Music festivals: scientific keys to a collective effervescence

Bright lights sweep us from the bottom up, imitating a kind of light curtain that tells us that we should start paying attention to what is happening on stage. This may be the fifth concert of the day, but as soon as the amplifiers spit out the first chord of the guitar, we are swept away by a sea of ​​screams and rhythmic shaking that invades from the ground we walk on to the pit of our stomachs.

This begins. We notice how our body begins to rock, irremediably moving to the beat of the chords.

Among the crowd, some are more shy and others shake every part of their body, as if in ecstasy. But they share one thing: all those present move to the rhythm of the music. The singer comes out and a scream comes from our throat. However, it seems to be born jointly from the other 60, 150 or 1,000 voices that surround us. A cry that, although it may be out of tune, is felt in full harmony.

This feeling of transcendence, of union with all the people present at these events, was described by the sociologist Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) as “collective effervescence”. And anyone who has been to a massive concert remembers feeling it.

Another way to experience music

According to observations by researchers at McMaster University in Canada, our way of perceiving and experiencing music changes when we listen to it live and collectively. Laurel Trainor and her team measured the movement of 33 participants during a concertexposing them to musical pieces with different grooveAnglo-Saxon term that refers to the level with which a piece of music makes us want to move.

Thus, these researchers observed that the emotions provoked by music and the visual stimuli in the environment influence how we perceive music. In addition, it also changes how much we move to its rhythm and to what extent we are in sync with the people around us.

It has been seen that pieces with a groove high not only make us better synchronize with the tempo of the song we listen to, but also increase the coordination of our movements with the rest of the concertgoers. This phenomenon is also repeated at different stages of human development.

In fact, it has been suggested that the perception of tempo music could really be our estimation of how much effort it would take to move at the perceived rate. That’s how he described it justin londonProfessor of Music, Cognitive Science and Humanities at Carleton College (USA).

back to our roots

All of this is consistent with the ideas put forward in recent years by researchers in the field of neuroscience and music who suggest that the groove and the perception of rhythm do not make sense detached from the evolutionary roots of music. In other words, these elements should be better understood in participatory social acts in which music appears intrinsically linked to dance.

This, originally, would consist of body movements that were synchronized both with the rhythmic pattern of the music and with the rest of the individuals present in said events.

Following the premise that musical rhythm is only truly understood through body movements in social contexts, the situation we experience at music festivals could not only influence our perception of music, but also give us back to the original functions of music.

In other words, the music in these events would become a facilitating element that invites us to move to its beat and interact with our peers. Tecumseh Fitch, an American evolutionary biologist and cognitive scientist affiliated with the University of Vienna, explains from minute 49:37 of this talk.

On the other hand, our musical preferences, familiarity with the songs we listen to and the way other concertgoers dance influence both group synchronization and the type of bonds and social interactions created at those events. This is suggested, for example, A study from the laboratory of Daniel Marguliesbelonging to the universities of Paris and Oxford, and another from Peter Vuust’s groupfrom the Center for Music in the Brain, at the University of Aarhus (Denmark).

It is important to note that, in the context of a music festival, we assume that all attendees share the same taste in music. This makes the basis of our experience a climate of belonging to the same group. Therefore, the level of connection with the people around us is higher than in normal conditions.

More open and generous

Something to keep in mind is that, at a festival, these situations of social facilitation are maintained and prolonged over time, which makes their effect more powerful. Molly Crockett and her team at Yale University (USA) recently described that, in addition, those attending these events show greater ease in connecting with other individuals. There is even a certain predisposition to be more open to new experiences and to be more generous.

In conclusion, the scientific evidence summarized here suggests that festivals could be seen as modern rites where music returns to occupy its original role. In this role, music is intimately linked to dance and movement. to express the groove and follow the rhythm. And this is done through joint and synchronized action with other individuals of our species, with whom we are invited to interact and strengthen ties.

Seen this way, who doesn’t want to go to a festival this summer?