Music from Motion: Sound Level Envelopes of Tones Expressing Human Locomotion

Abstract

The common association of music with motion was investigated in a direct way. Could the original motion quality of different gaits be transferred to music and be perceived by a listener? Measurements of the ground reaction force by the foot during different gaits were transferred to sound by using the vertical force curve as sound level envelopes for tones played at different tempi. Three listening experiments assessed the motion quality of the resulting stimuli. In the first experiment, where the listeners were asked to freely describe the tones, 25% of answers were direct references to motion; such answers were more frequent at faster tempi. In the second experiment, where the listeners were asked to describe the motion quality, about half of the answers directly related to motion could be classified as belonging to one of the categories of dancing, jumping, running, walking, or stumbling. Most gait patterns were clearly classified as belonging to one of these categories, independent of presentation tempo. In the third experiment, the listeners were asked to rate the stimuli on 24 adjective scales. A factor analysis yielded four factors that could be interpreted as Swift vs. Solemn (factor 1), Graceful vs. Stamping (factor 2), Limping vs. Forceful (factor 3), and Springy (factor 4, no contrasting adjective). The results from the three experiments were consistent and indicated that each tone (corresponding to a particular gait) could clearly be categorised in terms of motion.