Alfa-aktivaation yhteys elävän ja improvisoidun musiikin kuunteluun : EEG ja kyselytutkimus

Tavoitteet. Elävän ja erityisesti improvisoidun musiikin kuuntelun herättämää aivotoimintaa ja erityisesti yhteyttä EEG:lla mitattavaan alfa-aktivaatioon (8-10 Hz) on tähän mennessä tutkittu varsin vähän. Mobiililaitteiden kehitys on tehnyt EEG:n mittaamisesta laboratorion ulkopuolella helpompaa. Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoituksena on 1) selvittää onko EEG:n mittaaminen laboratorion ulkopuolella mahdollista sekä 2) tutkia alfa-aktivaation yhteyttä osittain improvisoidun tai tutun elävän musiikin kuunteluun. Menetelmät. Tutkimuksessa oli 14 koehenkilöä, jotka olivat ammattimuusikoita tai musiikkia pitkään harrastaneita. Kamaritrio soitti koehenkilöille EEG-mittauksen aikana neljä kappaletta: tutun sekä tuntemattoman kappaleen ja näistä molemmista osittain improvisoidun version. Koehenkilöt arvioivat kappaleiden kuuntelun jälkeen niiden improvisatorisuutta ja kiinnostavuutta. Alfa-aktivaatiota tarkasteltiin posteriorisilta ja pään keskilinjan elektrodeilta. Tulokset ja johtopäätökset. Kuulijoiden alfa-aktivaatiovoimakkuuksissa ei ollut eroja osittain improvisoitujen ja nuottien mukaan soitettujen tai tuttujen ja tuntemattomien kappaleiden välillä. Osittain improvisoidut kappaleet arvioitiin improvisatorisemmiksi, mutta kappaleiden kiinnostavuuksien välillä ei ollut eroja. Musiikin improvisoinnin tutkiminen aivo- ja kyselytutkimusten avulla auttaa ymmärtämään laajemmin luovuutta. Tutkimus osoittaa, että elävän musiikin kuuntelun ja aivotoiminnan yhteyksien tutkiminen EEG:n avulla laboratorion ulkopuolella on mahdollista.Objectives. There are only a few prior studies about brain functions while listening to live and improvised music. Yet, an EEG frequency band called alpha (8-10 Hz) has been shown to be connected to listening of music improvisation, but the connections between alpha and listening to improvised music are largely unknown. The progress of wireless mobile EEG devices makes recording EEG in this kind of tasks now easier. In this study we examine the feasibility of measuring EEG in a situation like this and the connection between alpha power and listening to partly improvised or familiar live music. Methods. In this study, EEG of 14 professional musicians and amateur musicians was recorded while they listened to familiar and unfamiliar pieces of music and partly improvised versions of those pieces performed live by a chamber trio. The subjects rated how improvised and interesting each of the four performances sounded. Data from posterior and midline electrodes were analyzed to define alpha power. Results and conclusions. There were no differences in alpha power between the performances. Listeners rated partly improvised performances more improvisatory, but there was no difference in how interesting the performances were rated. Studying music improvisation may help us to expand the knowledge of creativity. According to this study it is possible to study listeners’ brain functions with EEG during live music improvisation performances also outside the laboratory

Brain oscillation recordings of the audience in a live concert-like setting

There are only a few previous EEG studies that were conducted while the audience is listening to live music. However, in laboratory settings using music recordings, EEG frequency bands theta and alpha are connected to music improvisation and creativity. Here, we measured EEG of the audience in a concert-like setting outside the laboratory and compared the theta and alpha power evoked by partly improvised versus regularly performed familiar versus unfamiliar live classical music. To this end, partly improvised and regular versions of pieces by Bach (familiar) and Melartin (unfamiliar) were performed live by a chamber trio. EEG data from left and right frontal and central regions of interest were analysed to define theta and alpha power during each performance. After the performances, the participants rated how improvised and attractive each of the performances were. They also gave their affective ratings before and after each performance. We found that theta power was enhanced during the familiar improvised Bach piece and the unfamiliar improvised Melartin piece when compared with the performance of the same piece performed in a regular manner. Alpha power was not modulated by manner of performance or by familiarity of the piece. Listeners rated partly improvised performances of a familiar Bach and unfamiliar Melartin piece as more improvisatory and innovative than the regular performances. They also indicated more joy and less sadness after listening to the unfamiliar improvised piece of Melartin and less fearful and more enthusiastic after listening to the regular version of Melartin than before listening. Thus, according to our results, it is possible to study listeners' brain functions with EEG during live music performances outside the laboratory, with theta activity reflecting the presence of improvisation in the performances.Peer reviewe