In touch: Cardiac and respiratory patterns synchronize during ensemble singing with physical contact.

ABSTRACT: Musical ensemble performances provide an ideal environment to gain knowledge about complex human interactions. 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 joint singing, using hyperscanning of respiration and heart rate variability (HRV) from eight professional singers. Singers performed 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. It raises the question

SUBMITTER: Lange EB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9390082 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature