Quantifying the time-varying coordination between performer and audience.
Adriano Vilela Barbosa, Kevin G. Munhall, Hani Camille Yehia, Eric Vatikiotis‐Bateson · The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America · 2009
This study examines the coordination that occurs ubiquitously during behavioral interaction (e.g., linguistic, social, musical). Coordination, however, does not imply strict synchronization. Musicians in a quartet, for example, will deviate slightly from the measured beat, alternately playing slightly ahead or behind. This paper showcases a new algorithm for computing the continuous, instantaneous correlation between two signals, at ANY temporal offset, resulting in a two-dimensional mapping of correlation and temporal offset that makes it possible to visualize and assess the time-varying nature of the coordination. The algorithm is demonstrated through analysis of the extraordinary performer-audience coordination evoked by Freddie Mercury during the rock group, Queen‘s, Live Aid Concert at Wembley Stadium in 1985.