The "groove" awakens in us the urge to snap our fingers, tap our feet or dance to music. Researchers at the HSLU are trying to use this phenomenon for music therapy, for example. Music psychologist Florian Hoesl, on the other hand, uses it as the basis for innovative school lessons. His motto: join in instead of just listening.
"Believer" by the US band Imagine Dragons is blaring from the loudspeakers in the music room at the Kantonale Mittelschule Uri in Altdorf. The pupils in class 3b sit in a semi-circle, listening and tapping their feet to the beat. After two minutes, Florian Hoesl switches the song off and stands in front of the pupils. "What do you feel when you hear this sound?" asks the music psychologist from Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts.
"The beat is catchy," replies high school student Delia Bissig. "I automatically tap my foot." Hoesl nods. The pupil has unconsciously described the "groove": It’s the urge that music triggers in us to move to the beat - in the form of nodding along, snapping our fingers, dancing or just tapping our feet. Music researchers around the world, such as Florian Hoesl, are on the trail of this phenomenon.
Groove research is all about which music we perceive as "groovy" and which not. The findings from groove research now form the basis for various applications: At HSLU, for example, a music-based therapy is currently being developed for Parkinson’s sufferers. In his doctoral thesis, Hoesl himself is investigating how the targeted use of the groove effect can support musicians when practicing.
The brain doesn’t make us dance by chance
The HSLU project "Groovy Drum Beat", on the other hand, focuses on a completely different question: how can this complex topic be communicated as effectively as possible to young people without prior scientific knowledge? Florian Hoesl helped develop the project.
"Music is everywhere, billions of people listen to it every day," says the researcher, who is a passionate drummer with his own band. He wants to show the pupils that even something everyday and commercial can be put through its paces with the means of research. "They should understand: When a song on the radio touches us or when we dance to it at a party, it doesn’t happen by chance. Complex processes take place in our brain."
"Groovy Drum Beat" is a series of workshops that Hoesl has been running at secondary schools in Central Switzerland since spring 2024. This is his fifth time at the secondary school in Altdorf. He works with a different class at each workshop. Participating instead of just listening is the motto: Hoesl first outlines the basics of groove research. He then listens to songs such as "Believer" with the high school students and gets them to clap and stomp along to feel the groove as strongly as possible.
Creating the perfect beat on the computer
Composing is at the heart of every workshop. The students create their own beats with the help of a so-called sequencer. The online program simulates various drums. You can add beats or change the beat and tempo at the click of a mouse. The task is to compose a rhythm that awakens the groove in the young people and one that leaves them cold.
Florian Hoesl explains the technical terms used in the program, such as "hi-hat", "snare" and "kick". Then it’s time to get to work: the high school students spread out in small groups in the room and in the school corridor. It’s quiet - the young people only work with headphones to keep the noise level down.
The music teacher always takes part in the Uri workshops. He met Florian Hoesl as part of a private music project and was immediately fascinated by his research. According to the teacher, it is fundamentally useful for the pupils to learn more about the groove because the phenomenon is commonplace for them. "But if they incorporate what they’ve learned into their own music, of course it sticks better."
Workshops as door openers
After half an hour, Marius Brunner calls his protégés back into the room. They upload their creations to an online platform. The beats range from simple, with just a few instruments, to playful and multi-layered. "We were inspired by songs that we like to listen to," says high school student Delia Bissig. She and her colleague modified their beat by incorporating irregularities until the result was convincing.
The variety of beats submitted confirms previous research findings that personal taste in music has a significant influence on the perception of groove, as Florian Hoesl explains. He and Marius Brunner are delighted with the young people’s willingness to experiment.
The workshops enrich the lessons enormously, as the teacher says: "Pupils with experience in making music discovered a new level of their hobby. And young people who have had no previous contact with making music are opened up "
SNSF funding for unique project
The innovative educational approach of "Groovy Drum Beat" is unique in Switzerland. It has earned the HSLU music researchers an Agora grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation SNSF. Agora - ancient Greek for marketplace - is aimed at projects that are particularly good at communicating scientific findings to the general public. The SNSF grant of around CHF 500,000 is used to finance workshops at the schools.