THE IMPACT OF THE BASS DRUM ON BODY MOVEMENT IN SPONTANEOUS DANCE
Edith Van Dyck, Dirk Moelants, Michiel Demey, Pieter Coussement, Alexander Deweppe, Marc Leman · Ghent University Academic Bibliography (Ghent University) · 2010
When dancing at parties or in clubs, people usually synchronize with the beat of the music. But other properties of the music also have an effect on the style and intensity of their movement. One musical element that takes a prominent position in current dance music is the bass drum. In the study presented here, the effect of the dynamics of the bass drum on a dancing audience is explored. A club-like environment was constructed and 100 adolescent and adult subjects (50 male and 50 female) were asked to dance in groups of five to a 10 minute and 30 second musical mix consisting of six songs, three bass drum solo parts and some transitional material. Each song consisted of one section that was repeated three times, with a different dynamic level of the bass drum. The methodology was based on motion capture and motion sensing technology. The motion sensing acceleration data of the hips was collected, while a motion tracking system monitored head movement. The research demonstrated that the dynamic change of the bass drum does have an important effect on the intensity of movement while dancing. It seems a phenomenon that occurs commonly unnoticed by dancers. These results show that the increasing role of the bass drum in contemporary dance music is not just a stylistic element, but indeed has a positive effect on the amount of movement made by the dancers.