Music in the Name of Science
An exhibition which doubles as a huge, interactive science experiment has opened in New York. The Dublin Science Gallery’s Biorhythm: Music and the Body show immerses its visitors in a world of sonic experiences to see how they respond to different musical stimuli. Tara Cleary from Reuters reports.
But it’s not just all fun. The exhibition is also a giant science experiment, gathering physical responses to music and measuring that against how people report they feel about the music.
Ben Knapp, the research director at the Sonic Arts Research Centre in Belfast, Ireland wires listeners up and then studies their reactions, their galvanic skin resistance and their heart rate as they listen to different kinds of music. The experiment called Emotion in Motion also records the listeners feelings about the music and compare that data to what their body says.
Knapp says the Internet and social media have created a social chasm where people prefer virtual relationships over real ones. This project will pinpoint empathy through music. He believes songs that make one person feel sad could be used to convey empathy to another person if they are unable to do so on their own.
He says, “If my physiology plays a particular song that’s sad for me, that may not make you sad. But if I then know what song makes you sad and I can say ‘Oh, okay, I’ll play this for you, maybe now we can identify more together.’”
The exhibition Biorhythm: Music and Body runs now through August 6 in New York City at the Eyebeam Art + Technology Center.
Leave a Reply
