Bass.
The lowest part of a harmony in a musical
composition.
For centuries, we’ve all shared a similar
response to low frequency sound, regardless
of our particular preference in music.
Across cultures and genres, what is it about
bass that sends chills to our soul and gives
music so much power?
We as humans are deeply rooted to rhythm before
we are even born.
According to cognitive scientist, Karin Stromswold
of Rutgers University, once the hearing part
of the brain starts to function,
a fetus hears mostly low­ frequency sounds,
like its mother’s heartbeat and the rhythm
of her voice.
Higher frequency tones that come from outside
the mother’s body are drowned out.
Scientists think that these low frequency
sounds may be a crucial factor in a baby’s
early language acquisition.
After birth, this connection to rhythm continues
and is apparent everywhere.
Bass in music has a unique impact on the human
body, it can even cause changes in our adrenaline
and heart rate.
When listening to music, our brains track
the rhythm through a process called neural
entrainment.
Upper and lower bass notes range from about
32 to 512 Hz, and these low frequency sounds
direct our interpretation of the beat.
And if you are wondering why the beat is so
important to a song, ask yourself why are
bones so important to the body.
They’re the structure.
The bassline is the foundation that the melody
hangs upon.
Last year, Canada's McMaster Institute for
Music and the Mind conducted a study to test
the human brain’s response to high and low
frequency tones in music.
High and low pitched piano notes were played
simultaneously for 35 participants.
Occasionally, one of the two notes was played
50 milliseconds off beat.
When participants detected these breaks in
the rhythm, it triggered spikes in their brain
response, otherwise known as mismatch negativity.
These spikes happened much more often with
changes in the low notes.
The study found that the human brain is a
lot more sensitive to timing deviations in
lower frequency tones,
which is why we’re more accepting of fluctuations
within a song’s melody, and more easily
confused by fluctuations within a song’s
bassline.
The director of this institute, neuroscientist,
Dr. Laurel Trainor concludes that,
"Virtually all people will respond more to
the beat when it is carried by lower-pitched
instruments."
Although these studies are fairly new, musical
composers have played off of people’s organic
response to bass since the stone age.
So next time the beat drops, consider the
fact that you are reacting to a connection
with sound that you’ve had before you were
born.
It’s something that connects us all, and
it’s all about the bass.
