4/4 and more, rhythmic complexity more strongly predicts groove in common meters
Connor Spiech, Guilherme Schmidt Câmara, Julian Fuhrer, Virginia Penhune · 2025
Read 4/4 and more, rhythmic complexity more strongly predicts groove in common meters by Connor Spiech, Guilherme Schmidt Câmara, Julian Fuhrer, Virginia Penhune (2025) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/pmc-12708351.txt.
Description
Connor Spiech, Guilherme Câmara, Julian Fuhrer, and Virginia Penhune ask what makes rhythm feel groovy in a 2025 study. Groove, the urge to move with music, is thought to peak when a beat is a little surprising but not chaotic. Meter, the repeating bar pattern, may set the stage for that balance.
Across three experiments with hundreds of Western listeners, the sweet spot appeared only in the common 4/4 meter: mid-level complexity grooved best. In odd meters like 7/8, plain rhythms won instead. The authors argue that listeners lean on a familiar meter's predictions, letting complexity tease rather than confuse. Familiar structure licenses surprise.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Connor Spiech, Guilherme Schmidt Câmara, Julian Fuhrer, Virginia Penhune |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2025 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 47 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |