In biomusicology, entrainment denotes the synchronization of organisms, such as through foot tapping, with an external perceived rhythm, exemplified by human music and dance. While humans are the sole species where all individuals exhibit entrainment, instances of entrained nonhuman individuals have been documented.
Beat Induction
Beat induction describes the cognitive process by which a consistent, isochronous pulse is perceived during musical engagement, representing the underlying beat to which one might tap. Historically, the cognitive mechanism enabling the inference of a beat from auditory patterns and subsequent synchronization or dancing was considered exclusively human. To date, no non-human primate has demonstrated the capacity to dance or clap collaboratively to musical rhythms, unlike humans who exhibit precise temporal control in synchronizing with other performers. However, while primates generally do not exhibit beat induction, certain parrot species do. A notable instance involves Snowball, an Eleonora cockatoo, who demonstrated authentic dancing behavior, including adapting movements to tempo variations (Patel et al., 2009).
Beat induction is considered a fundamental cognitive ability essential for musical perception (e.g., Patel, 2008; Honing, 2007; 2012). This process allows individuals to perceive a pulse within a rhythmic pattern even when it is not explicitly present, thereby inducing the rhythm during auditory processing, analogous to how perspective is induced by observing an arrangement of objects in a visual composition.
Neuroscientist Ani Patel identifies beat induction, which he terms "beat-based rhythm processing," as a critical domain within music-language research. He posits that beat induction constitutes "a fundamental aspect of music cognition that is not a byproduct of cognitive mechanisms that also serve other, more clearly adaptive, domains (e.g., auditory scene analysis or language)" (Patel, 2008).
Evolutionary Function
Joseph Jordania recently posited that the human capacity for entrainment evolved through natural selection, serving as a crucial component in attaining a distinct altered state of consciousness known as battle trance. This state, characterized by a loss of individuality, diminished perception of fear and pain, a unified collective identity, and actions prioritizing group welfare, was vital for the physical survival of early hominids against large African predators after their transition from arboreal to terrestrial life.
Biological Neuron Model
Beyond their role in transmitting signals across brain regions, neurons possess the capacity to influence the activity patterns of neighboring neurons through a process termed biological synchronization. An illustrative example is the entrainment observed in finger motion between the left and right hands, which occurs specifically when both hands move in the same direction. To demonstrate this, one can initiate slow, anti-phase movements of the index fingers, as depicted in the lower section of the accompanying figure. Subsequently, gradually increasing the frequency to maximum speed will eventually result in the fingers moving in phase, as shown in the upper section. This phenomenon has been hypothesized to parallel the neuronal mechanism of creating a phase-locked loop, which facilitates the recognition of consonant musical intervals.
Choir
- Choir
- Evolutionary Musicology
- Music Therapy
- Unison
- Zoomusicology
- Restless Legs Syndrome
References
Clayton, M.; Sager, R.; Will, U. (2004). "In time with the music: The concept of entrainment and its significance for ethnomusicology" (PDF). ESEM Counterpoint. 1: 1–82.
- Clayton, M.; Sager, R.; Will, U. (2004). "In time with the music: The concept of entrainment and its significance for ethnomusicology" (PDF). ESEM Counterpoint. §56§: 1–82. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-12-17. Retrieved 2008-05-05.Collins, Randall (March 2013). "Entering and leaving the tunnel of violence: Micro-sociological dynamics of emotional entrainment in violent interactions". Current Sociology. 61 (2): 132–151. doi:10.1177/0011392112456500. S2CID 145781139.
- Hagen, E.H.; Bryant, G.A. (2003). "Music and dance as a coalition signaling system". Human Nature. 14 (1): 21–51. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.568.6039. doi:10.1007/s12110-003-1015-z. PMID 26189987. S2CID 12799432.
- Honing, H. (2012). "Without it no music: Beat induction as a fundamental musical trait." Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1252(1): 85–91. Bibcode:2012NYASA1252...85H. doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.2011.06402.x. PMID 22524344. S2CID 41013599.Merker, B. (2000). "Synchronous chorusing and human origins" (PDF). In Wallin, N. L.; Merker, B.; Brown, S. (Eds.), The origins of music, pp. 315–327. ISBN 978-0-585-20006-4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-12-17. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
- Desain, P., & Honing, H. (1994). "Foot-Tapping: A brief introduction to beat induction." In Proceedings of the 1994 International Computer Music Conference, 78–79. San Francisco: International Computer Music Association.
- Winkler, István; Haden, Gabor; Ladinig, Olivia; Sziller, Istvan; Honing, Henkjan (2009), "Newborn infants detect the beat in music", Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 106, no. 7, pp. 2468–71, Bibcode:2009PNAS..106.2468W, doi:10.1073/pnas.0809035106, PMC 2631079, PMID 19171894.Patel, Aniruddh D.; Iversen, John R.; Bregman, Micah R.; Schulz, Irena; Schulz, Charles (August 2008), "Investigating the human-specificity of synchronization to music" (PDF), Proceedings of the 10th Intl. Conf. On Music Perception and Cognition, Adelaide: Causal Productions, archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-03-04, retrieved 2008-09-20
- Patel (2008)
- Newborn infants detect the beat in music