Relationships between spectral flux, perceived rhythmic strength, and the propensity to move

The tendency to move to music seems to be built into human nature. Previous studies have shown a relationship between movement and the degree of spectral flux in music, particularly in the lower sub-bands. In this study, listeners’ perceptions of a range of frequency-restricted musical stimuli were investigated in order to find relationships between perceived musical aspects (rhythm, melody, and fluctuation) and the spectral flux in three different frequency bands. Additionally, the relationship between the perception of features in specific frequency bands and participants’ desire to move was studied. Participants were presented with clips of frequency-restricted musical stimuli and answered four questions related to musical features. Both perceived strength of the rhythm and the propensity to move were found to correlate highly with low-frequency spectral flux. Additionally, a lower but still significant correlation was found between these perceived musical features and high-frequency spectral flux. This suggests that the spectral flux of both low and high frequency ranges can be utilized as a measure of perceived rhythm in music, and that the degree of spectral flux and the perceived rhythmic strength in high and low frequency bands are at least partly responsible for the extent to which listeners consciously desire to move when listening to music.