| dc.description.abstract | The effects of dynamic musical parameters (e.g., pitch rise/fall,
crescendo/diminuendo) on aspects of bodily motion, such as spatial
directions or speed, have recently been investigated empirically, as
Eitan & Granot (2006) examined, using participants' verbal reports,
how such relationships affect motion imagery. Here we examine the
effects of musical parameters on actual bodily movement. 106
children (46 aged 5, 60 aged 8) heard 9 short musical stimuli (4
synthetically constructed, 5 excerpts from classical repertory)
involving bi-directional changes in pitch, loudness and tempo.
Participants were asked to move to each excerpt in an "appropriate
way." Movement responses were videotaped, and their spatio-kinetic
features analyzed independently by 3 referees (watching with sound
muted), applying bi-polar categories based on Laban Movement
Analysis, including spatial directions, speed and muscular energy.
Results indicate that different musical parameters activate different
motion dimensions: pitch changes are mainly associated with vertical
motion, loudness change with both muscular energy and vertical
motion, and tempo change with speed and muscular energy. The
direction of change in each musical parameter was significantly
associated with the direction of change in motion dimensions, e.g.,
increase in loudness is associated with increasing speed, increase in
muscular energy, and spatial rise. While there was no age effect on the
choices of movement dimensions, age did affect the choice of
directions within these dimensions, particularly regarding the
movement in vertical plane. This suggests a two-stage process, in
which overall relationships of auditory and movement dimensions
develop early, while associations of auditory and motion directions
develop later. | en |
