5 Ways We Can Experience Rhythm

Most people who listen to music are aware of its rhythm. Rhythm is one of the central aspects of music in all its forms. Rhythm gives structure to the music and brings the musical notes to life. Rhythm is divided into intention rhythm and natural rhythm. For example, dance rhythm is intentional. Music training is the best way to develop rhythmic skills. Natural rhythms include the rhythm of the tides, seasons, falling leaves, snow, rainfall, and the pulse of a heartbeat. They are not developed by training.

Rhythm plays an important role in many situations (Cheyne, 2019).

1. A feeling of movement. The most notable thing about musical rhythm is that it urges listeners to move. This movement tends to be synchronized to the regularities in the rhythms. When listeners attend to rhythm, they often engage with the music by tapping their feet, swaying their heads, or swaying their whole body. Moving to music occurs spontaneously, without training. Musical training is associated with a better ability to perceive and produce rhythms and to synchronize to the beat of rhythms.

2. High in groove. The urge to move to music is universal. Music that is rated as high in groove motivates more spontaneous movements than music that is low in groove. The term groove refers to the quality of music that makes individual listeners want to move (Roholt, 2014). Grooves have a feel. Grasping a groove requires actual body movement. Where there are grooves, you will find musicians, listeners, and dancers moving their bodies. Factors that influence groove include emotional responses to the music, preferred tempo, enjoyment, and familiarity.

3. Keeping the beat. Humans seem to have a unique capacity to coordinate or synchronize to music (Kraus, 2021). For example, when dancing to music, one must coordinate the timing of body movements with a perceived auditory rhythm. This process of synchronization is referred to as entrainment or attunement. Rhythmic entrainment is the ability to perceive a beat and align one’s body movements to it. Foot taping is the typical demonstration of entrainment. When we are entrained, our attention literally moves with the music, and this encourages our bodily movements. With our body movements, it is as if we are tracking the movement in rhythm itself.

4. Social bonding. The ability to synchronize movements increases group cohesion. When individuals interact socially, for example in conversation, walking in time with other people, or dancing together, the rhythms of their actions tend to become entrained. Sharing rhythmic behaviors such as singing, dancing, chanting, smiling to a smile, or talking together can increase social bonding. Feeling connected to our social communities causes the release of endorphins, which are associated with feelings of pleasure and gratification and a sense of trust (Launay, et al 2016).

5. Emotion in rhythm. Rhythm plays a key role in establishing a relevant resemblance between musical expressiveness and human expression of emotion. By feeling the rhythm listeners can identify the emotion of a music (such as sadness in Mahler's adagio). Rhythm triggers deep and powerful emotions in listeners. The rhythm of the music can energize, uplift, enrage, or calm us down (for example, funeral marches are slow and measured). However, not everyone perceives the same emotion in a piece of music (Cheyne, 2019). It requires listeners’ familiarity with the music. Different listeners can perceive the same rhythm differently, depending on cultural experience or musical training.