Motivation
I had the chance to spend five wonderful weeks at RITMO, funded by Det norske universitetssenter i Paris, as part of my Ph.D. project. My Ph.D. focuses on music semantics. I explore the idea that music can convey meaning by applying methods from linguistics to music: Does music have meaning? How is it produced? How is it different from meaning in language? And crucially: where does our ability to form mental representations and imagine from music come from? After following two RITMO courses throughout the year (‘Music Moves’ and ‘Motion Capture’), I thought RITMO and its FourMs lab would be a great place to address this last question experimentally. I wanted to test the hypothesis that what music makes us think of is related to how music makes us move and, particularly, how it affects how we walk. Many people listen to music while they walk, and walking is very often associated with music in parades or military marches. There must thus be something interesting to explore in the music/walking interaction.
The experiment
We came up with this experimental paradigm in which participants had to walk in circles in the lab and synchronize their walking to some music which some of the parameters varied throughout the experiment. Subjects were wearing both force sensors under their feet to measure stepping force and motion capture suits and markers that make it possible to recreate their walking movement in the lab space while walking to music. Do dissonances trigger physical instability? Do high pitches trigger lighter steps? Do certain transitions trigger specific movements of the lower or upper body? It will now take quite some time to analyze the data I collected. But in any event, I got to learn so much during my visit (from technical skills related to motion capture technology to more philosophical and theoretical considerations about how music relates to movement in general) that whatever comes out of this, I am going back with a lot to reflect upon.
The experience
Outside the lab, staying at RITMO felt extraordinarily right despite the short time. I discovered a lab with a unique energy and sense of community, and I got to meet awesome people and learn about fascinating projects and ideas. This lively, welcoming, and international environment seems to make you feel like you belong no matter what. The International Seminar o