Research Hit: Your Brain Responds Differently to Live Music
Live music generates a larger emotional response in brains of audience and performer - and brain synchronisation is an added bonus.
How can our brains respond differently if the music is the same?
Good question - but this experiment was much more fascinating because 27 participants were played a piece of piano music live while having their brains scanned. What’s more the pianist was also being scanned but was receiving real-time feedback on the emotional impact of their playing and was therefore encouraged to try to increase this emotionality.
Wow - that sounds like a complicated and refined experiment!
Indeed, it shows how far these researchers now go to get unique insights into how our brains function together.
But, sorry, the obvious, if the pianist was responding to listeners responses then obviously it is more emotional?!
Sure, but this very same piece was then streamed to other participants who also had their brains scanned and the results compared.
Ah, ok, and what were the differences?
Well, those who were listening live had larger emotional responses. But also greater brain integration between different regions.
So, it seems like the live version increase brain responses?
Yes, in all ways - of added interest is that the brain synchronisation between participants was similar as was synchronisation between pianist and audience.
What is this brain synchronisation?
It is when brains of different people exhibit similar patterns of activity - you kind of all get into the same zone together. Brain synchronisation predicts many things including problem solving and team effectiveness in business contexts.
So, being with real people in real time seems to have a benefit!?
Indeed this is one take away. This obviously explains the natural attraction to live music be that concerts or festivals. But the second point is that our brain seems primed to be with others - it is socially extremely sensitive. Live is always better - as research I wrote about on virtual meetings also showed.
So be with real people in real time if you can?
Yes.
And go to concerts
To get that extra boost of emotionality, yup!
Reference
Wiebke Trost, Caitlyn Trevor, Natalia Fernandez, Florence Steiner, Sascha Frühholz.
Live music stimulates the affective brain and emotionally entrains listeners in real time.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2024; 121 (10)
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2316306121