Image Citation: [3]
Written by Julian Dahiya ‘28
Edited by Yusef Lateef ‘28
I still remember the first time I heard “24k Magic” by Bruno Mars, like it was yesterday. We were playing soccer in 7th grade gym class, and my teacher put on this groovy beat, our game disintegrated into a dance party. Our heated soccer game of fierce rivals turned into a melange of moonwalking and the worm. As much as I cherish this memory, I have been plagued by a question ever since; Why does some music, which is just vibrations of pressure in the air, make us want to dance?
To understand why we dance to music, it is imperative to first look into which types of music we tend to dance to. In general, when we think of dance music, typical genres such as pop, disco, funk, and EDM come to mind, but what do these genres have in common that make us dance? A study conducted by neuroscientist Benjamin Morillon of Aix-Marseille University found that a person’s desire to dance to music is strongly correlated with how syncopated the beat of the song is [1]. For those who have not taken music theory (as in pretty much everybody) syncopation means when the emphasized notes are off the beat. A good song to exemplify syncopation is the repeated riff/beat of “Shape of You” by Ed Sheran. This finding helps explain why classical music, which tends to have most of its emphasized notes located steadily on the beat, is not conducive to dancing. Surprisingly however, when you look on the complete opposite side of the spectrum, with maximum syncopation and complicated rhythms in genres like Jazz, there is also little desire to dance to the music. Morillon found that songs whose beat’s are moderately syncopated are most danceable, because they are in the goldilocks zone of being challenging, but still possible to predict. Now, notice how I keep stressing the beats (as in drums and background instrumental) and not the melody of the song. This might seem a little interesting, as it tends to be the melodies of songs that people recognize tunes by, and that tend to get stuck in our heads. Why then, would the beat and not the melody be the main driver in making us dance? The answer reveals much more about the mystery that is music.
As it turns out, different elements of a song are processed in separate areas of the brain. Morillon found that participant’s auditory cortex tended to follow the melody of songs, with close relations to the limbic system, which regulates emotions. It is no wonder, therefore, that melodies of songs such as “When I was your Man” by Bruno Mars or “All of Me” by John Legend seem to carry so much emotion. The beat of a song however, mostly activates the dorsal auditory pathway, which connects the auditory cortex to the movement areas of the brain. This explains why particularly groovy songs with strong baselines and drums tend to make us want to dance. What I find most interesting about this is that to make a song that is both catchy and danceable, a songwriter must create an emotionally filled melody that the listener will remember, and a beat that the listener can feel and move to.
Although I find the science behind this question fascinating, the most consequential finding about dancing in my opinion is the effect that it has on our well being. Apart from the immediate feeling of elation that music brings to us, music can also have long term effects on our cognitive function. A 2003 study by Albert Einstein College found that out of 11 exercises, swimming, golf, tennis, and other activities, the only one to have a positive effect on preventing dementia was dancing [2] which is remarkable given health experts do not tend to recommend dancing as frequently as other forms of exercise. No matter what type of music you listen to, I think we could all use a little more dancing in our lives.
References
Huron D. Why some songs make everyone want to dance. Scientific American. 2016 Jun 1 [cited 2024 Nov 12]. Available from: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-some-songs-makes-everyone-want-to-dance
Dancing and the brain. Harvard Medical School. 2020 June 18 [cited 2024 Nov 12]. Available from: https://hms.harvard.edu/news-events/publications-archive/brain/dancing-brain#:~:text=In%20a%202008%20article%20in,its%20sensory%20and%20motor%20circuits
Dead Meat James. The Michael Jackson "Thriller" video was a very important moment in music history [Internet]. Reddit; 2013 Jul 10 [cited 2024 Nov 12]. Available from: https://www.reddit.com/r/deadmeatjames/comments/1eupotb/the_michael_jackson_thriller_video_was_a_very
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