Main content
In touch: Cardiac and respiratory patterns synchronize during ensemble singing with physical contact
- Elke B. Lange
- Diana Omigie
- Carlos Trenado
- Viktor Müller
- Melanie Wald-Fuhrmann
- Julia Merrill
Date created: | Last Updated:
: DOI | ARK
Creating DOI. Please wait...
Category: Project
Description: Musical ensemble performances provide an ideal environment to gain knowledge about complex human interaction. Network structures of synchronization can reflect specific roles of individual performers on the one hand and a higher level of organization of all performers as a superordinate system on the other. This study builds on research on coordinated singing, using hyperscanning of respiration and heart rate variability (HRV) from eight professional singers. Singers performed complex polyphonic music, distributing their breathing within the same voice and singing without and with physical contact: that is touching each other’s shoulder or waist. The idea of singing with touch was motivated by historical depictions of ensemble performances that showed singers touching each other which raises the question of a potential benefit of touch for group performances. From a psycho-physiological point of view, physical contact should increase synchronization of singing coordination. The results confirm previous findings on synchronization of respiration and HRV during choir singing and extend those findings to a non-homophonic musical repertoire while also revealing an increase in synchronization in respiration during physical contact. This effect was significant across different frequency ranges. Importantly, connectivity patterns showed that synchronization was not systematically organized by the singing action (e.g., singing the same voice) and was independent of standing position or touch. This finding suggests a higher level of organization of all singers, forming a superordinate system.
Add important information, links, or images here to describe your project.