By Lisbet Jære.

The audience holds their breath in unison, and when the music turns emotional, everyone sits perfectly still together. These are the initial findings from the world's largest music experiment.

Listening to music through speakers at home is one thing. It is something entirely different to attend a concert and watch the musicians unfold on stage. What happens to us? What interaction occurs between the audience and the musicians?

These were among the questions that music researcher Alexander Refsum Jensenius sought to explore when he collaborated with NRK's broadcasting orchestra, KORK, and the radio programme Abels tårn. Together, they organised the world's largest music experiment, conducted in June 2024.

“A lot of music research has focused on reading sheet music. We study music as an experience, looking at what it does to our bodies, thoughts, and emotions. To do that, it's important to step out of the lab,” says Jensenius.

He heads RITMO, a Centre of Excellence for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion at the University of Oslo.

The audience collectively held their breath

The musicians, along with some audience members, wore vests that measured breathing, pulse, and movement. The conductor wore a motion-tracking suit and a specialised pair of glasses, enabling researchers to monitor his gaze. Reflective wristbands, captured by an infrared camera, recorded the audience's movements.

Radio listeners were also involved and answered questions. Additionally, the researchers conducted interviews with the musicians and audience and distributed questionnaires to everyone involved.

“Never before has there been such extensive data collection from a concert. This is precisely why we refer to it as the world's largest music experiment,” says Jensenius.

Delving into and analysing such a comprehensive dataset takes time, but the researchers have already documented a significant amount of information. One example is the “stillness effect”. While it is known that music makes us move, both physically and mentally, the opposite can also occur.

“We clearly observed that, at certain moments during the concert, the music compelled the audience to sit perfectly still. It is especially music that stirs strong emotions that prompts the audience to 'quiet' together.

The infrared camera also revealed where the audience moved more and where they synchronised their movements.

Reminded of concerts after 22 July

Jensenius is particularly interested in the social dynamics that concerts inspire. Bonds and a sense of community form between people who may not know each other.

“As social creatures, this likely explains why concerts are so popular. Findings regarding audience movement, stillness, and synchronised breathing illustrate how attending a concert integrates us into a community.”

We are also curious. We enjoy witnessing events as they happen, like how musicians create music on various instruments. This is another motivation for attending concerts.

“But it's also interesting to study those who listen to the radio. We've discovered that people who tune into live concerts on the radio experience a heightened level of engagement compared to when they listen to recordings.”

They found a greater emotional response among the audience than the musicians, which is natural since the audience was hearing it for the first time while the musicians were at work. However, there was one exception.

“The orchestra played a Beethoven piece that they had performed during the memorial ceremony after the 22 July terror attack. There was a strong response from the musicians here, and they later spoke about how the piece triggered powerful memories.”

Empathetic people are most affected

Research at RITMO combines art and science, body and soul. Many phenomena being studied are well-known, such as music evoking joy, sadness, celebratory moods, and a range of emotions.

“But many myths exist, and much hasn't been documented before,” Jensenius explains.

That is why RITMO researchers work systematically to document and explain how and why music impacts people so strongly. This is fundamental research, and the findings spark interest in many other fields, including music therapy, linguistics, and robotics.

Among the audience, it was particularly the Enigma Variation Nimrod by composer Edward Elgar that evoked emotions.

“Many reported getting goosebumps from this piece. In the data, we see a high degree of heart rate variability, meaning the frequency between heartbeats varies. This indicates that something emotional is happening.”

Who is most likely to be swept away by the experience? Have they observed any differences between men and women or across different age groups?

Jensenius notes that there is a type of person who seems to be most affected by music. There are no differences between men and women, or young and old, but they do observe that people who score high on empathy tend to be more emotionally moved by music than others.

More intense and lively without a conductor

Harald Sæverud's composition, “Kjempeviseslåtten”, also evoked a powerful emotional response from the audience. This spirited piece, written during World War II, references the resistance movement and the “heroic ballads” found in folk music.

“However, it was when the conductor stopped conducting and sat down to play himself that the audience was most captivated.”

There are occasions when KORK performs without a conductor, and the researchers were curious about its impact. To investigate this, the piece was performed twice, once with a conductor and once without, for comparative analysis.

“Without a conductor, the musicians had to rely more heavily on each other, which sharpened their listening and eye contact. They became more exploratory and present, adding intensity and nerve to the music. Our data indicate an increase in heart rate among both the audience and the musicians," Jensenius explains.

He suggests that this might relate to the concept that expressions that are not overly polished can often be more vibrant and engaging.

The glasses worn by the conductor revealed that he conducted as much with his gaze as with his hands.

“We observed that he is consistently a step ahead, gauging when and where it's necessary to cue the musicians.”

The universal power of music

Alexander Jensenius points out that there are indications that musicians and the audience synchronise their breathing at certain moments. This intriguing finding is one that the music researchers are eager to explore further.

“During a research concert with the Danish String Quartet, we discovered that the musicians' heartbeats synchronised as they played. This finding was surprising, yet it aligned with the musicians' own experiences and observations.”

Since KORK has various instrument groups, he does not expect to find the same phenomenon across the entire orchestra. However, it might occur within some instrument groups, like the violinists.

“What are you particularly hoping to uncover once you have finished analysing the data from the world's largest music experiment?”

“Music is a universal phenomenon, present in every culture and integral to daily life and ceremonies, from cradle to grave. Everyone relates to music in their own way. But why does music have such a profound effect on us, and how can that power be harnessed? That's what we aim to offer more insight into,” says Jensenius.