title: Dance and Music in "Gangnam Style": How Dance Observation Affects Meter Perception.
abstract: Dance and music often co-occur as evidenced when viewing choreographed dances or singers moving while performing. This study investigated how the viewing of dance motions shapes sound perception. Previous research has shown that dance reflects the temporal structure of its accompanying music, communicating musical meter (i.e. a hierarchical organization of beats) via coordinated movement patterns that indicate where strong and weak beats occur. Experiments here investigated the effects of dance cues on meter perception, hypothesizing that dance could embody the musical meter, thereby shaping participant reaction times (RTs) to sound targets occurring at different metrical positions.In experiment 1, participants viewed a video with dance choreography indicating 4/4 meter (dance condition) or a series of color changes repeated in sequences of four to indicate 4/4 meter (picture condition). A sound track accompanied these videos and participants reacted to timbre targets at different metrical positions. Participants had the slowest RT's at the strongest beats in the dance condition only. In experiment 2, participants viewed the choreography of the horse-riding dance from Psy's "Gangnam Style" in order to examine how a familiar dance might affect meter perception. Moreover, participants in this experiment were divided into a group with experience dancing this choreography and a group without experience. Results again showed slower RTs to stronger metrical positions and the group with experience demonstrated a more refined perception of metrical hierarchy. Results likely stem from the temporally selective division of attention between auditory and visual domains. This study has implications for understanding: 1) the impact of splitting attention among different sensory modalities, and 2) the impact of embodiment, on perception of musical meter. Viewing dance may interfere with sound processing, particularly at critical metrical positions, but embodied familiarity with dance choreography may facilitate meter awareness. Results shed light on the processing of multimedia environments.
authors: Smart Humanity Convergence Center, Graduate School of Convergence Science and Technology, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
authors: Kyung Myun
authors: KM
authors: Lee
authors: Peabody Institute of Music at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America.
authors: Karen Chan
authors: KC
authors: Barrett
authors: Graduate School of Convergence Science and Technology, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
authors: Yeonhwa
authors: Y
authors: Kim
authors: College of Music, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
authors: Yeoeun
authors: Y
authors: Lim
authors: Smart Humanity Convergence Center, Graduate School of Convergence Science and Technology, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea; Graduate School of Convergence Science and Technology, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
authors: Kyogu
authors: K
authors: Lee
mesh_terms: D001307:Auditory Perception; D003615:Dancing / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009068:Movement; D009146:Music; D011930:Reaction Time; D055815:Young Adult