in Rome. Apparently, our brain is more sensitive to rhythm when it is made up of low frequencies. Mixed with the tempo, this cocktail of groove would help to create a collective symbiosis, a feeling of communion around the music. This results in a training effect on the dance floor and a synchronization of the dancers.
The second explanation is anatomical. Indeed, the researchers of the Canadian study insist on the fact that the frequencies exposed to the participants are low, too low for the "conscious" ear. Our body feels them, without hearing them. They vibrate our tactile system, our skin and also our inner ear. They therefore act directly on our motor system without us being aware of it.
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