I recently read that people's bodies synchronise when they experience art together and I really love the idea of this. It inspired my limited edition print, Heart Beat (Blue).
UCL conducted a study that found that audience members' heart beats synchronised whilst watching a West End performance of Dreamgirls. To be fair, that could just be down to *that* song from Dreamgirls (see below)... I mean, if that end note doesn't provoke some kind of physical response you might want to check your pulse is even there, let alone in time with anybody else's.
Another study, in Sweden, showed that choir singers hearts beat in time when they sing together. Anyone who has experienced being part of a mass singalong with the tens of thousands of other people in a stadium or arena crowd will not find that hard to believe. It truly is a shared experience.
And it's not just our hearts - research at the University of Western Ontario has shown that people's brain waves synchronise when they experience live music together.
The guy in charge of the UCL Dreamgirls research (not it's official name), Dr Joe Devlin, said:
"Experiencing the live theatre performance was extraordinary enough to overcome group differences and produce a common physiological experience in the audience members."
Sounds to me like it could be the arts that save us.
What's your stand-out live music experience?
I'd love to hear about the live performances you've witnessed first hand that have been really memorable. What was it about the experience that made it special?
It'd be great to collate them somehow, so get in touch with your stories!
